Bill 168
Violence and Harassment
Bill 168 was passed on June 15th 2010 to strengthen the protection for workers from workplace
violence and address workplace harassment. In an article published by the Ministry of Labour on May 10th 2010 the Ministry sites activities
that increase the risk of workplace violence to include handling cash, protecting or securing valuables, transporting people and goods,
public or community contact, working alone or with just a few people or working late at night or very early morning. It would
appear the Bill was developed for the public service industry however this is not the case. The new bill applies to all companies
with 5 or more employees. DTI Solutions has developed a comprehensive multi-step program that addresses all the components required
for traditional industrial based operations.
Policy Development
DTI provides custom policy development that addresses the specific
requirement of the company with respect to violence and harassment. Policies are to be signed and dated, posted in the workplace and
be reviewed at least annually.
Program Development
DTI conducts exploratory research into your company to identify the program
requirements. The research explores the company activities, management structure and worker mix. The program documents
the measures and procedures for indentifying the risks and controlling workplace violence and harassment including domestic violence.
The program provides measures and procedures for summoning immediate assistance when violence occurs, reporting procedures for employees,
managing, investigating, and implementing controls.
Assessment
DTI implements a unique assessment process for determining the
potential for workplace violence and harassment. The assessment strategy is a confidential survey that is targeted to managers, supervisors
and team leaders. The survey measures potential sources of tension and stress in the workplace including interpersonal relationships
and workflow issues. The result of the assessment survey provides the company a relevant study of the potential sources of tension.
For each source of tension DTI has developed control measures to implement, should a source of tension erupt into a violent act or
become cause of harassment.
The assessment is conducted annually providing a year to year comparison, adjusting the controls
if required. After one year DTI also conducts a survey and analyses of incidents of violence or harassment that have occurred
to measure the effectiveness of the controls. The DTI assessment survey is available on-line.
Training
DTI provides employee
and management training for Bill 168. Employee training includes the definitions of violence and harassment under Bill 168, the application
of the law, management and employee responsibilities. In addition, employee training details the standards and procedures for
reporting instances of violence and harassment and workers rights under the law.
Management training is provided for all company
employees that control workers or processes. The training includes Bill 168 definitions of violence and harassment, the results
of the assessment survey and subsequent control measures, the employer’s responsibilities and the procedures to be followed by management
when violence and harassment occur. Employee and management training programs are available on-line.