Are Kuujjuaq employers incompetent?

I live in the Inuit community of Kuujjuaq, which is situated at the base of the Ungava Bay in northern Quebec.

After working in accounting and administration for over 20 years for different organizations within the community, it amazes me what employers in Kuujjuaq are able to get away with in terms of the treatment of their employees.

Without mentioning names, here are few examples:

One employer dismissed me without warning, notice or discussion by hand delivering a termination of contract to my house after 5 p.m. and confiscating my office keys. My behaviour on that particular day was cited as the reason.

My doctor wrote the employer a letter that I had not been taking my prescription properly and was having dizziness, headaches and irritability, but to no avail. In regards to my behaviour, I admit that I was not myself, however I was not making scenes or being louder anything. I was having a bad day, which happens to all of us.

It’s worth mentioning that my coworkers’ employment was not terminated for bad behaviour without reason, poor attendance, work habits and work performance. For the same salary, this co-worker handled 10 per cent of the workload and I handled 90 per cent.

Another employer brought up French-speaking employees from the Montreal and Quebec City area and gave them housing and high salaries. Some of these employees were blatant racists and openly made comments to this effect and refused to treat their Inuit co-workers with equal respect. Racist comments, the withholding of mail and faxes, whispering and gossiping about us, was acceptable behaviour to the directors.

The director-general even came after me once on my personal grocery shopping time to explain myself because a young auditor ran out of the office crying after I finished work at 5 p.m.. The director of finance of this organization even brought up an immediate family member from the South to work for her. In my view this represents direct financial gain to immediate family using Quebec government contributions.

Another employer gave me a warning letter for not showing up or calling work when I was at work and was sick with a doctor’s note the next day. The wife of one of the board members did not show up or call work for three days, but she did not receive the same warning letter. Neither did any other employees, some of whom worked only two or three days a week without calling in.

This was at a daycare centre where it was acceptable to the board for the child care workers to abuse and neglect children, since they were never reprimanded or dismissed for their behaviour.

In other rural areas of Canada, are employers allowed to get away with these things? Is it only in the community of Kuujjuaq where employers have a free hand to do what they want? In a small community where the same people are elected to various boards of organizations, where do we go to appeal their decisions?

In a community where Inuit unemployment is higher than average and many children live below the poverty line, it never ceases to amaze me what employers can get away with in Kuujjuaq.

Susan Ruston
Kuujjuaq