Edmonton city staff invited to join anti-bullying vigil
It's been a year since the city auditor revealed that one in five City of Edmonton employees felt they were bullied, harassed or discriminated against.
Cecily Poohkay is organizing a vigil on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Churchill Square, in front of city hall, to let others struggling with workplace harassment to know that they're not alone.
"[It's] allowing the opportunity for people to come together and come together in a safe space, have a moment of silence to honour people's experiences — that this is what it's like going to work, sometimes every day," said Poohkay, an employee in the citizens services department.
She hopes the vigil will also highlight the city's responsibility to create a healthy, welcoming workplace for employees.
"They also have a responsibility to the public — this is everybody's public service, this is where our taxes go, this is how our city runs, it involves all of us."
The auditor's findings were based in part on a confidential employee engagement survey done in 2016.
Nearly 8,600 employees of a total 11,900 city employees that year responded to the survey, the report shows.
In response to the audit, the city hired a third-party consultant, Deloitte, to handle complaints from city employees in what's considered an interim solution until the city finalizes its new corporate culture strategy.
In June, Deloitte prepared a report for city council, showing they had received 235 complaints since January 2018, 89 of which were closed without investigation while others were being assessed or investigated.
Coun. Bev Esslinger believes council took the findings seriously and put the process in motion to improve the workplace culture.
"It's about corporate safety and making sure that this is a good place to work and that people feel safe and that it is free from harassment — that's the kind of place that we all want."
In an update to council in July, City Manager Linda Cochrane noted the creation of a new department called Employee Services as part of their action plan in response to the audit.
"We aren't afraid to admit we have a lot to learn from experts and employees alike," Cochrane said.
A year after Deloitte was hired, the same poster is up in some city offices showing a phone number and an email address for employees to contact to file a complaint.
Pookhay believes employees are still reluctant to report instances of harassment and bullying.
"They're worried about retaliation, they're worried about what will happen to them if they come forward," she said. "I'm just not sure that there's an understanding of just how serious these issues are."
The 2018 employee engagement and diversity survey was circulated this fall.
TalentMap, an outside company hired by the city, will share results by early 2019.
@natashariebe
