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As an employer and a union, the NSGEU/NUPGE believes that it has a responsibility to do what it can to help people recover from this kind of violence and to give them time to stop the cycle. This takes support. All employers have a responsibility to provide their employees with this help.
Halifax (2 March 2018)—The Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union (NSGEU/NUPGE) is pleased the NDP is introducing legislation that will, if passed, amend the Labour Standards Code to ensure working people who experience domestic violence, intimate violence, and sexual violence will have the right to paid and unpaid leave from their employers in order to begin their recovery process. The legislation can be viewed by clicking here.
The leave will also be available to the employee if their child experiences domestic/intimate/sexual violence. The NSGEU/NUPGE has been lobbying for this kind of legislation and is in full support of it.
Domestic, sexual violence, far too common
Intimate partner violence is all too common in society. It can be cyclical and the victim can feel a great deal of shame. The violence can go on for a long period of time before the victim comes forward. This issue affects women disproportionately as women are most often the victims of domestic/intimate partner violence. As an employer and a union, the NSGEU/NUPGE believes that we have a responsibility to do what it can to help people recover from this kind of violence and to give them time to stop the cycle. This takes support. All employers have a responsibility to provide their employees with this help.
Working on the issue within own union
NSGEU/NUPGE reports that it has been able to negotiate with its own staff, of IAMAW Local 2797, contracts that contain language and terms about support for victims of domestic and sexual violence. The NSGEU/NUPGE has also been able to negotiate contract language with the Elizabeth Fry Society, which supports women who are victims of intimate partner violence and recognizes the importance of this social issue. The union understands how important it is and look forward to the day every Nova Scotian worker has the right to that support, can heal, and can stop the cycle of violence in their lives.