Bulletin
BC Hydro Members in Safety – Resiliency Training Questionnaire
October 15, 2018
To: All BCH members in Safety
Re: Resiliency Training Questionnaire
It has recently been brought to our attention that BC Hydro is implementing a workshop entitled “Developing Resilience During Change” for MoveUP members in Safety through a third party service provider, TidalShift Inc. As part of that workshop, participants have been asked to complete a “Personal Resilience Questionnaire”.
Historically, the union has reviewed and approved any surveys or questionnaires in advance of BC Hydro providing them to MoveUP members. Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case. We understand that the Personal Resilience Questionnaire has already been provided to, and in many cases completed and submitted, by our members.
We have now had an opportunity to review the Personal Resilience Questionnaire and meet with the company to discuss the workshop and the questions. We are satisfied that the company’s intent behind the workshop is to foster a positive working environment and we are supportive of the workshop and our members’ participation in it. However, the union considers the personal nature of many of the questions on the questionnaire to be inappropriate in the context of an employment relationship. We have not approved the questionnaire and cannot recommend that the questionnaire be completed by our members. However, BC Hydro has assured us that the questionnaire is voluntary and that it is not required to be completed in order to participate in the workshop.
We have also reviewed the privacy policy of TidalShift Inc. and confirmed that while they do retain survey results in a database for research purposes, personal information is removed from that database. We have also confirmed that individuals have a right to request that personal information be removed from TidalShift Inc.’s system at any time. We do note that TidalShift Inc.’s privacy policy states that information may be transmitted to or stored in the United States or other countries, which may have privacy laws in place which differ significantly from Canadian privacy laws.
In the circumstances, whether or not you complete the Personal Resilience Questionnaire is a personal decision for each individual to make for themselves. If you have not yet completed the questionnaire, you may simply decline to respond. If you have already completed and submitted the questionnaire, you may contact TidalShift Inc. and request that your responses and any personal information be deleted.
In Solidarity,
Gwenne Farrell, Vice President, Utilities
Tony Geluch, Union Representative