What is violence?
Adapted from "Preventing Violence"

The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulation, section 4.27, defines violence as "the attempted or actual exercise by a person, other than a worker, of any physical force so as to cause injury to a worker."

Violence also includes "any threatening statement or behaviour which gives a worker reasonable cause to believe that he or she is at risk of injury."

Incidents of violence may not necessarily occur on the job site.

Incidents are considered workplace violence if they arise from the worker’s employment.

Roles and responsibility
OH&S committee

• BCNU members can raise the issue to the committee who must deal with it
• Investigate and review (see risk assessment).
• Makes recommendations to senior management.
• Follows up as part of regular inspections review and continue cycle.
• Is responsible for making recommendations on training.

Manager/Supervisor

• May be involved in a risk assessment.
• May assist or develop policies and procedures for dealing with violence including

• Is most likely involved in establishing corrective action
• Follow ups with individuals and incidents
• Ensures Health & Safety regulations are followed and compliance is maintained.

Steward

• Most likely involved in risk assessment as the voice of the members/union
• Follows up on reports or potential incidents
• Assists in the creation of the program - tries to get employer to use BCNU policies
• Supports workers by listening, encouraging and assisting with preventing events by reviewing policies and mobilizing membership to take issues on.
• Follows WCB regulations
• Uses PCA to assist nurses to grieve and fill out PRFs.
• Gathers statistics
• Increases awareness about issues
• Attends meetings and meets new members
• Assist members with right to refuse unsafe work
• Must follow BCNU policies when representing the Union

Individual member

• Must report any incidents or potential incidents
• Must take training provide by employer (on paid time)
• Must make recommendations to problems
• Must assist with inspections as needed
• Must communicate to the steward any concerns
• Must follow policies

Barriers
Take time to identify members barriers

• participation
• perception
• workload
• fear
• trust
• discouraged
• perceived failure
• loss of control
• don’t know rights or who to call
• don’t rock the boat

Take time to identify management barriers

• Not enough people to do the work
• No one with power
• Not enough documentation that it is a problem
• No money to make physical layout changes
• Physicians have true control - exterior control
• Avoidance
• Rationalization
• Diversion
• Threatening
• Singling out individuals for attack and destruction
• Ignoring
• Putting in place
• Passing responsibility
• Lack of knowledge

Dealing with Barriers

Strategies and tactics for dealing with barriers
Difficult management

• Start small get a small win
• Provide facts and stats
• Have other unions focus on the same issue
• Offer to assist with committee work on paid time
• Have members organize support and support goal (solidarity)
• Set time lines for management
• Ask employer to call in WCB for consultation
• Call managers on inappropriate behaviour
• Use your big leverage only when you really need to. (WCB or grievance)

Difficult OH&S Committee

• Evaluate what the barriers are to the committee moving on this issue
• Review terms of reference
• Review all the reports, policies and facts/stats about violence
• Meet with other union members to gain support
• Survey members and can their support ( under the auspice of quality assurance)
• Make recommendations
• Follow up and set time lines
• Use WCB regulations to motivate employer if other steps not working

Gaining staff support

• Use posters, pamphlets, speakers, seminars to provide information
• Do one on one meetings and walk about or survey, questionnaire
• Working with management to get paid time to do committee work for members wanting to participate.
• Make it hit home - so nurses can identify with the issue - sell them on the issue