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Highlights for 2014-2015

DISABILITIES

ETFO has committed to increasing the profile of disabilities issues. The speaker at the May 2015 
Representative Council meeting addressed mental health issues in the workplace, and a copy of the 
Ontario Human Rights Commission resource Policy on preventing discrimination based on mental health
disabilities and addictions was distributed to local leaders.

In 2015-2016, ETFO will distribute three brochures from the Ontario Human Rights Commission:

• Preventing discrimination based on mental health and addiction disabilities: An overview for

employers;

• Human rights, mental health and addiction disabilities; and 

• Disability and Human Rights.

Beginning in December 2015, ETFO will recognize the International Day of Persons with Disabilities; 
this year, the recognition will be an article in the winter issue of VOICE. 

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY PLAN 

ETFO has embarked on a focused transformation of its hiring practices to ensure that systemic 
barriers are recognized and reduced, and to ensure that the overarching equity vision of the union 
is operationalized. While work remains to be done, our tracking indicates that this transformation is 
having tangible results.

Earlier studies identified the main gap in implementing employment equity existed in the executive 
staff group, which was found to be less diverse and inclusive of designated groups than other staff 
groups. Systemic organizational change was recommended to ensure that executive staff better 
reflect societal diversity.

Systemic change is well underway. The newly created position of Human Resources Officer will add 
equity expertise to ETFO’s hiring processes, and the following measures are being taken:

• ensuring outreach to equality-seeking groups through all service areas;

• providing programs that better prepare members from designated groups for the ETFO hiring 

process;

• promoting increased involvement in ETFO for members from designated groups; and 

• increasing leadership opportunities within the organization for members from designated 

groups.