Dozens of sexual harassment complaints among 500 grievances filed by B.C. public servants

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      B.C. government employees have filed more than 500 claims of inappropriate conduct since 2000, according to a response to a freedom of information request that was posted online.

      At least 28 of those complaints concern sexual harassment.

      The document is so heavily redacted that the only information that can be ascertained are the number of claims and dates they were received.

      Most complaints fall into five categories of breaches of the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union Master Agreement. Those sections concern the Human Rights Code, sexual harassment, discrimination, misuse of managerial/supervisory authority, and bullying in the workplace.

      The document was prepared by the Ministry of Finance. In a telephone interview, ministry spokesperson Jamie Edwardson emphasized that there are approximately 26,000 core government employees in B.C.

      “We have a very thorough investigation process into allegations,” he said. “There are very serious consequences for those found guilty of allegations, including dismissal, suspension, and demotion.”

      Maurine Karagianis, NDP Opposition critic for women, called attention to claims of sexual harassment.

      “I think that the numbers speak very clearly to the fact that this is something that is instilled in the culture of government and it needs to be addressed,” she told the Straight. “The fact that these numbers are so high calls for some kind of further disclosure and an investigation. Where is this happening? Why is this continuing to happen? What steps is the government planning on taking to curtail this?”

      Karagianis noted that nine claims of sexual harassment were filed after September 2012, when Premier Christy Clark’s chief of staff, Ken Boessenkool, resigned after an undisclosed incident involving a female staffer.

      Boessenkool eventually published a letter admitting to having acted “inappropriately” and B.C.’s Public Service Agency (PSA) investigated the matter. But subsequent freedom of information disclosures revealed that the review was conducted verbally, with no records created.

      Karagianis noted the PSA declined to issue any recommendations for reforms. She argued the incident should have prompted a more thorough examination of sexual harassment in the workplace.

      “The premier had an opportunity in 2012 to demonstrate leadership on this issue around her own chief of staff and she refused to take it,” she said. “The fact is that there are women and perhaps men experiencing sexual harassment in a government that…should have taken action before this and that has had numerous opportunities and reminders to do that.”

      Edwardson noted that in 2011 the province created an employee-relations investigations unit that today handles “about 100 investigations per year”. More recently, he continued, the government activated a 24-hour managers advice line that provides assistance on “sensitive workplace issues”.

      Stephanie Smith, president of the B.C. Government and Services Employees Union, described 500 complaints as evidence of a system functioning properly.

      “Our negotiation of good, strong language that protects our members against bullying, harassment, discrimination, and misuse of managerial authority seems to be working,” she said. “Members are using that language to have their issues heard and resolved.”

      Follow Travis Lupick on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      A large Number?

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:15am

      Since 2000, so let's round off to ten years, so that's an average of 50 complaints per year, ~3 of which are sexual harassment complaints. So, if we have 26000 employees, that means one sexual harassment complaint per 8667 employees per year.

      “I think that the numbers speak very clearly to the fact that this is something that is instilled in the culture of government and it needs to be addressed,”

      How on earth does something that implicates only a small minority of workers suggest a "culture of government"? If anything, the statistic show the reverse: the culture in our government workplaces is rather healthy, tho, as in any large organization, there are going to be some issues. Keep in mind that it could be called "sexual harassment" for a supervisor to absent-mindedly place his hand on a female co-worker's shoulder, or to tell a joke about chicken breasts that she finds offensive.

      “The fact is that there are women and perhaps men experiencing sexual harassment"

      Really, perhaps men? If there are not, and women are over-represented as complainants, this could be evidence of bias in what constitutes "harassment." It is no secret that many feminists believe in a sort of one-sided definition of sexual harassment, where women can be sexually harassed by everything from eye-contact to innocent compliments. And, ironically, the solution to this tends to be violent discipline against men, for actions that for much of history contributed to the health and vigor of our species and its mating process.

      Are these the numbers?

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:36am

      28 sexual harassment claims in 14 years for a staff of 30,000? Do we have any private sector numbers to compare? Just wondering...

      Diane

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:40am

      Commenters seem to be implying that for some reason this information isn't worth reporting.

      28 sexual harassment complains within government is something newsworthy. This is our government - leaders - that we're talking about.

      Keep in mind it is only a very small fraction of workplace harassment that's ever reported in any way. Vast majority of women keep it to themselves.

      I read somewhere one in four BC women have experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace. So while we only have proof of 28 cases here, statistically, there are many hundreds more that have occurred.

      Travis Lupick

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:44am

      Insight West's Mario Canseco brought some related stats to my attention after this article was published last night.

      At the link below it states 25 percent of British Columbia women have experienced or witnessed sexual harassment committed by a boss or manager.

      See http://bit.ly/1uzl5hV.

      @diane

      Jan 29, 2015 at 2:22pm

      Nice spin. The commenters seem to be questioning Karagianis' conclusions. Further, your assertion of many hundreds more occurrences is baseless. You would make a good politician. Light on facts, ready to spin, throwing up the strawman and boogeyman in order to capitalize on a real issue.

      @Travis Lupick

      Jan 30, 2015 at 8:21am

      Let's try again. How do we know that the same definition of "harassment" is being used by everyone who responds to that poll? It is basically worthless.

      jenn

      Jan 30, 2015 at 1:17pm

      I agree with Travis. The numbers that are put out about harassment and bullying in the government workplace is meaningless (I however believe that the numbers given are a lot lower; many prefer to keep the issue on the low and prefer not to report it). However, there is a rise in workplace bullying and mobbing. It is a complex issue that is not well understood. BCGEU should have better numbers as they "own" the grievances - I am not sure if they use the data collected on their forms or how they categorize their data. WorksafeBC may have a bit more data, as workplace bullying and harassment is an OH&S issue that they have to investigate.

      Bullying and harassment infects a workplace. It causes lost productivity (as people get pulled into the conflict), it causes people to become disengaged or lowered morale - it causes a toxic environment.

      The losers are the workers (who put up with the toxic environment) and citizens (as Government has to spend money either keeping things quiet, paying out health benefits, etc.). The question I have, is given the vast amounts of leadership training, HR support and legislation around labour/employment, why is there still bullying, harassment and mobbing in the workplace?