This booklet was developed to help OPSEU/SEFPO locals build strength from within and organize effectively to protect members from violence and harassment in their workplaces. It contains tools and information about their rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and can aid in the empowerment and mobilization of members to ensure employers fulfill their obligations, to properly assess the workplace and control the hazards of violence and harassment in the workplace.
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Threats, Harassment and Abuse
It’s not part of the job!
It is an unfortunate reality, every day in workplaces right across Ontario, workers are physically assaulted, threatened, sexually or racially harassed, and verbally abused. All too often employers have accepted the notion that violence is simply part of the job. Some employers categorize these incidents as an unavoidable condition of employment and a risk that workers must assume in return for a job. Sometimes forgotten in this cycle, is the real and lingering impact to workers’ when there is continuous exposure or a constant fear of violence in the workplace.
Violence in the workplace impacts the working lives of far too many OPSEU/SEFPO members. Whether its community housing workers attempting to help the homeless amidst a housing shortage; Emergency Medical Services (EMS) first responders trying to save a life while being threatened at knifepoint; correctional workers trying to maintain a safe and secure environment, despite continuous staffing shortages and reduced self-defence options; workplace violence is an issue every day, seemingly everywhere that puts workers’ very lives at risk.
In June 2014, three unarmed youth services officers were suddenly attacked and brutally assaulted by the planned and coordinated actions of seven residents at a ministry operated youth facility in Brampton, ON. All of the officers sustained serious critical injuries. After recovering from their injuries, none of the officers returned to this workplace.
In February 2019, after months of being witnesses and victims of surging incidents of violent robberies and store thefts totaling potentially millions of dollars in lost revenue, OPSEU/SEFPO’s LBED members rallied and demanded their employer take action to protect their workplace. The LCBO yielded to the action of the members and among several changes, also made the decision to hire paid-duty police officers to routinely patrol several LCBO retail locations in Toronto.
In July 2020, 63year old Karen Gottschalk-Millar, a proud OPSEU/SEFPO member and a valued and respected Residential Counsellor at a group home in Kemptville, ON was murdered by a resident of a privately operated facility for developmentally disabled adults. Karen was working an overnight shift – alone!
The truth is – violence is NOT a condition of employment that anyone agrees to be subjected to when accepting any job. Agreeing to be assaulted, harassed, or abused is not written into a job description.
It has been said before, but it must be said again – enough is enough!
– OPSEU/SEFPO Worker Safety Unit
Occupational Health and Safety Act
After the 2010 workplace murder of Windsor nurse Lori Dupont, it took years of extensive lobbying and activism by OPSEU/SEFPO members and other unionized workers to persuade the government to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to recognize violence and harassment as workplace hazards.
The introduction of “Bill 168” in April 2009 called for amendments to the Act that would place a number of requirements on employers. These include:
- Development of workplace violence and harassment policies,
- The policy must be posted at a conspicuous location in the workplace.
- Workers must be provided information and instruction about the policies and the workplace violence prevention program,
- The employer must perform risk assessments,
- Employers must implement a means to summon immediate assistance and put in place controls to address the risks of violence that are identified in the risk assessment.
- If domestic violence could likely expose workers to physical injury in the workplace, the employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of the worker
- Workers must be advised if they may come into contact with any person(s) with a history of violence in workplace
These measures came finally came into effect June 15, 2010.
In 2016, “Bill 132”, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment) amended six statutes, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The added changes included:
- Entitlement for complainants and respondents to receive written investigation results and information about corrective action (if any) that’s been taken,
- Employers must maintain confidentiality as much as they can until necessary to investigate or take remedial action,
- The requirement and ability for Ministry ordered investigations that “must be appropriate in the circumstances”. This means that workers can expect fairness in the process, whether they are complainants or respondents.
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has created a Workplace Harassment Code of Practice to help interpret the amendments. Codes of practice are guidelines that explain how employers can comply with OHSA requirements.
With employer obligations regarding harassment now strengthened, and the workplace violence provisions in the Act initiated over thirteen years ago, workers and activists need to actively assert their rights for safer and healthier workplaces, free of all undesirable behaviours such as workplace bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, threats of violence, actual or attempted violence, and being subjected to being a witness of reoccurring trauma in their workplaces. The fact is, workers can suffer detrimental and life-altering emotional effects from all of these behaviours. Therefore, prevention is critical.
The job ahead for all of us, including employers, is to work to prevent occurrences, make the necessary changes to prevent reoccurrences as well as to fight for and demand better support and appropriate compensation that includes income replacement for workers who are unfortunately injured physically or emotionally as a result of these types of “people” hazards at work.
Our objectives are clear:
- We want an end to all forms of workplace violence and harassment, before more workers are killed, injured, or psychologically harmed.
- We want employers to comply with the Act.
- We want written workplace policies that tolerate no violence, abuse, or harassment.
- We want proper assessments of the hazard of violence in the workplace and regular reviews of those assessments, which includes consulting workers and joint health and safety committees (JHSC) or Health and Safety Representatives (HSR).
- We want effective procedures to assess potentially violent behaviour.
- We want effective programs and procedures to back up the policies and protect workers.
- We want our work and our work environment designed to protect and promote health and safety.
- We want an information system that gives workers timely and accurate information about persons with a history of violence.
- We want appropriate staff levels and scheduling to prevent and deal with violence.
- We want regular staff training in recognizing and defusing potentially violent situations.
- We want effective security measures and communication systems.
- We want protection plans for workers at risk of domestic violence that may enter the workplace.
- We want effective follow-up to violent incidents, including mandatory reporting and investigation.
- We want support for victims of violence and harassment that includes critical incident stress debriefing, counseling and when necessary, return to work modification and accommodation.
- We want the MLITSD to enforce the health and safety Act in all areas of workplace violence.
- We want employers held accountable for failure to comply with their legislated obligations to protect workers from violence, harassment and bullying in the workplace.
Our motto is clear:
Kill a worker – go to jail!
What is violence in the workplace?
The Occupational Health and Safety Act defines workplace violence as:
- The exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker,
- An attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker,
- A statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against the worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker.
OHSA Sec 1
OPSEU/SEFPO considers workplace violence to be any act of aggression that causes physical or emotional harm to a worker, including:
Assault
Any attempt to inflict physical harm on a worker, the worker’s family, or property, including aggressive acts which do not involve contact or result in physical injury.
Threat
Any verbal or physical action indicating an intent to inflict injury on a worker, the worker’s family or property.
Domestic Violence
Violence from a current or former intimate partner that would likely expose a worker to physical injury that may occur in the workplace.
The Act now requires employers to put measures in place to protect a worker from domestic violence that may enter the workplace. If an employer is made aware of the threat of domestic violence, the Act requires the employer to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of the worker. An example of a precaution could be the development of a safety plan to protect the worker(s) at risk.
What is harassment in the workplace?
The Act defines workplace sexual harassment as:
“Engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome”, or
“Making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome”.
OHSA Sec 1
The Act defines workplace harassment as:
“Engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome”, or
(b) Workplace sexual harassment
OHSA Sec 1
Forms of harassment include:
Verbal abuse
Unwanted comment that offends, humiliates, demeans, or engenders anxiety or fear.
Bullying
Repeated, mistreatment, verbal abuse, or conduct which is threatening, humiliating, intimidating, or sabotage that interferes with work.
Sexual harassment
Any unwanted verbal or physical sexual attention including patting or touching, sexual invitation, leering, displaying pornography, stalking and rape.
Racial/religious harassment
Any unwanted comment referring to the worker’s religious affiliation or racial background that attempts to humiliate or demean a worker.
It is also important to remember, the Act defines a “workplace” to be:
“any land, premises, location or thing at, upon, in or near which a worker works”.
OHSA Sec. 1
How extensive is violence in the workplace?
The true extent of violence in the workplace is not clear. Many attacks go unreported, and injuries reported to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) may not be clearly reported as a violence-related occurrence. The available statistics on violence and harassment in the workplace are staggering and very revealing. All forms of research indicate theses very real hazards are on the rise right across Canada and the impacts can be found in every sector.
Harassment and Violence in Canadian Workplaces research report
In March 2022, Researchers from the Canadian Labour Congress and their partners at Western University and the University of Toronto released results from their survey on harassment and violence in Canadian workplaces.
The survey encompassed a wide cross section of workers and workplaces with nearly 5,000 participants. Of note, workplaces such as healthcare, education, social services, and public administration represented the majority of the survey sample size. The results of the survey are troubling to say the least. Some of the findings include:
- 88% of workers who experienced harassment and violence were “transferred, suspended, fired, or lost a shift” due to the harassment and violence
- 70% of workers who experienced harassment and violence had to miss work because of the negative effects.
- 7 in 10 workers have experienced a form of harassment and violence at work.
- Nearly 1 in 2 workers have experienced sexual harassment and violence in the last two years.
- Women, transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse workers are experiencing higher rates of harassment and violence.
- Indigenous survey respondents experienced significantly higher rates of harassment and violence (79%) and sexual harassment and violence (47.8%)
Click here to view the Harassment and Violence in Canadian Workplaces Research Report
Harassment in Canadian Workplaces, Insights on Canadian Society
A December 2018 Statistics Canada report entitled Harassment in Canadian Workplaces, Insights on Canadian Society, revealed some truly staggering facts. They include:
- Overall, 19% of women and 13% of men reported that they had experienced harassment in their workplace in the previous year.
- The most common type of workplace harassment was verbal abuse—13% of women and 10% of men.
- Among women who reported sexual harassment, more than half were targeted by clients or customers.
- Workers in health occupations are the most likely to report having been harassed on the job in the past year.
- About 47% of men and 34% of women who had been harassed by a supervisor or manager had a weak sense of belonging to their current organization.
Click here to view the Harassment in Canadian Workplaces study
Ontario’s latest health and safety stats
In Ontario, archived WSIB statistical records indicate a sharp rise in the total number of allowed lost-time injuries for schedule 1 and schedule 2 employers for incidents directly related to violence and harassment in the workplace. The health care sector had 627 such incidents in 2008 and as many as 846 incidents by 2017. Meanwhile, violence and harassment for schedule 2 employers increased from 1,053 to 1,732 within the same time-period.
Click here to view the complete Archived Statistical Chart
Experiences of violence and harassment at work: A global first survey
Experiences of violence and harassment at work: A global first survey is a 2022 report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Gallup, an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C.
Based on interviews with nearly 125,000 individuals in 121 countries and territories, the report findings focussed exclusively on 74,364 respondents who were in employment at the time of the interviews. It clearly identifies the issue of workplace violence and harassment is a definite problem for workers worldwide. Arguably, some of the most alarming revelations from this report include:
- More than 3 out of 5 victims said they had experienced violence and harassment at work multiple times.
According to the report, it takes more than one incident of violence and harassment before some victims disclose their experiences to someone else.
The reasons given by victims (survivors) for failing or delaying to speak out about these incidents included respondents expressing they…:
- “Think it’s a waste of time” (55%)
- “Fear for their reputation” (44.5%)
- “Think the procedures at work are unclear” (42.5%)
- “Are concerned about people finding out at work” (40.8%)
- “Don’t know what to do” (38.3%)
- “Fear some form of punishment” (33.2%)
Click here to review Experiences of violence and harassment at work: A global first survey
What are the health effects of violence?
Workplace Violence can cause more than physical pain
In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies workplace violence into two broad categories:
- Physical violence – the use of physical force leading to physical and psychological harm
- Emotional violence – the use of nonphysical means leading to psychological harm.
The 2020 Canadian study Workplace Violence among British Columbia Nurses expands these categories when it found from the over 4,000 nurses who participated:
- Direct involvement in emotional abuse (e.g., insults, gestures) (83%),
- Direct threat of assault (e.g., verbal, or written threats intending harm) (78%),
- Direct physical assault (e.g., bitten, hit, pushed) (67%),
- Direct verbal sexual harassment (e.g., unwanted intimate remarks of a sexual nature) (55%), and
- Direct sexual assault (e.g., forcible touching and fondling) (11%)
Perhaps not surprising, the study also consistently found patients and their visitors to be the most common instigators of violence towards nurses, accounting for over 90% of physical and nonphysical workplace violence.
Click here to read Workplace Violence among British Columbia Nurses
Victims of workplace violence suffer more than physical injury and pain. Assault victims have a high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an acute psychological reaction to extreme stress common among combat veterans and victims of terrorism.
Symptoms of PTSD can include severe anxiety, depression, fatigue, emotional preoccupations with the event, loss of concentration, flashbacks, and nightmares. It can impair ability to work and can damage family and social relations.
What are the health effects of harassment?
Workers who are subject to constant verbal abuse or harassment, or who work with constant fear of assault are chronically stressed. They are at high risk for digestive disorders and heart disease and potentially a host of other health concerns
A daily dose of emotional stress can lead to serious physical and psychological problems. Common symptoms include chronic fatigue, fear and anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, and possibly even symptoms like those seen in post-traumatic stress disorder.
Research identifies harassment as a contributing risk factor to several “Psychosocial Hazards” that may be present in the workplace. When combined, these psychosocial hazards contribute to decreases in a worker’s involvement and influence in the workplace, work life balance, personal and professional growth, and overall, the mental and physical health of the worker.
The Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), in partnership with the Mental Injury Tool Group (MIT) has developed an online resource called stressassess.ca, which features a survey you can take as an individual and as an organization. It can help in identifying and eliminating psychological hazards and improve the workplace environment.
Click here to view more information or take the survey – as an individual or organization
Myths about Workplace Violence
It is essential that workplace violence be seen as serious, recognizable, and preventable – just like any other health and safety hazard. There are some myths about workplace violence that act as serious barriers to prevention. These need to be debunked.
Myth: Workers accept that risks are inherent in the job
Mental health facilities, correctional facilities and several other workplaces are widely viewed by some as inherently dangerous. It is assumed that workers who take these jobs are paid to accept the inherent dangers and shouldn’t complain about something that cannot be changed.
The reasoning behind this is scientifically wrong. While violence cannot be completely eliminated, it can be significantly reduced. The fact that a job may be inherently prone to violence does not mean that nothing should be done. It only means that extra efforts need to be made to ensure the worker’s security. This includes providing workers with enough resources, training, staffing and the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to enable workers to work as safely as possible.
Myth: Workplace violence is random, unpredictable, and therefore uncontrollable
In fact, most violent acts are predictable, even in non-violent jobs where “random” acts occur. Experience and research demonstrate that the potential for workplace violence can be assessed, and measures can be put in place to reduce and even eliminate the risks. Experts in the field have developed a detailed list of risk factors that are good predictors of violence.
What factors contribute to the risk of workplace violence?
Environmental factors
Environmental factors that predict violence include; workplaces in a known violent neighborhood or in a location at risk of a violent crime, isolated workplaces, or workplaces with little street life such as an industrial park.
Work practices
Work practices that predict violence include; low staffing levels, working alone, handling cash, long waits for services by clients or a lack of services and programs for clients. Having to say “no” to a client.
Human factors
Persons more likely to commit violent acts include; gang members, relatives or visitors of injured persons, drug users, people with a history of violent behaviour, and abusive former or current intimate partners.
Higher risk occupations
Higher risk occupations include: workers who work with the developmentally handicapped; workers who provide care, advice and information such as health care workers, mental health workers, public health nurses, emergency services workers, admissions workers and social services workers; workers who deal with public complaints such as welfare workers and unemployment workers; workers who enforce laws and conduct inspections such as children’s aid workers, labour inspectors, law enforcement and corrections officers and security guards; workers who work alone or who work at late hours such as health care workers, custodians and inspectors; workers who handle cash or valuable goods.
Why are workers assaulted?
Violence is not an inevitable consequence of working with people who may be potentially violent. Violence is a consequence of an unsafe work environment – an environment in which the hazards are not properly assessed or controlled.
Patients or clients who may be frustrated, anxious, mentally disturbed or under the influence of drugs are potentially violent. They often lash out at whoever is closest – often the worker. Conditions resulting from cuts to health institutions and social service agencies often contribute to frustration. It’s a vicious cycle. Cuts make it hard for workers to provide the care clients need. Clients suffer, become frustrated and lash out.
The following factors increase the risk of workplace violence:
- Understaffing, particularly working alone or in small numbers.
- Working at night or in the early morning hours.
- Service delivery delays that cause client or customer frustration and anger.
- Handling cash, goods, or medications without effective violence prevention measures in place.
- Working with unstable or volatile clients particularly if they have little or no support.
- Providing “forced care,” such as court-ordered medications or seclusion.
- Working in a community-based setting such as home care or developmental services where workplace violence prevention policies and programs do not exist.
- Transporting people without effective violence prevention measures in place.
- Securing, transporting, or protecting valuable goods without effective violence prevention measures in place.
In addition to the factors described above, employer actions or inactions may also contribute to an increased risk of violence against workers. If employers fail to ensure that the following steps are taken, violence risks may increase:
- Properly assess and identify hazards of violence.
- Develop and implement proper policies, controls, and training programs.
- Warn workers about persons with a history of violence.
- Design safety into the workplace.
- Develop and implement emergency and communication procedures.
- Train workers to recognize and defuse potentially violent persons and violent situations.
- Have a plan to protect a worker from domestic violence that might occur in the workplace.
- A written commitment to review policies, controls, and training programs to identify effectiveness.
- Consistent and thorough compliance with 32.0.3(4) of the OHSA.
With regard to the overall physical design or layout of the workplace, employers rarely consult workers, the JHSC or HSRs. Local police services are a good resource for assistance for any workplace seeking to reduce unwanted behaviours, including preventing potential criminal activity by utilizing a philosophy known as “CPTED” (pronounced sep-ted). Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, employs a variety of principles including; access control, natural surveillance, activity support, maintenance and more. Using CPTED principles can reduce the risks of unwanted behaviours at your workplace. Consider contacting your local police service for more information.
Because workplace violence can be predicted, the best way to mitigate its impact to workers is to conduct thorough and routine workplace violence assessments. The Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA) has created a violence risk-assessment tool that can be used for any sector or workplace.
What are the employer’s obligations with respect to workplace violence and harassment?
OHSA – Part III.0.1 Violence and Harassment. Under Sec. 32 of the Act, the employer must:
- Prepare policies to address workplace violence and workplace harassment and post them in a conspicuous place in the workplace.
- Perform an assessment of the risks of workplace violence to workers and provide the results of the assessment to the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) or Health and Safety representative.
- Develop and maintain workplace violence and harassment programs.
- Provide information and instruction to workers on the content of the workplace violence and harassment policies and programs.
- The workplace violence and workplace harassment policies must be reviewed at least annually.
- The employer is required to reassess the risks of violence “as often as is necessary” to ensure the policy and program continue to protect workers.
The workplace violence program must contain:
- Measures and procedures to control risks identified in the risk assessment.
- Measures and procedures for summoning immediate assistance when workplace violence occurs or is likely to occur.
- Measures and procedures for reporting workplace violence.
- Set out how the employer will investigate and deal with incidents or complaints of workplace violence.
Domestic violence
The employer must put measures in place to protect a worker from domestic violence that may enter the workplace. If an employer becomes aware of the threat of domestic violence, he/she will be expected to develop a safety plan to protect the worker(s) at risk. The safety plan might include things such as increased security measures, alternate work arrangements and/or an emergency communications plan.
Provision of information under workplace violence program
The employer must warn workers about the threat of violence from individuals (“violence from a person”). This includes violence from any person that the worker can be expected to encounter in the course of their work – patients, doctors, families, clients, customers, residents, inmates, and other workers – if there is a risk that the worker will be exposed to physical injury.
This implies some sort of flagging system