Will the new workers’ rights treaty protect the employees?

Although a global workers’ treaty has been in force in Canada since January, an employment lawyer believes it won’t do anything more to protect employees from violence and harassment.

 

The International Labour Organization says Convention 190, or C190, is the first of its kind aimed at ending violence and harassment. Canada ratified it on Jan. 30, 2023, and it came into force a year later.

 

“This is just more virtue signalling by the Trudeau government to give the impression they’re doing something and preventing violence in the workplace, when there’s nothing whatsoever in this that was not already the law in Canada and in every province,” Howard Levitt, senior partner of Levitt LLP in Toronto, said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday.

 

Levitt said laws across Canada already prohibit people from committing violence and harassing others in the workplace, including online. If an employee is harassed in a way that no reasonable employee should have to put up with, Levitt said, they can file a legal claim against their employer for constructive dismissal, negligence or intentional infliction of mental stress, depending on what happened.

They may also have a claim involving human rights legislation if it is based on a covered ground such as gender, he added.

 

Key examples of workplace behaviour that people could sue for include sexual harassment, unwanted touching, shouting and having an abusive, toxic boss.

What is C190?

The C190 treaty applies to violence and harassment occurring, linked with or arising out of work, including public and private spaces, work-related trips, work-related communications, and commuting to and from work.

 

Under C190, Canada is required to implement laws, policies and collective bargaining agreements that prohibit, prevent and address violence and harassment at work, the federal government said in a January press release.

 

The Office of the Minister of Labour and Minister for Seniors didn’t respond to CTVNews.ca’s request for updates on Canada’s actions since the treaty came into force by press time. This article will be updated with a response later this morning.

The government said in the January release that it is taking action to implement its workplace violence and harassment framework under the Canada Labour Code and Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations.

 

The federal Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund also provides $3.5 million annually for projects that help build “safe, respectful workplaces,” it added.

 

The Canadian government says it played a strong role in developing and advancing the C190 treaty. “No one should face violence or harassment on the job – not in Canada, not anywhere,” Minister of Labour and Seniors Seamus O’Regan Jr. said in a statement in January.

 

“We joined countries around the world in this Convention to protect workers, and make sure every workplace is safe and respectful. That’s not just a Canadian value. … it’s a protected right.”