A recent stress survey by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has revealed that the vast majority of employees with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) have experienced or witnessed some form of workplace bullying.

The survey, which about 90 per cent of NPCA workers completed, found that about two-thirds of the employees had experienced bullying on the job, while 70 per cent of respondents claimed to have witnessed “offensive behaviours” at work, according to a news release that OPSEU sent out on July 19. More than 85 per cent of respondents stated that the NPCA workplace was harmful to their mental health.

“Our members at the NPCA have been telling us for a long time that their workplace is unhealthy,” OPSEU president Warren “Smokey” Thomas said in a press statement. “These survey results would seem to back that up.”

The union conducted the survey anonymously, in partnership with the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, based in Toronto. The latter organization modelled the survey on the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, which identifies psychosocial factors that affect stress levels.

Management at the NPCA received the results of the survey from OPSEU on May 29, the release noted. The union offered to work with the employer to help improve labour relations and deal with other outstanding issues, but the organization has never responded.

“Unfortunately, the NPCA refuses to acknowledge there’s a huge workplace problem,” said Thomas.

He cited a recent incident in which the OPSEU local’s highest-ranking steward’s job was terminated by the NPCA without cause on Feb. 14. “As the members’ duly elected representative,” Thomas said, “reinstating her would generate a climate of goodwill and help both sides work towards improved labour relations and a healthier workplace.”

OPSEU held an information picket at the NPCA’s headquarters on April 26, demanding that the employer reinstate the steward’s job. Photos from the demonstration on the union’s website show picketers with signs reading, “A Fair Day’s Wage for A Fair Day’s Work without Bullying,” and “NCPA Stop Bullying OPSEU Staff.”

Thomas claimed at the time that some NPCA staff were not attending the demonstration because they were “too intimidated to come out,” according to a prior OPSEU release.

Based in Welland, Ont. and founded in 1959, the NPCA manages the effect of human activities, urban growth and rural activities in the Niagara Peninsula, according to information from its website.

OPSEU represents about 130,000 Ontario workers in government, healthcare, community colleges and other sectors.