Roles and responsibilities of the Union/union representative

  1. Where there is more than one union in an organization, work with other unions to provide more flexibility in terms of work accommodations (MacEachen et al., 2006)
  2. Ensure the protection of the worker’s (member) rights (Corbière et al., 2020)
  3. Inform the worker of his/her rights, responsibilities, and obligations in accordance with the collective agreements in effect (Corbière et al., 2020)
  4. Know the collective agreement related to the RTW of the organization’s workers; Ensure compliance with its application (Corbière et al., 2020). For example, ensure that workplace accommodations respect the contractual rights of other workers: seniority clauses, the right to be absent from work due to illness, etc. (MacEachen et al., 2006).
  5. Maintain empathetic contact with the worker during RTW, demonstrating a willingness to help (Pomaki et al., 2010)
  6. Ensure that the worker’s consent has been obtained in an ethical and appropriate manner for the exchange of information between the actors involved (Pomaki et al., 2010; St-Arnaud, et al., 2011)
  7. Participate in the preparation of a RTW plan in consultation with the worker, manager, co-workers, and RTW coordinator (St-Arnaud et al., 2011)
  8. Promote the importance of the RTW with accommodations prior to full recovery (MacEachen et al., 2006)
  9. Contribute to the development of preventive measures regarding psychological health in the workplace (St-Arnaud and Pelletier, 2013)
  10. Know the regulations related to the management of work attendance, temporary assignments and work accommodations available within the organization (Corbière et al., 2020)
  11. Make any procedure regulating the RTW available to the workers (Corbière et al., 2020)
  12. Know the laws relating to the confidentiality of personal information and know strategies to reduce the stigmatization associated with certain health conditions (Corbière et al., 2020)
  13. Support and advise the worker in his/her efforts throughout the RTW process (information on the management of the medico-administrative file: arbitration procedure, expert opinions, etc.) (Corbière et al., 2020)
  14. Provide information to the worker regarding the available resources in the organization depending on his/her situation (Corbière et al., 2020)
  15. If necessary, accompany the worker to his/her meetings with the organization’s stakeholders (e.g., manager, occupational health and safety department to provide information on the worker’s organizational context (e.g., workload) (Corbière et al., 2020)