Victim of psychological harassment at work, Bienné Blémur is continuing his legal proceedings with the aim of adding in a recent court decision the concept of racism that he alleges to have suffered in the context of a job he held for years at the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau (SPJD).
The allegations date back to 2016. Mr. Blémur then worked as a chief rigger at Parc Jean-Drapeau and had about ten employees in his charge as part of his work, which consisted of ensuring the installation and maintenance. scenic elements for various major events taking place at Parc Jean-Drapeau, such as the Osheaga music festival.
Mr. Blémur then worked for 15 years for the SPJD, as a seasonal worker. That year, however, the employee, one of whose parents was of Haitian descent, was demoted by a chief machinist to another position, which consisted mainly of filling trucks with goods and emptying them; a decision taken without valid reason, in the eyes of Mr. Blémur. What does, however, overflow the latter’s camel’s back is when another employee, who will be promoted to the post of chief machinist subsequently, invects him and goes so far as to call Mr. Blémur a “screeching” [mot en n] ”After he accidentally hung up his protective helmet while working at Parc Jean-Drapeau. Mr. Blémur was then sent home for no reason, under the pretext that there was “no more work” for him on this site, he told the To have to Thursday afternoon in a downtown café.
“The employer has never intervened in history and I lost my season,” he says.
Since then, the employee has filed three grievances in as many years in an attempt to obtain access to a safe and harassment-free work environment, which notably led the City’s Comptroller General and the SPJD to initiate proceedings. investigations into this matter. In 2017, a settlement agreement was reached between the union and the employer to try to remedy this situation, but its criteria were not met thereafter, deplores Mr. Blémur.
In this agreement, the employer recognizes that the complainant was the victim of racist remarks. However, this will not prevent Mr. Blémur from being again supervised by one of the two employees who allegedly made racist remarks or acted in such a way towards him, which explains the two grievances filed successively by the complainant in the summer. 2017 and 2018. Since then, Mr. Blémur has not set foot in Parc Jean-Drapeau. His employment link with the SPJD remains, however, since he did not resign and was not laid off.
I have been hurt to the depths of my dignity by openly racist words and behavior. We did not hesitate.
“I realized that the union was making sure to sink my grievances,” blames Mr. Blémur.
Exasperated, the Montrealer turned in July 2018 before the Administrative Labor Tribunal (TAT), which recognized this summer that the man, now 65, was the victim of psychological harassment by work colleagues and “gross negligence” on the part of his union, a local chapter of the International Alliance of Stage and Theater Employees.
“The Tribunal notes that no one in the union really takes the trouble to deal with the complainant’s case and that no real harassment prevention measures have been put in place” and proposes solutions “that it does not implement. application ”, indicates in particular the 35-page decision rendered at the end of June. “This is not a simple incompetence in handling the complainant’s case, but gross negligence,” adds administrative judge Karine Blouin, who asks the union to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees.
Recognize racism
For Mr. Blémur, who is supported by three lawyers, this victory is however incomplete, since the court did not include the notion of racism in its decision, while it was at the heart of his complaint. The Montrealer, who became a beneficiary attendant during the pandemic to make ends meet, therefore calls for the revision of this decision of the TAT, which will therefore have to hold new hearings in the context of this case.
“I have been hurt to the depths of my dignity by openly racist words and behavior. We did not hesitate. We put in evidence all the elements proving that and the judge, by avoiding to pronounce on it, did not restore me in my dignity ”, explains Mr. Blémur. By trying to get people to recognize that he was a victim of racism, the Montrealer also wants to force lasting changes in the ways of doing things by his union and the SPJD to prevent other employees of this organization from suffering the same. comes out than him.
“It is very important to have this institutional recognition that Mr. Blémur has been the victim of racism and that both the employer and the union change their way of doing things”, also insists the Director General of the Research Center. action on race relations (CRARR), Fo Niemi, who has accompanied Mr. Blémur in his efforts over the past few years.
The union implicated in this affair refused to comment on this matter. His lawyers, however, forwarded to the To have to the application for judicial review brought by the union to the Superior Court of Quebec on July 22, 2021. This seeks in particular to put the judgment rendered by the TAT on hold, the time to render a decision on the merits in this case . A first hearing date has been set for the end of November.
“The Société du parc Jean-Drapeau (SPJD) is not in a position to comment on this specific case since it has been in court for more than four years now”, for its part indicated to the To have to the organization’s communications advisor, Kaven Gauthier. He adds, however, that “inclusion and diversity” are among the priorities of the SPDJ as an employer.