Wednesday, March 17, 2021
AMAPCEO launched its latest workplace policy advocacy campaign earlier this month, rolling out a suite of resources to help union representatives improve the Ontario Public Service (OPS) Employer’s plans to make workplaces anti-racist and more inclusive.
The campaign is in response to the Employer’s organization-wide Roadmap to Racial Equity in the OPS, which was released earlier this year.
As the next step in the implementation of the Roadmap, the OPS Employer has directed each ministry to develop a local anti-racism action plan. These plans must outline how the ministry will take action to sustain “meaningful organization-wide change” that improves employment outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and racialized staff and how it will ensure “meaningful and sustained engagement” in the roll-out.
“These plans will go to each AMERC table, where AMAPCEO has an opportunity to help shape them,” said the union’s Vice-President Cynthia Watt, who as part of her role leads AMAPCEO’s equity initiatives. “It’s one more way we can hold the Employer to account and drive the change to make racism a thing of the past in the OPS.”
In the OPS, AMAPCEO-Ministry Employee Relations Committees (AMERCs) consist of an equal number of union and employer representatives. They meet regularly to discuss, review, and try to resolve broader policy issues or concerns that transcend individual workplace disputes.
Watt says union representatives are pushing to ensure the OPS Employer’s proposed plans are sufficient and effective towards safer workplaces free from racism and other forms of discrimination.
“We want to make sure these plans are as robust as possible, and that progress is measured,” she said. Each Ministry’s local plan is due back to the OPS Anti-Racism Directorate at the end of this month.
AMAPCEO leadership and labour relations staff briefed its AMERC Co-Chairs on strategies for reviewing their Ministry’s anti-racism plan. To help guide this work, the union also developed a comprehensive set of sample questions AMERCs can use in its review with OPS Employer representatives.
Watt said the union is hoping to continue its track record of pragmatic advocacy that saw it win meaningful improvements to policy earlier on in this process.
“Last year, AMAPCEO was successful in convincing the OPS Employer to address many of our concerns through the broader review of their Inclusive Workplace Policies and Programs,” she said.
Specifically, the union called on the OPS Employer to:
- develop and implement an intersectional approach, which recognizes that many employees in the OPS experience exclusion in multiple, overlapping, or different ways, based on their identities;
- adjust early intervention and prevention strategies to stop workplace harassment and discrimination before it starts;
- strengthen the complaint resolution and workplace restoration process to better serve those affected by discrimination and harassment; and
- review and address the structural barriers preventing equity-seeking employees from advancement within the OPS.
Equity is a priority for AMAPCEO, Watt said.
“Nearly a quarter of OPS employees are racialized. Too many have reported that their experiences do not reflect a fair or inclusive workplace,” said Watt. “As a union, our job—our responsibility—is to continue to push the Employer to make things more equitable.”
To learn more about how AMAPCEO is driving equity in the workplace, within in the union, and beyond, visit the union’s Equity page.