N.W.T. harassment charges soar

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The Government of the Northwest Territories has responded to a growing number of complaints of harassment in the workplace at the Keewatin Regional Health Board and has ordered an investigation into the working environment.

A total of 27 grievances have been lodged against the KRHB with the Union of Northern Workers and 19 with the Status of Women Council of the N.W.T. concerning both sexual and racial harassment at the board.

The GNWT has acquired the services of the former chair of the Labour Relations Board of British Columbia, Donald Munroe, who is expected to complete his report by October. Munroe is to make recommendations dealing with the work environment of the staff and the application of policies dealing with the investigation of staff complaints.

Lynn Brooks, executive director of the Status of Women Council, said her organization was drawn into the issue last December when a woman complained of "horrendous sexual harassment' at KRHB. The woman said she was getting no support from the board and the investigation of the abuses was dragging on.

"It wasn't just your usual dirty talk in the coffee room. This was big stuff," said Brooks.

The woman was attacked by a person she worked with. He broke into her apartment and was stalking her, Brooks said. The victim told Brooks the incident wasn't isolated.

When Brooks put out the word she would be available to talk to other workers from the board, she was surprised when she was visited by 13 women over the course of one afternoon.

"Usually, Inuit people, particularly from small communities, are very reticent about talking about their problems and their issues and to complain about anything," she said.

In one instance of racial abuse, a supervisor would stand in front of an Inuit worker's desk and say the Inuit were disgusting because they ate raw food, whale blubber and oil. She said Inuit were dirty, lazy, and a health hazard to non-Inuit people, said Brooks.

"A number of the non-Inuit employees had said that they had witnessed it and heard this going on.

"They had complained about it. The victim herself had complained on several occasions to the executive director and nothing was being done," said Brooks

The executive director of KRHB was appointed the designated sexual harassment officer at the board, in keeping with the GNWT's sexual harassment policy.

The battle the union and the Status of Women are now fighting is against government policy. Brooks believes workplace supervisors should not be responsible for investigations into sexual harassment.

Both organizations have informed the workers at KRHB that if they have a problem they should bypass the government policies and go directly to the union.