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Labour Arbitration of Co‐Worker Sexual Harassment Cases in Canada
Author(s) -
Hart Susan M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
canadian journal of administrative sciences / revue canadienne des sciences de l'administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.347
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1936-4490
pISSN - 0825-0383
DOI - 10.1002/cjas.1222
Subject(s) - harassment , arbitration , legislation , grievance , jurisprudence , political science , law , human rights , labour law , power (physics) , business , criminology , sociology , physics , quantum mechanics
Women have the right to a workplace free from sexual harassment under Canadian provincial and federal human rights legislation. Canadian labour laws incorporate the right to a grievance procedure including binding arbitration where arbitrators must interpret and apply human rights legislation. This paper analyzes co‐worker sexual harassment cases in order to assess how well arbitrations protect the right of unionized women to a harassment free workplace. Results indicate that women complainants were often subjected to aggressive gendered cross‐examinations and the application of gendered jurisprudence that largely ignored the impact of gendered power relations in the workplace. The conclusion is that women's experiences in arbitrations are likely a deterrent to filing formal complaints, effectively undermining rather than protecting their rights. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.