KITT LAUNCHES NEW INITIATIVE TO COMBAT WORKPLACE BULLYING

Dignity in the Workplace Charter is first vital step in tackling workplace bullying

Mr. Tom Kitt T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs to-day (Tuesdy 23^rd October) launched the Dignity in the Workplace Charter. The development of the Charter was one of the key recommendations of the 'Report of the Task Force on the Prevention of Workplace Bullying.

“The purpose of the Dignity in the Workplace Charter is to facilitate the management and the staff of every employment in this Country to make a public commitment to provide a workplace free of bullying, and to develop and maintain a workplace atmosphere where the inherent dignity of each individual is respected” Minister Kitt said.

The Minister welcomed the endorsement of the Charter by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, by the Irish Business and Employers Confederation and by the Construction Industry Federation. “This endorsement is a strong statement of support from those organisations and given the wide spectrum of interests which they collectively represent, their support gives the Charter much credence and credibility” said the Minister.

Minister Kitt called on every employer and business-practitioner in the Country to now adopt the Charter and to display it publicly at their place of work. “The real value of this Charter is that it is as relevant to the large multi-national company as it is to small businesses. The Charter is a public declaration to having a workplace free of bullying.As in society itself, there will be conflict, disagreement and differing attitudes, cultures and modes of behaviour in the workplace. When managed properly this should not be a problem of its own accord, but where it leads to the infringement of the dignity of another person it does become a problem” the Minister said.

The Minister drew attention to the fact that the launch of the Charter co-incides with European Safety Week and the theme for European Safety Week this year is “Accident Prevention” under the banner “Success is No Accident”.

Minister Kitt said that “good safety is good business – last year a total of 1.1 million working days were lost as a result of work-related injury and ill-health in this country. Such a statistic has a serious negative financial impact on the success and competitiveness of Irish businesses and offers a convincing argument for appropriate preventative action. This applies as much to the psycho-social hazards of workplace stress and bullying as it does to the more obvious physical hazards, and the Dignity in the Workplace Charter is the first vital step in taking such appropriate preventative action”.

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Notes

1. TASK FORCE ON THE PREVENTION OF WORKPLACE BULLYING

On 21^st September, 1999, the Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Mr.Tom Kitt, T.D., established a Task Force on the Prevention of Workplace Bullying with the following terms of reference;

• to identify the size of the problem and the sectors most at risk
• to develop practical programmes and strategies to prevent workplace bullying
• to produce a co-ordinated response from State Agencies and to report to the Minister

The Task Force was chaired by Dr. Eileen Doyle and operated under the auspices of the Health and Safety Authority.

The Task Force recommended the following definition of workplace safety;

“Workplace bullying is repeated inappropriate behaviour, direct or indirect, whether verbal, physical or otherwise, conducted by one or more persons against another or others, at the place of work and/or in the course of employment, which could reasonably be regarded as undermining the individual's right to dignity at work.

An isolated incident of the behaviour described in this definition may be an affront to dignity at work but as a once off incident is not considered to be bullying”.

The first remit of the Task Force was to investigate the size of the problem of workplace bullying and to identify the sectors most at risk. To establish this, the Task Force commissioned an National Survey by the ESRI to ascertain the incidence, correlates and characteristics of workplace bullying in Ireland. A total of 7.0% of those currently in the workforce record themselves as having been bullied in the six months preceding the survey.

The National Survey, the submissions received and the explorations of existing research in Ireland and internationally were all carefully considered before final recommendations were agreed by the Task Force.

The second remit required the Task Force to develop practical programmes and strategies for prevention of workplace bullying. The Task Force recommends that every organisation prepare a separate and specific Anti-bullying Policy tailored to suit the organisation's requirements, and that every organisation should adopt a Dignity at Work Charter. The Task Force has prepared a sample Dignity at Work Charter in its report.

The third remit assigned to the Task Force was to produce recommendations for a co-ordinated response from State Agencies to the issue of workplace bullying. The Task Force recommended that the most appropriate agency to be assigned responsibility for providing a centrally co-ordinated response to the prevention of workplace bullying is the Health and Safety Authority.

The Task Force examined the existing legislation on industrial relations, employment equality, protection and health and safety issues. Serious consideration was given to the need or desirability for new or amending dedicated anti-bullying legislation. The Task Force is of the view that the existing legislation is comprehensive in its application. Therefore, it would be premature, at this stage, to expand the already comprehensive code of labour law until one has been completely satisfied that it has been fully and properly utilised. The Task Force recommends that parallel Codes of Practice on workplace bullying be drawn up under the following pieces of primary legislation:-

• Industrial Relations Act, 1990
• Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989
• Employment Equality Act, 1998

2. Dignity in the Workplace Charter

The wording on the Charter is as follows;

"We at _________________ commit ourselves to working together to maintain a workplace environment that encourages and supports the right to dignity at work. All who work here are expected to respect the right of each individual to dignity in their working life. All will be treated equally and respected for their individuality and diversity. Bullying in any form is not accepted by us and will not be tolerated. Our policies and procedures will underpin the principles and objectives of this Charter.

All individuals, whether directly employed or contracted by us, have a duty and a responsibility to uphold this Dignity at Work Charter.

Supervisors and Managers in the workplace have a specific responsibility to promote its provisions."

Copies of the Charter are available from the Bullying Response Unit in the Health and Safety Authority. (Contact Patricia Murray or Suzanne Staunton)

Telephone: 01 – 6147000

Fax: 01 – 6147020

E-Mail: information@hsa.ie