Proposed revisions to MCC whistleblowing policy will cement power of HR and further muzzle those with complaints

MCC’s latest public statement in response to the #stopmccabuse campaign – which mostly repeats what has been said before –  makes a claim that MCC is trying to find ways to be more “Anabaptist” and “restorative” in its process.

It says,

“MCC has started a conversation with other Anabaptist organizations to determine how our Anabaptist theology – including restorative justice and alternative dispute resolution processes – can and must shape the way we interact with personnel. We are committed to having our theology, alternative dispute resolution processes and restorative justice principles help inform policies, procedures and organizational culture as we care for the people who serve with us.”

Sounds nice, right?

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, MCC is busy putting into place exactly the opposite of restorative principles by revising policies to further shore up the power of its HR department.

MAST has obtained an internal email (from August 31, 2024) to staff inviting feedback (as per normal practice) on two policies under revision. One of those is policy #7412 (REPORTING ILLEGAL UNETHICAL OR OTHER INAPPROPRIATE ACTIVITY) aka the Whistleblowing policy.

This policy has been expanded from 2 (old version) to 13 pages (new version), including 3 appendices.

After reviewing the proposed changes carefully, I believe that the main thrust of these revisions is to cement the power of HR over the rest of MCC including Executive Directors, as the central authority in all investigations and even in all disciplinary actions. This revised policy is about completely controlling the ability of MCC staff to speak openly about any negative experiences or abuse they are experiencing. The bottom line seems to be something like this: “If you see anything that seems to be wrong, you must report it, but only to us (HR), and we won’t tell anyone, including you, or even MCC leaders, what we will do with your report. If you report concerns in any other way, you will be in violation of policy and could be fired.”

HR Directors will know everything, and no one else will know anything.

This is MCC’s whistleblowing policy. It is being revised to make whistleblowers think they have many channels to report to, while ensuring that all reports are channeled straight to HR with no accountability to the public, the reporter, or even MCC executive directors or boards.

Do you see a problem here?

Below is some more detailed analysis of the changes between the old and new versions

(1)     All reporting channels are funneled straight to HR

Everyone has to report any suspicion of wrongdoing, and they have to do it through a formal channel, which includes Speak Up (again, no information about where the Speak Up reports go to, but we know it is HR). The concern of MCC seems to be to ensure that all whistleblowing attempts are controlled and funneled straight to HR.

Read it:

(this part applies to everyone) “It is the responsibility of all MCC personnel who see, observe, hear about or suspect any wrongdoing, violations or suspected violations of MCC’s policies to report the suspected or alleged wrongdoing using MCC’s reporting mechanisms.”

(and this part applies to leaders who receive reports) “Managers, supervisors, focal points, HR coordinators and the Internal Audit and Compliance Manager must take all concerns and suspicions of misconduct or abuse of power raised by staff, partners, program participants and other external stakeholders seriously and immediately report them through the Speak Up Service or to the Human Resources or Financial Resources Director immediately, ensuring confidentiality. They must also report any concerns about retaliation toward staff who have engaged in protected activities. Managers, supervisors, focal points, HR coordinators and the Internal Audit and Compliance Manager who fail to immediately report misconduct or concerns about retaliation, as well as managers and supervisors who knowingly allow or tolerate harassment, violence or retaliation, are in violation of this policy and subject to discipline.”

Everything, but everything, is funneled straight to HR Directors (EDs are no longer required to be informed). HR Directors are 100% immune. There is no way to report a concern against them that does not go directly to them.

(2)     No public accountability

There is no accountability to the reporter or to the EDs, the boards, or the public. Reporters will “not be told details of the administrative investigation, evidence or what disciplinary action has been taken towards the subject of concern in order to protect confidentiality.” Once a report is made, no one can ever know what happened or what was done.

(3)     Intimidation and silencing of MCC staff

The revised policy muzzles workers even more than before. It adds,

“MCC will have designated personnel responsible for all external and public communication including communication with donors and the constituents regarding illegal, unethical or other inappropriate activity. MCC personnel are not permitted to initiate any public communication on the same including social media posts or posting on the web.”

In other words, if you work for MCC, no whistleblowing outside the internal channels that lead straight to HR. No signing the petition. No “liking” MAST social media posts. No telling your pastor or friends or family that you are really concerned about the stories that have come to light. If you do, you are in violation of policy.

MCC staff are also intimidated into going along with any investigation, without any way to complain that the investigation is harmful or abusive. The policy now includes the statement

“It is also the duty of all personnel to cooperate with an authorized administrative investigation.”

This means staff can be fired for refusing to comply or cooperate.

You can still appeal a decision – but barely. The appeal process is now limited only to a review of procedure; no new investigation/fact-finding can be done. Again – what if you are Katie Moyer (who recently shared her story of sexual assault and MCC’s abysmal response in the Canadian Mennonite), and a completely bogus investigation was done in which you were not even consulted (which is what she experienced)? You, like her, have no recourse.

(4)     No whistleblowing about workplace conflict

The new version specifically excludes “Personal work-related grievances” from consideration under this policy. MCC is setting themselves up to write off complaints related to employment conditions as not admissible under this policy. Now you can see why the EDs take such pains to cast MAST allegations as workplace “conflict.”

In short: The proposed policy would cement years of efforts by HR Directors to form their own fiefdom. They are free to choose members of every case management team, with no accountability. They are the only ones who have a complete(-ish) picture of who in MCC is involved in misconduct. They are the only ones who determine what disciplinary action will be taken, with no checks and balances. They are free to use “investigations” at will as a kind of power play to control the actions of staff who are doing anything they don’t like. That is what the proposed policy formalizes and normalizes – an HR fortress that was already dauntingly powerful but is now going to be virtually invincible.

In case you think I am over-reacting, among the 43 cases we are now aware of, we have heard detailed accounts of:

• HR initiating completely unexpected investigations that appear to be retaliatory in nature.

• Vulnerable national staff in international locations being terrified by heavy-handed investigations that come out of the blue, or being told that they are being investigated but without knowing what the charges are. This is happening right now!

• MCC appealing to the confidentiality of investigations in order to cover up wrongdoing and maintain abusers in their positions.

• HR staff flying into international locations to do investigations or terminations, excluding IP leadership from their decision-making and disregarding IP expertise about cultural norms and appropriateness.

• HR forming Case Management Teams in which the supervisor of the person making the accusation is leading the process in a blatant conflict of interest.

• Senior leaders being reluctant to speak out, and seeming afraid of the power of HR. (One person who reported their own experience of abuse to MAST described the relationship between HR and a regional ED to us as “the tail wagging the dog.”)

This proposed policy is about completely controlling the ability of MCC staff to speak openly about any negative experiences or abuse they are experiencing to anyone except HR. The bottom line seems to be something like this: “If you see anything that seems to be wrong, you must report it, but only to us, and we won’t tell anyone, including you, or even MCC leaders, what we will do with your report. If you report concerns in any other way, you will be in violation of policy and could be fired.” HR Directors will know everything, and no one else will know anything.

How is this “having our theology, alternative dispute resolution processes and restorative justice principles help inform policies, procedures and organizational culture as we care for the people who serve with us”? How is it that the very people who have been named in an official grievance under this policy 7412 (by John Clarke and Anicka Fast) feel justified in proposing any changes to any policy while they are under investigation for a violation of this policy (we named HR Directors and EDs in our grievance submitted to MCC Boards on Nov 3, 2023)? How is it that this policy revision is happening in secret – with no feedback requested from MCC’s constituency – given the serious nature of allegations that have been made and a petition with nearly 1500 signatures that requests access to MCC policies for public review?

Please join us in speaking out against this hypocrisy on the part of MCC leaders! Please act to protect MCC staff from being abused and bullied in this way!

This post was first published on Facebook on September 23, 2024. See https://www.facebook.com/anicka.fast/posts/pfbid0WpLTKeaduyLsDCT4AfCB7eUVeoM1FDjgGuku5QbDsgzgRjjbgHF2NooQUzZjKmpql