Many of our members at the Pacific Processing Centre (PPC) have raised concerns to the Union about workplace bullying. For example, MAM 10 and MAM 11 members from Shift 3 were told by management during a recent pre-shift meeting to not rest their eyes, even if they were on their scheduled 15-minute break or scheduled 30-minute lunch break. This sort of comment is unreasonable and unacceptable in the workplace and undermines our work ethic. This is a form of bullying, which violates Article 33 of our Collective Agreement, signed by both parties. We all should stand together to stop comments like this towards our members.
In a separate incident, a weekend supervisor stationed in the VEO inbound section of the PPC has become renowned for behavior that is divisive and disrespectful. As a result, their behavior has permeated across the entire work-floor. This particular supervisor prefers to address employees by calling them “YOU” and by pointing their finger at them and saying, “HEY YOU!” or “HEY YOU, I AM TALKING TO YOU!” On many occasions, members have gone to this person and told them their name, but the supervisor deliberately chose not to listen and continually refused to address members by their actual names.
In addition to the aforementioned behavior, another example of bullying is this person’s habit of walking back and forth beside our members’ work stations and addressing them in a loud and rude voice. Specifically, telling them that, “ALL THE BREAKDOWN PEOPLE COME DO THE BREAKDOWN – YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! LET’S FINISH IT FAST.” Additionally, it seems this VEO supervisor enjoys following our members to the washroom and recording the time they spend there, often waiting for our members to come out of the washroom and then proceeds to stare at them. This is unacceptable behavior! They were hired to manage mail processing, not bully the Workers! When these incidents were reported to the Union, we met with management on October 6th, 2015, to discuss the supervisor’s behaviour towards our members.During that meeting, management assured the Union that they would be talking to the supervisor about their behavior and provided assurances it would stop. To date, our members have reported that no change in behaviour towards employees from this person has occurred.
In another example of recent workplace bullying at the PPC, a management representative of the Local Health & Safety committee was caught yelling at one of our members on Shift #2. In this case, our member was not only singled out and embarrassed in front of her co-workers, but also was left in tears at the same time. This issue was brought to the attention ofone of our day shift Shop Stewards. Under Article 9.07 of the Collective Agreement, a complaint session was arranged between the Shop Steward and management, along with the member. After spending some time in the meeting, this issue was resolved when management agreed to apologize to the member for their inappropriate behavior.
As we see more and more new members arrive at the PPC, bullying and intimidation may be a tactic by management to use fear and intimidation on the work floor, especially when we are about to go into contract negotiations. In any case, I encourage you all to seek proper help and guidance from your Shop Stewards – they play an important role in exposing and preventing workplace bullying or violence. No worker deserves to be disrespected by his/her supervisor or manager. A supervisor, when he or she shouts or criticizes his/her employees, demonstrates poor leadership and makes the workplace unpleasant. This type of behaviour is unacceptable and is not in line with Canada Post’s own corporate values. If workplace bullying isn’t addressed and eliminated in a timely manner, it becomes rampant. All workplace bullying incidents should be addressed, reported and resolved quickly. If not, Canada Post puts its own corporate values at risk. If left to continue unchecked, this type of behaviour becomes part of the workplace culture.
To help end bullying in the work place, I encourage you all to report each and every incident to your Shop Steward or Union representative immediately. Seek help and guidance through your Union and take every step to end bullying. Respect adds value.
“Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.” – Arundhati Roy
In Sol,
Anju Urie-Parmar
Chief Shop Steward, Shift 2
ck/CUPE-3338