VICTORIA – In an effort to stop on-the-job harassment and provide better protections for victims, New Democrat MLA Raj Chouhan reintroduced the Workplace Bullying Prevention Act Tuesday in the legislature.
“We keep hearing horror stories involving bullying and harassment, some of them high-profile cases affecting workers in all sectors of the province,” said Chouhan. “It can do immeasurable harm to workers’ well-being and also hurts employers by being bad for business.
“This bill will raise awareness of the problem and take practical steps to decrease any kind of tolerance for this kind of behaviour,” said Chouhan, the MLA for Burnaby–Edmunds.
Chouhan urged the Liberal government to adopt the legislation, noting Tuesday marks the third time in three years he has introduced the bill in the B.C. legislature, but the Liberals have failed to act each time.
The proposed act defines harassment and provides measures and procedures for workers to report incidents of workplace harassment. It also outlines policy for investigating incidents and making workers accountable for acts of harassment.
The bill also targets the reduction and elimination of workplace bullying by modifying the Workers Compensation Act, and would allow incidents of workplace harassment to be investigated, compensated, and dealt with in the same manner as workplace accidents. It would provide less strenuous requirements for the award of compensation for mental stress in situations that involve harassment and require employers of 10 more employees to write and implement a policy on harassment.
Chouhan is calling for measure to enforce the bill by ensuring a copy of the workplace harassment policy is readily available for review by the employer’s workers and, at each workplace where workers of the employer are regularly employed.
“Despite more policies being adopted by employers to prevent the personal and psychological bullying and harassment of employees, we still see cases and the cost is appalling in terms of stress and sick leave, long-term disability, costly and time-consuming lawsuits and staff turnover. It affects worker and company morale and productivity,” said Chouhan.
“It is time for the Liberal government to take real action against bullying by passing this legislation so that every worker is able to earn a living without being subjected to fear and intimidation.”
Adrian Dix and B.C.’s New Democrats are offering change for the better, one practical step at a time.
A copy of the Workplace Bullying Prevention Act is attached.