Area School Teachers' Collective Agreement (ASTCA)

Sexual harassment is not acceptable to the Institute or Association. Ways of dealing with it in the workplace are set out in the chart.

The offence given by the harassment is to be judged by the complainant. Principals must consider complaints seriously and sympathetically, ensuring that no victimisation of the complainant occurs.

A school’s board of trustees must have policies and procedures to eliminate sexual harassment in the school. The school charter requires that there are appropriate and proper procedures to handle complaints.

Human Rights Act 1993: Sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination which may impair the employee sufficiently to the detriment of work performance. Harassment thus “causes an employee to be subjected to detriment in terms of Section 15” of the Act, “because such harassment takes away from the employee equal employment opportunities, by creating a working environment in which that employee’s ability to perform is impaired”.

The Human Rights Commissioner may investigate, act as conciliator or decide on civil proceedings before the Equal Opportunities Tribunal (see Human Rights Commission Act 1977, Part III, Sections 34, 37, 38).

Personal grievance and sexual harassment: Personal grievance can be a remedy for sexual harassment (see Part Eight of the agreement).

A complainant may choose to seek remedies either through the personal grievance procedures or the Human Rights Commissioner, but not through both.