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           Shipping Stevedoring Port Services Hydrocarbons Diving  Sep-Oct 2008        |
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Women@Work: Your RightsHarassment
It is an expression of perceived power and superiority by the harasser(s) over another person, usually for reasons over the victim has little or no control: sex, race, age, creed, colour, marital status, sexual preference, disability, political or religious affiliation, or place of natural origin. Harassment on any of these grounds can be made the basis of a complaint to all state and federal human rights commissions. Harassment can be defined as any unwelcome action by any person, in particular, by management, customer, client and/or co-worker, whether verbal or physical, on a single or repeated basis which humiliates, insults or degrades. "Unwelcome" or "unwanted" in this context means actions which the harasser knows or ought reasonably to know are not desired by the victim of the harassment. Sexual harassment is any unwanted attention of a sexual nature, such as remarks about appearance or personal life, offensive written or visual action, like graffiti or degrading pictures, physical contact of any kind, or sexual demands. Racial harassment is any action, whether verbal or physical that expresses or promotes racial hatred in the workplace such as racial slurs, written or visually offensive actions, jokes or any other comments or acts. By pitting certain groups of workers, such as women or ethnic minorities, against others, harassment creates a climate of intolerance and division among the membership. By eroding our unity and strength, it can weaken the effectiveness at the bargaining table or on a picket line. It is the responsibility of management to ensure that the workplace is free of harassment. But just leaving the issue up to management is not good enough. Our goal as a union must be to help create a workplace environment free of harassment. That means not only dealing with complaints when they arrive, but also watching for instances of harassment and confronting the source. The role of the union is crucial in combating harassment. If a worker believes that he or she is being harassed at work and wants help, the incident must be brought to the immediate attention of the site committee. The experience of harassment can be overwhelming for the victim. People often react with shock, humiliation and intense anger. Therefore, the victim of harassment may not always feel comfortable going through the normal channels for resolving such a problem. Because of the sensitive, personal nature of harassment complaints, especially racial and sexual harassment, the victim may prefer initially to seek other assistance. This could be any union elected person or official, including the Women's Liaison Officer. This person could assist the harassment victim in bringing the incident(s) to the attention of the branch union leadership. The union secretary and the delegate must contact the MUA national office, and if necessary, they will meet with a senior company representative(s) to carry out an investigation. The issue must be handled with confidentiality, and is to be resolved within 10 working days of notifying the delegate and site committee. The branch secretary must notify the MUA national office about the complaint and its resolution. Any resolution of harassment complaint must reflect the serious nature of such acts, and send a clear signal that they will not be tolerated. All of us, as union members must challenge harassment whenever it occurs. We must ensure that the dignity of our brothers and sisters is not threatened by harassment. |
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