The intricacies of intergenerational communications can challenge associations and unions to maintain their relevance with young workers.  Organizations have to learn new ways to recruit the next generation of leadership.  A second workshop emphasized the uncertainties of using the new anti-bullying provisions of the amended Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).

The intergenerational workshop, led by Shirley Riva, required the participation of both young workers and workers of other generations who are young at heart.  Participants confronted the different meanings that members of different generations infer from the same messages.  The aim was to increase everyone's awareness of the needs and the realities of different generations in the workplace and in representative organizations.  Participants came away with a level of comfort and skills for engaging in meaningful cross-generational dialogue.

The afternoon workshop “Workplace Harassment and Bullying” was led by Catherine Burr.  At long last bullying is now designated as an occupational hazard under Ontario law.  Catherine explored the benefits of placing harassment in the OHSA rather than under Human Rights law.  Being a potential occupational hazard puts the issue of workplace bullying squarely before the legion of health and safety committees across the province.  The law also delegitimizes bullying in the same way as smoking bans delegitimized smoking.  Actually using the law to investigate a claim or to carry out a work refusal, for instance, is far more problematic.  None of the definitions has yet been tested.  An abundance of caution is recommended.