Executive Council
November 5, 2015

Fostering a Respectful Work Environment

Provincial Government Releases Report on Review of Harassment and Discrimination-Free Workplace Policy and the Respectful Workplace Program

Today the Provincial Government released the report from Rubin Thomlinson LLP following a review of the current Harassment and Discrimination-Free Workplace Policy and Respectful Workplace Program. The report was received on November 4, 2015.

"Ensuring we foster a safe and healthy workplace for the public service is vital. We are immediately developing an implementation strategy to address the recommendations outlined in the report. This government took quick action to deal with concerns raised about our harassment policy and program as soon as they were identified and we are moving just as swiftly to address areas of improvement. We thank Rubin Thomlinson LLP for their work on this review. Public servants throughout Newfoundland and Labrador are the backbone of this government and we are committed to providing them with a respectful workplace."
- The Honourable Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

Consultant Rubin Thomlinson LLP was engaged to conduct a comprehensive review of the current Harassment and Discrimination-Free Workplace Policy and the Respectful Workplace Program. As part of the review process, the consultants received 50 email submissions, conducted interviews with 52 individuals in total, including eight individuals who reached out directly to Rubin Thomlinson LLP and 44 who were selected based on their role within government. The report contains 15 recommendations.

"As an open and transparent government, it was important that upon receipt of the report it was released. I would like to thank the public servants who participated in the review and shared their valuable knowledge and experience. Through this process it has been made clear to our government that there are concerns with clarity and consistency of our current harassment policy and program. These are valuable recommendations and we are committed to executing a plan that will ultimately lead to a stronger public service."
- The Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board and Minister Responsible for the Human Resource Secretariat

Moving forward, work on implementing recommendations will begin immediately overseen by the Clerk of the Executive Council, the Deputy Minister of the Human Resource Secretariat, and Chair and CEO of the Public Service Commission. That committee will meet in the coming days to undertake a thorough analysis of the report and its recommendations and ensure the development of an action plan for implementation.

The report can be found at //www.gov.nl.ca/exec/hrs

QUICK FACTS:

• The Provincial Government released the report from Rubin Thomlinson LLP following a review of the current Harassment and Discrimination-Free Workplace Policy and Respectful Workplace Program. The report was received on November 4, 2015.
• The Provincial Government is immediately developing an implementation strategy to address the recommendations outlined in the report.
• As part of the review process, the consultants received 50 email submissions, conducted interviews with 52 individuals in total, including eight individuals who reached out directly to Rubin Thomlinson LLP and 44 who were selected based on their role within government. The report contains 15 recommendations.
• The consultants concluded the Policy and Program contain many positive elements but there is room for improvement.

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Media contacts:

Heather Maclean Director of Communications Office of the Premier 709-729-3581 heathermaclean@gov.nl.ca	Donna Ivey Special Assistant, Communications Office of the Premier 709-729-3551, 699-2402 donnaivey@gov.nl.ca
Jennifer Tulk Director of Communications Department of Finance and Human Resource Secretariat 709-729-6830, 728-4104 jennifertulk@gov.nl.ca

2015 11 05                              12:50 p.m.