The Thompson-Nicola Regional District boardroom.
Image Credit: TWITTER / Thompson-Nicola Regional District
February 21, 2020 - 4:46 PM
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has had its wrist slapped by WorkSafeBC in two consecutive orders relating to its internal policies dealing with workplace bullying and harassment.
The inspection was done as part of WorkSafeBC’s regular prevention process, and it found the regional district's staff haven’t been trained on bullying and harassment, nor do they have adequate policies and procedures on what to do in the event of an issue.
A Jan. 24 inspection of the district was done by WorkSafeBC inspection officer Erin Guy. A document obtained by iNFOnews.ca shows that there are two outstanding orders.
One of the orders notes the regional district did not create an adequate policy and procedure for dealing with workplace harassment. In the regional district's policy, it did not outline how to report incidents, such as verbally or written, what to include in a harassment report, when to report an incident or what to include in the report. It also failed to describe roles and responsibilities, how investigations would be conducted and how records would be kept. The regional district's policy was also not compliant with WorkSafeBC because it didn’t include a provision for annual review, a simplified chart for employees to understand the process and additional steps, nor did it include an arrangement for record-keeping. The regional district must fix these issues and was to create a detailed document of policy and procedures by today, Feb. 21.
It also stipulates an employer who fails to comply with the Workers Compensation Act, the Occupational Health & Safety Regulation, or WorkSafeBC orders may face fines or other sanctions.
In another order, WorkSafeBC directed the regional district to provide workers and supervisors with bullying and harassment training without delay. They must provide evidence of this training, such as names of attendees and training content, to a WorkSafeBC officer by the end of the day today.
Multiple calls to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District have not yet been returned.
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