Legislated help for those who are, or might be bullied or harassed on the job was publicized by the provincial government on May 2.
A government press release declared, in part,"A pledge to prevent workplace bullying and harassment was made in conjunction with amendments to Bill 14 tabled by Margaret, Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government."
Related actions now at the government's disposal include:
• WorkSafeBC will immediately begin work on a policy on Bullying and Harassment and will include stakeholder consultation.
* The definition of violence will be expanded and will require employers to have formal prevention plans.
* WorkSafeBC will also develop a prevention toolkit for employers and workers.
* Through Bill 14, workers' compensation will be expanded to include diagnosed mental disorders caused by significant work-related stressors, including bullying and harassment.
"Our government's position on bullying is straightforward - it's simply not acceptable at any level," said Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government on the legislation.
"That's why one of the most important changes we made was to add specific references to bullying and harassment. "WorkSafeBC will develop and add new policy to the current violence in the workplace regulations and provide tools to address these destructive behaviours. Stakeholders will be consulted on this important work."
Said Greg D'Avignon, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, "The employer community supports these reasonable proposed amendments to Bill 14, and we fully support the clear statement that bullying or harassment are not acceptable in the workplace."
Kootenay West MLA, Katrine Conroy, asked to comment on the announcement, saw room for improvement in the legislation.
“In November 2011, Bill 14 was introduced by Government and the Minister simply made amendments this week," she stated in an email to the Castlegar News.
"While the Government has brought in Bill 14 to address workplace bullying it has actually made it more difficult to get compensation for stress related work issues. With this Bill there is more administration, paperwork and higher degree of assessment needed for compensation. In February of this year my colleague, Raj Chouhan, presented a Private Members Bill that is much more inclusive and allows for easier compensation for victims.”