Arbitrator Says NDP Staffer Who Alleged MPP Harassment Unjustly Terminated

An Ontario NDP staffer who lost her job after complaining about workplace harassment was unjustly terminated, says a provincial arbitrator. The constituency assistant in the Elliot Lake office of Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha had alleged in 2022 that Mantha engaged in workplace sexual harassment. Arbitrator Jasbir Parmar addressed two separate grievances brought on the woman’s behalf by the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE). The first, responding to her allegations of workplace harassment from Mantha, claimed there had been a failure to uphold a safe working environment. The union’s second grievance, filed this year, claimed she was dismissed without just cause. The Ontario New Democrat Caucus removed Mantha in 2023. Earlier this year, it sent the woman a termination letter saying that since Mantha no longer held an elected seat for the NDP, her role “no longer fell within the purview of the collective agreement.”...