We must actually apply the policies put in place against harassment at work, according to a lawyer, who believes that direct dismissal could be a solution.
“Normally, to end an employment relationship, you have to go through a gradation of sanctions […]but if we make sure to say that when there is severe harassment, we will not go through the gradation of sanctions and it is automatically dismissal, perhaps we would have a little more coercive effects on people,” said Me Sophie Mongeon, labor law lawyer.
The Press recently revealed the ordeal that a Canada Post mail carrier has been going through for over a year when he was the victim of homophobic harassment in his workplace, leading to psychological exhaustion. Despite several complaints, notably to the police, the Human Rights Commission, the union and the employer, the situation persists.
“In the case here of Canada Post, the attacker is very, very clever, because the gentleman [la victime] did everything he had to do […] and I don’t see where there is bad faith here on the part of Canada Post, I rather think that the harasser is very cunning,” she detailed.
According to the lawyer, harassment at work has become more and more common in recent years, despite the policies put in place.
“When it’s time to film the workers to see if they are working, we have a mass of investigators and the means to follow them, so perhaps, in this context, we don’t have taken seriously enough and we find ourselves in the situation we are in today,” she added.
