“Protecting Parliament Hill Interpreters from Workplace Injuries: The Federal Government’s Failure to Comply with Labor Code Regulations”

OTTAWA — The federal government violated the Labor Code by failing to protect Parliament Hill’s interpreters from workplace injuries.

On February 1, a federal work program health and safety commissioner ruled in favor of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees. The union had argued the translation agency was not adequately protecting employees working in hybrid environments.

“The employer has failed to ensure the protection of its employees in terms of health and safety by failing to ensure that in meetings with simultaneous interpretation, the interpretation work is only carried out if the virtual participants wear a microphone that complies with ISO standards (Regulations ) corresponds,” says the French-language verdict.

Experts have told Parliament that staff translating meetings between English and French are at risk of injury because of straining to hear some voices and being exposed to sudden, loud noises.

Last October, a parliamentary interpreter was sent to the hospital with an acoustic shock during a Senate committee meeting where the chairman failed to enforce rules requiring distant participants to wear headphones.

So many interpreters were placed on sick leave in the past year that the department hired contract workers to fill the staff shortage.

The union filed a formal complaint a year ago, which led to an inspection of the translation agency’s offices on January 30 and last week’s decision.

The tribunal gave Public Services and Procurement Canada until Monday to ensure the committee’s witnesses are wearing the correct headset and to report by February 15 on the steps taken.

Meanwhile, the department has until March 1 to review its equipment and report to the court.

“Sampling tests must be carried out in a real work situation by a qualified person and the employer must implement the (resulting) recommendations to ensure that the system is safe for the hearing of its employees,” reads a court order. in French.

The department can appeal those orders within a month, but a spokeswoman suggested the ruling be followed.

“In collaboration with its partners, the translation agency will follow these instructions, which are in line with efforts already in place to protect interpreters,” Stéfanie Hamel wrote in an email.

“The number of health and safety incidents related to sound quality has increased since the pandemic made virtual and hybrid meetings commonplace.”

The department said it recognized the problem and took action, such as B. Ensuring that a technician is always present and reducing the working time for virtual meetings without affecting interpreters’ pay.

“Interpreters are instructed to stop working if the working conditions endanger their health,” the department said in a March 2022 statement.

The chairmen of House and Senate committees should ensure that those present virtually, including both testifying witnesses and attending lawmakers, use a headset with a microphone stick.

Both chambers also reimburse long-distance witnesses for the purchase of a corresponding headset.

However, chairmen have often ignored these rules, allowing people to testify using substandard earphones or even laptop microphones.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on February 6, 2023.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

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