The northern construction industry is fighting worksite bullying and harassment with a free training program.
Training on how best to deal with the perpetrators and targets of worksite bullying and harassment in the construction industry was announced today (Aug 20) in Prince George.
It’s called Builder’s Code and it provides training for site supervisors, forepersons and union business managers.
The training was announced by Northern Regional Construction Association (NRCA) CEO Scott Bone and includes a new local employer advisor for the northern region.
“It is no longer acceptable in a construction workplace for an employee to be harassed, to be bullied or to be discriminated against,” says Bone. “The NRCA in consultation work with industry has really identified that in construction sites the area around harassment and bullying has been kind of the standard for many, many years and it’s time to change that culture.”
About 30 employers in Prince George have signed the acceptable worksite pledge. (via Hanna Petersen) The first training session was launched a pilot project in Prince George in May of last year, and Bone says they had a huge response.
“Through the province, this builders code is widely accepted by our 1,600 members,” says Bone. “Many of our members in the northern region have really recognized the challenges of workplace harassment and bullying so they’ve asked us to take a leadership role and start to develop the awareness, the training, and to have the tools available to help them.”
Diane Bourret, is the new employer advisor who will work with the B.C. Builders Code team to help northern construction employers and unions retain their tradespeople through a wide range of free advisory services including dispute resolution and mitigation.
“A lot of employers have been singing the acceptable worksite pledge saying 'Yes, we want to be involved'. So far, we have had 30 companies sign on to the pledge in the Prince George region,” says Bourret. “I think in the training we learn that we have all been exposed to bullying and harassment whether we have been a bystander or its actually happened to us and how it has affected us and the stress that it causes.”
Bourret has 20 years’ experience as an HR professional, certified professional coach, and training facilitator with organizations such as Canfor and the City of Prince George.
She says businesses want to increase productivity and safety and addressing bullying and harassment is one of the key areas that will help them attract and retain skilled workers.
The training workshops were developed by experienced training providers in partnership with project partners including BCCA, the Industry Training Authority (ITA), WorkSafeBC, and the Minerva Foundation of B.C., and are free during the pilot phase of the Builders Code.
Registration for the workshops will be available through the NRCA.
The training workshops will take place:
- Oct. 7 = Prince George - Site supervisors, forepersons, union business managers
- Oct. 22 = Williams Lake - Corporate leaders, executives and HR personnel
- Oct. 23 = Williams Lake - Site supervisors, forepersons, union business managers
- Oct. 30 = Fort St. John - Corporate leaders, executives and HR personnel
- Oct. 31 = Fort St. John - Site supervisors, forepersons, union business managers
Registration for the free training workshops is available on the NRCA website or by contacting Maria O’Neill-Plouffe, manager of education and events, at mariaoneill-plouffe@nrca.ca or 250-563-1744.
