2023-10-31
Thank you to all our members for reaching out and alerting us to the highly invasive medical questionnaire sent to you by the employer. Some of you also received referral information to attend a medical examination. Over the past two days, we brought this to the attention of several senior managers of the RCMP, including the Commissioner, and we relentlessly demanded the process be halted immediately.
Until further notice, this process is on pause and, if you have received it, you do not need to submit the medical history questionnaire to the employer nor follow up with the medical appointment/referral should one have been sent to you.
We emphasized to the employer how unnecessary and invasive their request was and told them how it created more stress and uncertainty for us at a time when we are critically understaffed and under resourced. There is no need for them to be asking for this information right now. They have not explained why they need it, how it will be used, or what it will be used for. Except for the hearing and psychological components, there has never been a need for such detailed medical information to be provided and we do not see the need to do so now.
We had been asking for consultations with the employer about their plan for hearing and psychological testing to transition to Health Canada for some time now. Despite our repeated requests, we were not consulted. After our efforts over the past two days, we were finally able to set a meeting with them to talk about this issue. We have our CUPE health and safety and legal experts involved as well.
Please continue to reach out to your Stewards or Regional Chairpersons with any questions and concerns and we will update when we know more.