2023-12-04 10:00:00
Nearly eight out of ten construction workers do not file a complaint when they are victims of intimidation or harassment on construction sites, for fear of suffering reprisals or losing their job, deplores Minister Jean Boulet.
Fearful, no less than 79% of workers choose not to report, according to a Léger survey carried out in the spring on behalf of the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ).
This situation is particularly detrimental to the recruitment of women on construction sites, while the industry is grappling with a critical labor shortage and an urgent need for new schools and infrastructure.
“I was always afraid”
The Minister of Labor remembers a student electrician from a rare gender-equal cohort met recently in a professional training center in Trois-Rivières. She admitted to having hesitated for a long time before choosing the construction sector. “I was always afraid,” she confided to Jean Boulet.
“Often, threats, intimidation and discrimination are factors cited,” underlines the minister. But the more parity you have and the more women you have on construction sites, the more it generates, I find, quality, civility, respect.
The Minister of Labor is therefore banking heavily on hiring female workers to partly respond to the shortage of workers.
The presence of women in construction is still low. They represent only 3.65% of workers. Quebec wants to attract more than 1,600 new workers.
A law to combat harassment
Jean Boulet is convinced that his very recent bill to combat psychological harassment and sexual violence in the workplace will make it possible to remove obstacles to the recruitment and retention of workers on construction sites.
Jean Boulet, on the construction site of the future La Caserne stage of the Théâtre Les gros becs, on Dalhousie Street in Quebec. Courtesy
Victims will be assured of the confidentiality of their approach and protected against reprisals and loss of their job, while all companies must have a policy against harassment and intimidation, insists the minister. Currently, a third of employers do not have one.
“All of this will allow us to have a healthier, safer environment, free from risks, because we will reduce the risks of harassment, intimidation and discrimination,” adds Jean Boulet.
He recalls that in Quebec, all sectors of activity combined, nearly one in two people have observed or experienced inappropriate or discriminatory sexualized behavior in the workplace. Women are twice as numerous (26%) as men (13%), according to a Statistics Canada survey dating from 2021.
In Quebec, in the construction industry:
79% do not report a case of discrimination, intimidation or harassment: fear of reprisals or losing one’s job is the main reason given, according to a Léger survey carried out for the CCQ. 32% of companies do not have clear policies and practices for handling cases of discrimination, bullying or harassment. There were 7,218 women working in construction who had logged at least one hour in 2022, i.e. 3.65% of the total construction workers. Quebec wants women to represent 4.5% of workers, that is to say 8,899 women.
Source: Office of the Minister of Labor
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