Violence at Work

Home , Men at Work, Union violence, Workplace violence

Violence at work

Labour Education 2003/4 No. 133

Contents

Editorial V Moral harassment – work organization to blame? by Anne Renaut 1 Sexual harassment: Prevention versus power relations, by Natacha David 7 Is workplace violence inevitable? by Ahmed Khalef 11 Violence and getting the story: Journalists at work, by Lee Woodyear 17 Schools must be safe – for students and staff, by Dominique Marlet and Frédérique Boni 21 In the shadow of the goons, by Samuel Grumiau 27 Preventing workplace violence – we can’t afford not to, by Lene Olsen 31 Unions act against violence at work, by Luc Demaret 37 “We don’t have to take this” – protecting Britain’s health staff, by Adrian Hock 43 SOLVE: ILO tackles violence at work, by David Gold and Joannah Caborn 49 Mopping up mobbing – legislate or negotiate? by Ian Graham 55 Service sectors: ILO code of practice combats workplace violence, by Lene Olsen 61

III

Editorial

iolence has always been part of working life. Millions of workers Vare scarred by it on all continents. In fact, the problem may be far worse than estimated as there is evidence that the incidence of workplace violence is still being under-reported. In most countries, however, violence is no longer considered to be acceptable. Violence at work can take a number of different forms. It can be in the form of physical assaults or threats, or it can be psychological – expressed through bullying, mobbing or harassment on many grounds, including gender, race or sexual orientation. Sexual harassment, a problem most commonly affecting women, is one of the most offensive and demeaning experiences. Violence can come from outside as well as from inside the workplace. It can come from colleagues and acquaintances as well as strangers such as clients. Certain types of violence tend to happen more in specifi c sectors. Health care, education and retailing sectors are among the occupations suffering a high incidence of external physical violence. Psychological violence (be it bullying, mobbing or emotional violence) between co- workers and between workers and management, can and does happen in just about any profession, but it is more diffi cult to measure and it is often not reported. No group of workers, sector or industry is completely free from violence, but some groups are at higher risk than others. Particularly vulnerable are women, young workers and those in precarious employment as well as ethnic and racial minorities. With this issue of Labour Education, ACTRAV highlights the diffi culties some of these particularly affected groups of workers encounter. In addition to the general articles about violence at work, this issue also includes articles that focus on teachers, journalists and health-care workers. Teachers are the employees in the education sector most affected by violence and stress at work. Along with school principals, teachers are also those with the most interaction with internal users (students) and external users (mostly parents) of the service. Teachers, in growing numbers, are subjected to verbal and physical assault. Violence in schools is not only bad for teachers’ working conditions and health, it is also bad for the education of children. Journalism also has its fair share of hazards in the offi ce: bullying, psychological stress, loneliness, intense competition from within the organization and from outside, sexual harassment and repetitive stress injury (RSI). Outside the offi ce, where much of their work is done, journalists face even greater hazards. Owing to the nature of their work which involves direct contact with the public and coverage of issues such as public disorder, war, acts of violence and abuse of power, often by repressive governments,

V front-line journalists are sometimes shot at, beaten, imprisoned and even killed in the line of duty. The health sector is especially touched by the problem of violence. In fact, nearly a quarter of the world’s workplace violence is found within the health sector. The offenders are usually patients and visitors, although bullying by fellow-workers or hierarchical superiors is also found. Trade union representatives are a special case when it comes to violence at work and violence in relation to their work. Throughout the world, particularly where their rights are not respected, trade unionists are often subjected to violence. The old practice used by some governments and employers of hiring “goons” to intimidate and attack union activists seems to be spreading. By hiring thugs, they hope to avoid responsibility for the violence. In its most recent annual report, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) estimates that 30,000 workers were fi red in 2002, and 20,000 others were harassed, purely on account of their trade union activities. Another serious trend is the growing reports of moral harassment against trade unionists or workers whom the employer wants to shed. Instead of bothering with collective dismissals, with redundancy schemes or with expensive breaches of contract, employees are “harassed out”. The impact of violence at work has widespread consequences. It not only affects the employees but also the workplaces, colleagues, employers, families and society as a whole. Not only does violence at work destroy job satisfaction, but it can also create ill health leading to suffering, sick leave and loss of income. This, in turn, often affects the whole family and can lead to drug and alcohol abuse. In extreme cases, it can produce post-traumatic stress disorder and lead to suicide. In addition to the serious morale problem, we all pay for the effects of violence at work – whether it is through damaged relationships with family, friends and colleagues or through higher taxes to cover state-fi nanced health care, rehabilitation costs, unemployment and re-training costs for victims. Workplace violence also increases the level of fear and anxiety in society. It is clear that the work environment has an enormous impact on all of us. If a person’s work environment is healthy and safe, that person tends to have a higher degree of satisfaction, a better relationship with colleagues and management and better effectiveness and productivity. It is in the interest of all parties – employers, employees and political decision-makers – to create a violence-free working environment. The negative effects of violence at work on the organization include increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, deterioration of labour relations, and recruitment diffi culties. Complaints, grievances and litigation against the organization may also occur which, among other things, can damage its image. Security measures induced by violence at work can be extremely costly, whereas prevention is much cheaper. How can we prevent and deal with violence at work? The answer may depend on the country, but also on the type of offence. National approaches to workplace violence differ widely – in some countries laws have been put in place to regulate the problem, in others, collective agreements and codes of conduct have been used. Whatever the approach, trade unions have been in the forefront of action against violence in the workplace. Trade unions’ primary motive in tackling workplace violence

VI is, of course, to protect workers’ physical and psychological integrity, particularly as a large proportion of harassment cases are committed by hierarchical superiors. But this struggle links up with others – for job security and, just as vitally, for trade union freedom. Employers and their organizations have a major role to play as they have the responsibility to provide and promote a violence-free workplace. Good cooperation and sound dialogue between the employers and the workers is important and vital to reduce and eliminate violence at work. As mentioned earlier, research shows that violence at work is related to other factors infl uencing workers’ health – such as stress, alcohol and drug consumption. The ILO argues that it is important to address all these issues – that reducing or eliminating one can reduce the incidence and severity of others. The ILO’s SOLVE programme is an example of how to tackle the problems by focusing on the relationships between different factors. The proposed text for the newly adopted ILO “Code of practice on workplace violence in services sectors and measures to combat this phenomenon” initially included, in addition to violence, references to stress, thus linking the two problems. However, during the tripartite meeting where experts developed the code, the employers’ group expressed strong resistance to references to stress and they were taken out. The employers’ experts asserted that it was diffi cult to know whether stress was related to work or to private life. A number of courts or other regulatory bodies have, in fact, established a clear link between work and stress. Does work organization, including precarious employment and the ways that employers deal with employees, have an infl uence on violence at work? While a causal link has yet to be scientifi cally established between deregulation and labour market fl exibilization, on the one hand, and increased violence on the other, there are many things that point in that direction. From a trade union perspective, violence – and especially psychological harassment – is closely linked to work organization. Factors such as change, reorganization, under-staffi ng, job overload, poor hiring practices, atypical employment contracts, poor communication, poor management, inadequate security, and no or weak responses to violent incidents, increase the risk of violence at work. It is therefore very important that positive initiatives be taken to deal with these factors. Employers must also improve the work environment by focusing on occupational health and safety and organizational support procedures. Among other things, the following measures should be a priority: in cooperation with trade unions, identifying, assessing, and preventing any hazards to the safety of workers arising from their jobs; ensuring that affected workers are informed and trained; advising workers and their organizations in a timely fashion of organizational changes that affect them or their work; responding rapidly and adequately to complaints and suggestions; employers should give regular and constructive feedback on employees’ work performance; providing clear defi nitions of duties and expectations; facilitating effective consultation and communication between employers and workers and their trade unions.

VII All measures put in place to prevent violence at work should be agreed upon by employers and the representatives of workers, and backed up by national legal instruments and labour inspections. Failure to ﬁ nd effective and strong responses to the challenge of eliminating violence in the workplace will ensure that it remains part of the work environment for generations to come.

Jim Baker Director ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities Moral harassment – work organization to blame?

Workplace violence may also be psychological. In Europe, moral harassment is one of the new ills confronting workers. But it is still being tackled individually, even though it is often linked to the organization of work.

Anne Renaut Journalist

hat is moral – or psychological – between countries (ranging from 15 per Wharassment? In Europe, even the defi - cent in Finland to 4 per cent in Portugal). nition varies from one country to another. But as the report emphasizes, “such differ- Laurent Vogel, of the European Trade ences most probably refl ect awareness of Union Technical Bureau for Health the issue rather than the reality”. and Safety (TUTB), sees harassment as Women (10 per cent) seem to be more at an “ongoing process” because “harassing risk than men (8 per cent), and employees is a drip-by-drip action that builds up”.1 (9 per cent) more than the self-employed Meanwhile, “what the adjective ‘psycho- (5 per cent). The tertiary sector is the most logical’ does is to draw what may be a affected (14 per cent in public administra- tricky line with sexual harassment, and tion, 13 per cent in hotels and restaurants, to indicate that the harm is not chiefl y to 13 per cent in sales and 12 per cent in other the harassee’s physical integrity” – even services). though physical violence may also be Harassment can be a result of interper- involved. For its part, the Bilbao-based sonal confl ict. Victims may also be unwill- European Agency for Safety and Health ing participants in disputes, thus becom- at Work defi nes “workplace bullying” as ing scapegoats. But, trade unions warn, “repeated, unreasonable behaviour di- the attention now paid to harassment must rected towards an employee, or group of not be allowed to stifl e all questioning of employees, that creates a risk to health and work organization itself. “We’re stuck in safety”.2 As well as the abuse of power, “a this mindset of having to fi nd individual system of work may be used as a means of solutions”, warns Laurent Vogel. “We’ve victimizing, humiliating, undermining or drawn up procedures, particularly for threatening”, the Agency points out. grievances, but we have not gone beyond In fact, recent studies show that psy- that. Unless we fi nd our way into the ‘black chological violence and harassment are a box’ of work organization, there’s a risk greater threat to European workers than that work collectives will become even physical violence, the Dublin-based Euro- more fragmented.” pean Foundation for the Improvement of “Only a holistic model, incorporating Living and Working Conditions notes.3 individual, situational, organizational and Almost one in ten workers in Europe (9 societal or socio-economic factors, can re- per cent), or 13 million people, reported hav- fl ect the complexity of this phenomenon”, ing been subject to intimidation in 2000, as the European Foundation insists.5 The against 8 per cent in 1995, according to the Foundation says the focus should not be Third European survey on working condi- on the personalities or profi les of the har- tions.4 There were, however, big variations assers and the victims.

1 Some characteristics of work organiza- Director Marc Sapir. “They like that, but tion “encourage, promote or even instru- it also constitutes an enormous pressure mentalize individual perversities”, Vogel – for instance, in terms of objectives to be explains. He notes that constraint is a fulfi lled.” major fact of working life, due to the “sub- “What we’re seeing today is that or- ordination inherent in employment con- ganizational tensions are being contracted tracts”. Harassment may also be a means out to the workers themselves, saddling of getting workers to resign, thus saving them with unresolved problems such as the trouble of going through dismissal reconciling qualitative targets with quan- procedures. “In banking, executives were titative ones”, points out Danièle Linhart, pitted against each other as a way of get- a French researcher who heads the “work ting rid of them, and this created a breed- and mobility” laboratory at the University ing ground for harassment”, he points out. of Paris X-Nanterre.7 Moral harassment may also serve as a form Moral harassment is particularly prev- of anti-union repression, and as a means of alent among workers categorized as “fl ex- countering “disruptive elements”. Lastly, ible” under a classifi cation system devised harassment may foster personnel man- by two researchers.8 In other words, these agement strategies based on fear or the workers have to contend with very fl exible destruction of collective identities. working hours, a lack of set schedules, and the pressures driven by customer or user demand. The sectors most concerned are Organizational tensions health care and social work, and hotels and restaurants. Among the factors that may lead to moral Moral harassment also points to sex- harassment, the European agency in Bil- ism in the organization of work: women bao lists an enterprise culture that ignores are harassed more often than men, and such behaviour, a sudden change in work the sectors most affected (public admin- organization, job insecurity, poor relations istration, commerce and banking) are between staff and the hierarchy, bad rela- characterized by a gender-based division tions between colleagues, excessive work of labour. And moral harassment fosters burdens, defi ciencies in personnel policy all sorts of discrimination, whether racial and a general increase in work stress. The or sexual. consequences may include stress, depression, feelings of guilt, phobias, sleep disorders and musculo-skeletal complaints. Rebuilding solidarity Plus the social isolation and the domestic and fi nancial problems that may result “Individual assessment of results and from work absences or dismissal. performance is wreaking havoc”, says At the heart of moral harassment lies psychiatrist Christophe Dejours. “Threats a paradox: whereas, in Europe, workers to jobs are bolstering generalized competi- seem particularly well protected by the tion. People are afraid of not succeeding, law, they turn out to be more vulnerable, afraid of each other, afraid of restructuring. notably due to a type of work organization The demands of total quality have created that does give workers more responsibil- extremely severe constraints.” Dejours has ity, but which also leaves them much more penned several best-sellers on workplace isolated. suffering. Moral harassment is nothing Work rhythms are now governed more new, he says. What has changed is that it by market pressures and external cus- is now being infl icted on “people who are tomer demand – and colleagues – than isolated and are therefore at risk, because by production targets or hierarchical their very isolation leaves them unable controls.6 “Today, workers in Europe have to distinguish between things that come much more responsibility”, says TUTB from them and things that are unjust”.

2 So “medicalizing the suffering or crim- “Legislative action” inalizing the harassment is not enough”, Dejours adds. “We must rebuild our soli- In its 2002-2006 Community strategy on darities.” occupational health and safety,11 the Com- After all, as Laurent Vogel admits, “the mission recognizes that psychological growth of moral harassment is also a symp- harassment and violence at work require tom of weak trade union responses”. “legislative action”, without specifying Over the past few years, the European what form it should take. institutions have paid particular attention Few EU Member States have legislation to stress and related issues, such as harass- on moral harassment. ment. In 1996, an EU Commission paper Sweden was the pioneer, with an ordi- looked at the assessment of occupational nance dating from September 1993, within risks. It emphasized the need to analyse the framework of a general employer duty psychological, social and physical factors to prevent abuse. The ordinance is backed that could contribute to stress at work, as by a recommendation emphasizing the well as the ways in which these factors in- analysis of collective factors linked to the teract between themselves and with other organization of work. factors concerning the organization of the In France, the “social modernization” working environment. In 1997, the Advi- law of January 2002 favours a collective ap- sory Committee for Health and Safety, on proach to prevention, and also provides for which the trade unions are represented, a mediation procedure. The labour code adopted a report on stress and asked includes sanctions against harassers and, the European Commission to prepare a under the penal code, moral harassment guidance manual. This was published in is punishable by one year’s imprisonment 2000. and a ﬁ ne of 15,000 euro. In December 2002, In September 2001, the European Parlia- this law was amended. The employee now ment adopted a resolution on harassment has to prove the facts constituting harass- at the workplace,9 recommending that EU ment, rather than simply presenting them. Member States should “standardize” the Also, the choice of a mediator is now sub- deﬁ nition of bullying. It also called on the ject to an agreement between the parties. Member States and the social partners to In June 2002, Belgium brought in a law put in place “effective prevention policies”, on violence, moral harassment and sexual provide a “system for exchanging experi- harassment at work. This includes all the ence”, “specify procedures” for preventing preventive mechanisms that had already and resolving the problem and develop been set out in the 1996 law on “well-being “information and training” for those con- at work”. The Belgian law is particularly cerned (employees, workplace doctors, precise concerning the role of preventive social partners etc.). services and the mediation procedures. In November 2001, the Advisory Com- Every enterprise must have a specialized mittee adopted an opinion on violence at prevention adviser, approved in advance the workplace. The Council of EU Health by the trade union representatives. As well Ministers on 15 November 2001 invited as internal procedures, the law provides Member States to pay particular atten- for recourse to the labour inspectorate and tion to the growing problem of stress and the courts. depresssion at work. Stress was the theme On the trade union side, more and of Europe’s occupational health and more national centres in Europe are high- safety week in October 2002. The issue lighting stress-related problems within of sexual harassment was addressed in a their programmes,12 although some labour directive (European law) of 23 September confederations, particularly in the south 2002, which revised the 1976 directive on of the continent, still give priority to con- equality of treatment between men and ventional risks (chemical hazards or safety women.10 problems).

3 At the European level, the social metalworkers’ union, IG Metall, conducted partners have just started tackling the a two-year campaign against “psychologi- question. Moral harassment and stress cal burdens” in the workplace. In Spain, are among the issues on the 2003-2005 Istas, a research institute attached to the joint working programme of the Euro- labour confederation Comisiones Obreras pean Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), (CC.OO), conducted a qualitative survey in the Union of Industrial and Employers’ 2000 on workplace stress and the psycho- Confederations of Europe (UNICE), the social factors involved. In Austria, the Fed- European Centre of Enterprises with eral Chamber of Labour (BAK) has pro- Public Participation and of Enterprises of vided the railway unions with a permanent General Economic Interest (CEEP) and the consultative body of experts on job design, European Association of Craft, Small and work times and psychological health. Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME). In some countries (Belgium, Denmark, The aim is to achieve voluntary agree- Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and the ments on these issues − in other words, UK), the problem of stress is covered in the provisions would be transposed by the collective agreements, but these are more social partners in each Member State. concerned with the procedural aspects A seminar on stress was held at the end (identifying contributory factors, conduct- of February 2003, and another, on harassing surveys) than with placing precise ob- ment, is to be organized during 2004. The ligations on employers or setting targets ETUC and UNICE have agreed that the “ter- for stress reduction (apart from some ex- tiary prevention” of harassment (assistance ceptions – for example, the Netherlands). to the victims) will be dealt with in 2004. According to the TUTB, most European The ETUC wants the primary prevention of approaches to stress and harassment are harassment (stopping it before it happens), about secondary prevention (protection, seen as a stress factor, to be considered dur- i.e. reducing the health effects) or terti- ing the discussions on stress. UNICE, on ary prevention (treatment of the illnesses the other hand, insists that harassment and caused), while primary prevention (stop- stress should be tackled separately. ping them before they happen) is rare. At the national level, unions together with Moreover, preventive action is hampered experts have drawn up manuals and proce- by the non-recognition of psychological dures for detecting psychosocial risks (in disorders as occupational illnesses, and Austria, Denmark and Spain) or have carried it is centred on the individual rather than out sectoral and intersectoral studies (Bel- on work hazards. Also, labour inspector- gium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, ates do not generally concern themselves Greece, Portugal, Spain and Sweden). with psychosocial factors, due to a lack of In 2002, the Belgian General Labour staff and/or training. Finally, trade unions Federation (FGTB/ABVV) published a themselves regard stress and mental health manual on harassment at work.13 This as very complicated topics to tackle. They suggests both preventive and repressive do not have the expertise and specialists. action, and emphasizes the importance of So the unions propose to increase having a prevention adviser. knowledge about stress and contributory factors such as harassment, and to seek tighter European provisions on the pre- Prevention vention and recognition of stress (through compulsory, detailed guidelines, or else a Some unions have set up counselling and speciﬁ c directive). They are also calling for support services for workers who undergo worker health and safety representatives moral harassment (in Austria, Luxembourg to have a proper say in the organization of and the Netherlands). Unions organizing work, as well as the appropriate means of white-collar workers, who are most subject action (for instance, stop-work rights when to stress, are particularly active. The German workers’ mental health is at risk).

4 Notes 10 Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Par- liament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 1 Psychological harassment at work and the law, Lau- amending Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the rent Vogel, TUTB Newsletter no. 19-20, September implementation of the principle of equal treatment 2002 – special issue on stress at work. http://www. for men and women as regards access to employ- etuc.org/tutb/uk/pdf/Newsletter-20.pdf ment, vocational training and promotion, and work- 2 Bullying at Work, Factsheet 23, European Agency ing conditions. for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao, 2002. http:// 11 Adapting to change in work and society: a new agency.osha.eu.int/publications/factsheets/23/en/ Community strategy on health and safety at work 2002– index.htm 2006, Communication from the Commission, 11 3 Preventing violence and harassment in the work- March 2002. place, European Foundation for the Improvement 12 Stress prevention in Europe: Review of trade union of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin, March activities – Obstacles and future strategies, by Theoni 2003. Koukoulaki, in the TUTB Newsletter referenced in 4 Third European survey on working conditions 2000, note 1. Pascal Paoli and Damien Merlié, European Founda- 13 Harcèlement au travail. Une réponse syndicale, tion for the Improvement of Living and Working FGTB, 2002. Conditions, Dublin, 2000. http://www.fgtb.be/code/fr/Documents/ 5 Ibid., note 3. 2002/Harcelement/c15_10e10Idx.htm or http:// 6 Ibid., note 4. www.fgtb.be/PDF/fr/Documents/2002/ HARCELEMENTMORAL.zip 7 La violence, maladie infantile de l’entreprise, fea- Pesten op het werk: een syndicaal antwoord, ABVV, ture in the economic supplement of Le Monde, 11 2002. February 2003. http://www.pesten-op-het-werk.be/CODE/ 8 Work organization and health at work in the Euro- nl/Documents/2002/Pesten/c15_10e10Idx.htm or pean Union,Véronique Daubas-Letourneux et Annie http://www.pesten-op-het-werk.be/PDF/nl/Docu- Thébaud-Mony, European Foundation for the Im- ments/2002/PESTEN.zip provement of Living and Working Conditions, Dub- Belästigungen am Arbeitsplatz.Eine Antwort der lin, 2002. Gewerkschaft, FGTB, 2002. 9 See: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/ http://www.fgtb.be/PDF/de/Documents/ dat/2002/ce077/ce07720020328en01380141.pdf 2002/HARCELE.pdf

Sexual harassment: Prevention versus power relations

Uncalled-for remarks or sexist jokes, vulgar or embarrassing comments, unwanted invitations, pornographic images, groping, advances accompanied by promises or threats of reprisal, sexual aggression ... Sexual harassment within a working relationship can manifest itself in many different ways, often repetitively. The way in which the behaviour is received is the essential criterion for what does or does not constitute sexual harassment – in other words, whether the person at whom it is aimed responds favourably or, on the contrary, does not want it.

Natacha David Editor-in-chief Trade Union World

ll this behaviour has nothing to do Men can also be affected, however, partic- Awith chatting up or with consensual ularly homosexuals targeted as such. The amorous relationships. Rather, we are majority of the perpetrators, meanwhile, dealing here with conduct which, through are men. sexually suggestive words, deeds or gestures, goes against people’s wishes and could harm their dignity, or physical or Gender discrimination psychological integrity, or might prejudice their employment. From both the conceptual and the legal The whole difference between this and point of view, sexual harassment is a form acceptable conduct resides not in the in- of gender discrimination, in the sense that tentions of the person responsible for the it is closely linked to the roles assigned to sexually suggestive behaviour but in the women and men in social and economic life, reaction of the person to whom it is ad- and to the inevitable effects of these roles on dressed. women’s position in the labour market. The concept of sexual harassment, If women are harassed, it is because which appeared in the United States “they were asking for it” or “they enjoy during the 1970s, has gradually become it.” Such comments are a classic way of recognized worldwide as a serious mat- deﬂ ecting responsibility on to the victim, ter, closely linked to the notion of power who is then doubly penalized. Not recog- relations. It is a human rights issue, a la- nized as a victim, she is also accused of bour relations issue and a human resource provoking the behaviour in question – in management issue going way beyond the short, of being responsible for it. simplistic notion that it is “just a women’s Yet, for the victim, the consequences problem”. But precisely because they have of sexual harassment are potentially very less power, because they are often in more serious, both physically and mentally (loss vulnerable situations, or even because they of self-conﬁ dence, anxiety, psychosomatic have been conditioned to suffer the abuse pains, eating disorders, depression etc.). of power in silence, the great majority of The social and family consequences (isola- sexual harassment victims are women. tion, broken relationships) are sometimes

7 just as dramatic. In certain situations, sex- childless, sexual harassment fi ts logically ual harassment can turn into psychological into the whole pattern of discrimination to harassment (mobbing). After a rejection, which they are subject in these frequently the angry harasser may be tempted to take “non-union” zones. The international revenge by making the “victim’s” life im- campaigns against the sweatshops in possible – to the point of breakdown. Central America and South-East Asia have Within enterprises, sexual harassment included widespread denunciations of this also has negative effects on the quality of problem of sexual harassment and, from work, productivity, motivation, absentee- Disney to Nike, many multinationals have ism and staff turnover. And in a growing found themselves under the spotlight in number of countries, the fi nancial conse- recent years on account of the sexual har- quences of court cases brought by employ- assment experienced by women workers ees on the grounds of sexual harassment employed by their subcontractors, from can be very heavy. Vietnam to Haiti and from Indonesia to For society as a whole, sexual harass- Mexico. In the agricultural sector, the same ment is an obstacle to any real equality. power dynamic gives rise to systematic It also paves the way for sexual violence sexual harassment of women toiling in the and, through its negative impact on fi rms’ banana plantations and the cotton fi elds, productivity, it hampers economic devel- or among the sugar cane. Such treatment opment. has, for instance, been denounced by the Whether industrialized or developing, international campaign for workers’ rights no part of the world is spared. Big or small in the banana plantations of Ecuador. fi rms, public or private services, commerce Another group at risk is women em- and markets, farms and plantations … no ployed in predominantly male working sector and no type of enterprise are im- environments, or in situations where large mune. numbers of women are under the author- But because power relations lie at the ity of a small number of men. An example heart of the sexual harassment phenome- is the fi re brigades in the United Kingdom, non, the groups most at risk are in the least where in 1999 an offi cial report denounced protected sectors where job insecurity is a macho, sexist culture under which all the highest – as in the case of temporary, casual brigades concerned had seen acts of sexual or part-time workers. Migrant workers, harassment ranging from men urinating particularly if illegal or undocumented, are on the fl oor of the women’s toilets to the particularly vulnerable. Women working in circulation of pornographic videos, but domestic service or entertainment tend to also serious cases of sexual assault with be isolated and strongly subordinated, and “catastrophic effects” for the women con- are often without any social protection. So cerned. they are also easy targets. Migrant women In the education sector, young women are doubly at risk. The international media and men studying or working as teaching are full of sensational stories about young assistants are also particular targets. domestics who are sexually harassed and then sometimes horribly mutilated when they dare to complain in public. For exam- Legal arsenal ple, a 13-year-old domestic in Kathmandu had boiling oil poured over her hand for At the international level, sexual harass- attempting to report the sexual assaults of ment is not the subject of any specifi c which she was the victim. binding Convention, but the ILO and the Export processing zones, where the United Nations do regard it as a form of workforce is mainly female, particularly sexual discrimination. Thus, sexual harass- in unskilled and repetitive tasks, are also ment is covered by the ILO Discrimination zones of endemic sexual harassment. For (Employment and Occupation) Conven- these women, often young, single and tion, 1958 (No. 111). Considering sexual

8 harassment to be a problem of health and with impunity, provided that she/he is not safety, discrimination and unacceptable subjected to a tangible act of revenge for working conditions, and a form of violence her/his resistance. directed mainly against women, the ILO In the civil, criminal and labour courts, regards it as a violation of workers’ basic provided that cases are correctly put, the rights and therefore as a major issue for the range of damages that may be obtained ILO’s Decent Work Agenda. is wide. Stimulated by the media frenzy Within the framework of the UN Con- around the case brought in 1991 by Anita vention on the elimination of all forms of Hill against Judge Clarence Thomas, sexual discrimination against women, the United harassment cases before the United States Nations adopted Recommendation No. 19 courts rose from 6,127 in 1990 to 15,836 on violence against women. This clearly in 2000, an increase of 159 per cent. And defi nes sexual harassment and calls upon the astronomical sums awarded in highly States to take measures to protect women publicized United States trials such as against this phenomenon. The Organiza- those concerning Mitsubishi, Ford and tion of American States has adopted a Astra-USA have hit the headlines. Convention on violence against women “However, it should be kept in mind which contains similar measures. In 1991, that the main aim of most victims of sexual the European Commission adopted a rec- harassment is not to sue their employer for ommendation, accompanied by a code of damages, but to ensure that the offensive practice, on the protection of the dignity behaviour stops, that it should not recur of women and men at work. This was and that they should be protected against aimed at combating sexual harassment. retaliation for having brought a com- Finally, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples plaint.”1 Convention, 1989 (No. 169), is the only international standard which specifi cally prohibits this practice. Prevention through information At the national level, about forty countries have legislated on this issue, often Parallel to the legislative measures, many within laws that do not specifi cally cover codes of conduct, guides, policy statements, sexual harassment, but which deal with public information programmes and train- other human rights issues, employment ing courses for those concerned have been contracts, unjust dismissal or criminal developed on this issue. Firms are strongly behaviour. encouraged to adopt rules against any act “The most effective action addresses of sexual harassment, with provisions for all forms of sexual harassment. Restrict- a follow-up procedure in case of problems. ing a prohibition on sexual harassment Such rules are in themselves an effective only to sexual blackmail by employers prevention mechanism, as well as being a or their agents is not enough”, the ILO useful tool for the resolution of confl icts. notes.1 Firstly, because such an approach Some employers’ organizations have does not include sexual harassment be- issued guidance to their members con- tween colleagues, which is just as unac- cerning current legislation, recommending ceptable and physically, emotionally and that employers draw up a policy on this psychologically damaging for the victims. issue, provide management training, set Secondly, because this restrictive approach up complaints procedures and circulate does not consider sexual harassment to be information to the workforce as a whole. reprehensible in itself, but instead tackles An example was set by the Japanese feder- the problem purely from the perspective ation of employers’ associations Nikkeiren, of a possible loss of promotion, loss of pay which published a manual to assist em- rise or dismissal attributable to the victim’s ployers in applying the new legislation reaction to harassment. This amounts to on sexual harassment. By 1999, more than allowing a worker to be sexually harassed 70 per cent of major enterprises in Japan

9 had already taken measures against sexual Daring to say no harassment, a phenomenon which more than two-thirds of Japanese women say Keeping quiet and burying one’s head in they have experienced at least once in the the sand is no solution. Instead, the person course of their working lives. who pays unwelcome attentions must be Taking their cue from the ICFTU’s trade made to understand that he or she must union guide on this issue, unions in many stop. The person on the receiving end countries have issued booklets explain- should confi de in trustworthy colleagues, ing what sexual harassment is and what note the various incidents, fi nd out if the can be done about it. Some unions have fi rm has any rules on this issue, inform launched public awareness campaigns, management and ask them to intervene in calling on their members to report acts of order to end the harassment, and perhaps harassment to their works committees or get the labour inspectors involved … The shop stewards. message is clear: the victims of sexual har- But although the unions have been in assment must know that they have a right the forefront of the struggle against sexual to speak out and be defended. harassment at work, have brought the issue In the ILO’s view, while legislation is within the scope of collective bargaining, essential, it cannot in itself ensure a work- have achieved the introduction of coming environment free of sexual harass- plaints procedures and have pressed their ment. Prevention is the best approach to governments to bring in new legislation, the problem and it entails taking affi rma- nonetheless, as the ICFTU notes, sexual tive measures at the national, workplace harassment has not yet been banished and trade union levels. Defi ning a policy, from the trade union movement itself. setting up a confi dential complaints proce- For that reason, the ICFTU has published dure and ensuring protection against any a programme to tackle sexual harassment reprisals, putting progressive disciplinary within the unions, with a complaints rules in place and developing a strategy and enquiry procedure and training pro- on training and information – according grammes for regional and national trade to the ILO, these are the four key weapons union organizations. in the fi ght against sexual harassment at From a union–management agreement work. At the heart of that struggle is a great in one of Japan’s biggest supermarket challenge for the social partners – to create chains to negotiations in India between a workplace atmosphere which discour- unions and small fi rms, the scale of vol- ages sexual intimidation while promoting untary initiatives by social partners on a friendly and productive working envir- the sexual harassment issue varies greatly onment and working relations in which within and between countries. But when the dignity of every working woman and such initiatives are taken, the problem is man is respected by all. treated as “an issue for industrial relations cooperation rather than confl ict”, the ILO notes.1 Similarly, there is a large degree of Note consensus on the policies and procedures 1 Gender! A Partnership of Equals, Bureau for Gen- to be adopted at the enterprise level. der Equality, ILO.

10 Is workplace violence inevitable?

We must not fall into the error of regarding violence and stress as inevitable. It is quite possible to combat them effectively, provided that the tripartite partners play the game by establishing effective social dialogue.

Ahmed Khalef 1 Bureau for Workers’ Activities ILO

he issue of safety at work cannot be The rise in workplace violence and its Ttackled without looking at new forms corollary, stress, is no doubt one of the most of enterprise organization and manage- visible signs of this trend. The new organ- ment and their potential and actual effects ization of work is putting more workers at on workers’ physical and moral integrity. risk of aggression, while transforming the In fact, all the most serious medical analy- defi nition of tasks and increasing work- ses and surveys 2 agree that the “classic” loads. on-the-job health burdens are tending to decrease, particularly in the industrialized countries where trade unionism and oc- Definition cupational medicine have brought enormous progress, even though we should Workplace violence is diffi cult to defi ne. remain prudent and recognize that much This is a vast fi eld. When some people hear remains to be done. the word “violence”, they automatically But while the old pathologies are to assume that it means physical aggression, some extent waning, new health problems such as might for example be suffered by attributable to psychosocial burdens are on a teacher in the classroom, a money trans- the increase. The main identifi able causes, porter during a hold-up or a taxi driver apart from the heavier demands associ- who is attacked by a customer. That side of ated with the continuous introduction of the issue certainly does exist, and it gives new working methods and technologies, cause for concern. It is examined elsewhere are the intensifi cation of work (workforce in this issue of Labour Education (see, for cuts in response to fl uctuating workloads, example, the article by Dominique Mar- plus new means of communication), the let on page 21). But increasingly, we are speeding up of the work process (produc- also having to deal with more insidious tion to tight schedules or “just in time”) forms of violence which have profound and, in many places, the fear of losing consequences for the mental health of the one’s job. In short, the liberal enterprise victims. Moral harassment, ill-treatment, management of the past fi fteen years has hazing and threats are among the forms had an enormous human cost in terms of now taken by workplace violence. So in workplace health. Flexibilization and de- fact, workplace violence is “any action, regulation, linked to more and more fero- incident or behaviour that departs from cious competition between fi rms seeking reasonable conduct in which a person is market share, have helped to make work assaulted, threatened, harmed, injured even more burdensome. Increasingly, the in the course of, or as a direct result of, suffering is also psychological. his or her work”.3 It should be noted that

11 this defi nition includes incidents that take As may be seen, workplace violence can place on the journey between the worker’s have many facets. These may range from home and the workplace. The main actions mere rumour to vandalism, sabotage and or incidents concerned include: even murder or, when the violence turns inwards, suicide. Threatening, violent or abusive Work-related violence may occur even behaviour. Violent behaviour is detrimen- when the worker is outside his or her regu- tal to physical integrity. It includes sexual lar workplace – for instance, when visiting aggression, such as rape. Hitting, kicking, a client. pushing and jostling are among its other manifestations. “Threatening” or “violent” behaviour may, for example, be constituted by fi st-waving, material destruction, the Acts of violence against throwing of objects at the victim, or slaps. a person’s work * Behaviour may also be “abusive” – bullying, lack of respect, and humiliation. A. Evaluation of work 1. Unjust or exaggerated criticism of work Harassment. Under the ILO defi nition, 2. Negative evaluation of work, internal this covers any behaviour that demeans, memos humiliates, embarrasses, disturbs, insults 3. Excessive work monitoring or discomforts an individual, in whatever 4. Excessive medical monitoring manner, by words, gestures, swearing or insults. B. Assignment of tasks Generally, the word “harassment” is 1. Withdrawal of work tasks 2. Overwork taken to mean any conduct – based on 3. Absence of work age, disability, HIV status, domestic cir- 4. Proliferation of different/new tasks cumstances, sex, sexual orientation, gen- 5. Tasks inappropriate to the victim’s skills der reassignment, race, colour, language, level or state of health religion, political, trade union or other 6. Pointless or absurd tasks opinion or belief, national or social origin, association with a minority, property, birth C. Career management or other status – that is unreciprocated or 1. Blackmail concerning employment, promotion or transfer unwanted and which affects the dignity of 4 2. Compulsory transfer men and women at work. 3. Withdrawal or redistribution of work equipment (offices, fax machines, com- puters, telephones, etc.) Multiple facets 4. Discrimination regarding leave, working hours, work burdens or training requests Harassment may be sexual (see the arti- 5. Verbal incitements to give up the job cle by Natacha David on page 7) when it D. Professional communication consists of incongruous and misplaced 1. Distortion or concealment of the informa- conduct of a sexual nature which offends tion needed to perform the work, sabo- and constitutes a threat to or humiliation tage of the work of the person who undergoes it. 2. Discrediting the victim’s work in front of To complete the list, there are also written others or verbal threats, overly strong language, E. Offences pestering, emotional cruelty and hazing. 1. Breaches of labour law (withdrawal of Harassment is a form of psychological year-end bonuses, holiday allowances, violence. Such violence is more pernicious legal holidays, fixed-term contracts, etc.) than the physical variety, because it simul- 2. Theft of employment documents. taneously damages the physical, mental, * “Violence au travail, harcèlement moral et sexuel”, spiritual, moral and social development of April 2003. http://meta.fgov.be/pdf/pd/frdd43.pdf the victim.

12 Studies and statistics show that certain Acts of violence against a person* situations exacerbate the risk of violence, A. Verbal violence and must therefore be taken into account 1. Intrusions into private life (asking indis- when adopting prevention measures. Par- creet questions, listening in to phone calls, ticularly at risk are: reading the victim’s emails, subjecting the victim to phone calls or registered letters Workers in contact with the public at home, etc.) Workers who handle or have custody 2. Criticizing the victim’s private life of valuables, such as money and jewel- 3. Verbal bullying, shouting at the victim lery 4. Remarks impinging on a person’s dignity (mockery, misplaced humour, racism, sex- Workers who carry out inspection or ism, nicknames, etc.) surveillance tasks 5. Disparaging a person in front of others 6. Refusing to cooperate with the victim Workers in contact with psychologi- 7. Manipulation of verbal communication cally unstable individuals (denying an oral agreement, lying, vague or shifting comments, emotional black- Workers who perform their tasks alone mail, manipulation of feelings) or in an isolated place 8. Forbidding other workers to talk to the victim Workers who are frequently on the road 9. Spiteful rumours, unfounded accusations (truck and taxi drivers) Workers whose occupational envir- B. Physical violence onment is related to the consumption 1. Aggressive gestures (door-slamming, table-thumping, etc.) of alcohol 2. Threats of physical aggression Night workers and those who work 3. Physical aggression (jostling, spitting, step- so-called unsocial hours (shift work, ping on the victim’s feet, molestation, etc.) Sunday work). 4. Damaging or destroying the victim’s work equipment or personal property 5. Stalking (following the victim in the street, From all this, it may be deduced that staking out the victim’s home, etc.) public service workers, particularly in 6. Extortion of money/racketeering through health care and teaching, are particularly at physical intimidation risk. However, no sector is really immune 7. Hazardous working conditions (repetitive from violence or harassment. Their occur- exposure of the victim, but not of others, to dangerous products; repeated handling rence, frequency and intensity depend to a of objects that are too heavy, etc.) large extent on the organization of work. What is also certain is that, among C. Sexual violence workers, the number of pathological com- 1. Sexual violence without physical contact plaints attributable in one form or another (making advances, allusions or remarks with sexual connotations, undressing the to violence is constantly increasing. In the victim with one’s eyes, etc.) United States alone, more than a million 2. Sexual violence with physical contact workers a year are estimated to suffer acts (brushing up against somebody, deliber- of workplace violence, and there are more ate physical contact, groping, etc.) than two work-related homicides every day!5 Canada has seen the same phenome- D. Behavioural violence non of growing violence at work, according 1. Minor vexations, mean tricks (turning off the heating, hiding things, etc.) to a study of compensation claims lodged 2. Offensive gestures (turning one’s back, re- by workers. In this case, the workers most fusing to say hello, refusing to shake hands, at risk were health care staff, cashiers and shrugs, sighs, heavenward glances, etc.). police ofﬁ cers.6 The human and ﬁ nancial

* “Violence au travail, harcèlement moral et sexuel”, costs of the violence are considerable (see April 2003. http://meta.fgov.be/pdf/pd/frdd43.pdf the article “Preventing workplace violence” by Lene Olsen on page 31).

13 It would be inappropriate to discuss people tolerate these products very well, workplace violence without mentioning with virtually no lateral ill-effects, even something that can both cause it and re- when the dosage is high. It should also sult from it, namely work-related mental be remembered that working activities illnesses. (and everything that derives from them: Here, a distinction should fi rst be made social integration, pay, emotional ties de- between job placement of people who are veloped through work) are often vital to already mentally ill and the mental ailments the mental equilibrium of these workers. that can actually be caused by work. Tolerance towards them is a matter of prin- It should be emphasized that the em- ciple and moral responsibility incumbent ployment of people who are suffering from, upon everyone – including the employer or have suffered from, mental ailments is who should, for example, always be aware no longer particularly problematic, due to that the loss of a job may plunge mentally the progress made by psychiatry over the fragile workers even deeper into sickness, past fi fty years. Indeed, more and more of anxiety, depression, delirium and, fi nally, them are able to go back to work while suicide. still in treatment, or after therapy. They are, Employers’ responsibility is all the however, doubly vulnerable in the face of greater because some mental illnesses are psychological violence at work. On the one linked to work. Indeed, they may be termed hand, even if the risks of decompensation “work-caused mental illnesses”. They may leading to downtime are no higher than result from workplace violence suffered by those arising from a chronic somatic ill- the worker, and they may also, indirectly, ness, they unfortunately provoke irrational be the root cause of such violence. reactions among the workforce, due to the Mental illnesses caused by work may fear and anxiety to which mental illness be classifi ed into three categories: still all too often gives rise. On the other Occupational mental illnesses. These hand, as they are more fragile than other illnesses are the result of a toxic or physi- workers, they are less able to cope with the cal encephalopathy caused by prolonged relational confl icts which, unless carefully exposure to chemical or physical toxics. managed, can elicit violent reactions from Most often, they take on the semiologi- them. cal form of an acute psychosis, such as a confusional syndrome, a delirious fi t, a Vicious circle of violence persecution syndrome or a hallucinatory fi t. The chemical toxics that may provoke occupational mental illnesses include car- So we are faced with a vicious circle: work- bon disulphide, chlorinated solvents, lead, ers with mental disorders may be the vic- ether and the alcohols. Physical toxics in- tims of harassment engendered by a fear clude work under hyperpressure (hyper- of those who are different, but they may baric chambers), heat stroke (insolation), also themselves become violent. Which all cranial trauma and exposure of the brain goes to show the importance and useful- to ionizing radiation. ness of health education that addresses the whole of a fi rm’s workforce, including Psychiatric syndromes. These syn- management. After all, managers should dromes, which are specifi c to the sequels take account of the fact that workers being of work accidents and certain occupa- treated for mental disorders often have to tional diseases, are generally manifested take psychiatric medicines (anxiolytics, in the sinistrosis observed after a work antidepressants, hypnotics, neuroleptics) accident, particularly in the construction whose secondary effects in relation to sector and public works. Because of their productivity, safety and responsibilities precarious situation, migrant workers are require judicious assessment. Judicious, particularly vulnerable to this type of syn- because there is no general rule. Some drome.

14 Mental suffering. Here, we are no And yet the link does exist. In its most longer dealing with well-marked mental ill- extreme form, stress can induce violence to nesses, such as those described in psychiat- the point at which the workers affected turn ric medicines, but rather with psychological the violence inwards, against themselves. suffering which, although quite real, is com- How else could one explain the suicide of pensated – in other words, it is kept in check a Korean executive who, overwhelmed by by the individual with the help of individual a scandal affecting his fi rm, jumped off the and collective defence mechanisms. Even if twelfth fl oor of its building in Seoul, on this suffering does not lead to illness as such, 3 August 2003? it does have an impact on work burdens, This case and many others have been and thus affects workers’ health. It may also reported by the media, but a deeper analy- be the source of violence, by exposing the sis of suicide cases inevitably leads us to affected workers to discrimination or bul- the stress factor. “It is commonly accepted lying, or by triggering violent reactions in that high stress, together with easy access the affected workers themselves. Two fac- to means, are important factors which put tors – dissatisfaction and anxiety – promote people in certain occupations at greater mental suffering. Dissatisfaction generally risk of dying by suicide”, states a report results from an excessive division of labour, published in the United Kingdom by a from job content, from the truncation of suicide prevention association.8 More and human relations due to surveillance, and more studies confi rm the role of work from the hierarchy and methods of com- stress in a growing number of suicides. mand, thus leading to stereotyped, codifi ed Some people have even deduced that relationships which rule out the necessary suicide may now top the list of the causes emotional commitment. of work-related deaths. Things have not Anxiety, on the other hand, is a response reached that stage yet. by the organism to the dangers posed by certain tasks. It is particularly frequent among workers in sectors with a reputa- Stress – a workplace health problem tion for high risks, such as construction, aviation, nuclear power and chemicals. Stress at work is by no means a negligible Thus, anxiety is a psychological emanation occupational health problem. Fortunately, of physical hazards. It is an integral part of its sufferers are not always driven to sui- the work burden. cide, but it is seriously prejudicial to work- Other causes of anxiety are also noted ers in terms of their health, to enterprises within reputedly non-hazardous tasks. through downtime and to society through These causes are to be found in command compensation costs. The resulting absen- structures, work cadences, job insecurity teeism is an excellent case in point. Among etc. They should not be ignored, as they the most frequent causes of absenteeism, too may give rise to violent behaviour. occupational stress ranks just after back pains (which may themselves, in certain The various manifestations of violence cases, be a symptom of stress). to which workers may fall victim are described elsewhere in this issue of Labour Education. But it is no doubt useful to re- Violence and decent work call the link that must be made between stress and violence at work. All the more Health and safety at work are a pillar of so as this question caused controversy at any social policy and a key component of a recent ILO meeting7 during which the the decent work promotion strategy devel- employers’ representatives refused to dis- oped by the ILO. What counts is not just cuss the stress aspect of violence at work, employment creation, but the creation of as they felt that the two phenomena cannot jobs that meet the criteria of decency and be linked. dignity.

15 So what needs to be developed is a truly tion of the work environment to workers’ holistic and integrated approach to health aptitudes, needs and expectations. and safety at work. An approach whose We must not fall into the error of regard- primary aim is to improve well-being in ing violence and stress as inevitable. It is the workplace while adjusting to overall quite possible to combat them effectively, developments within the economy, which provided that the tripartite partners play is becoming more service-oriented. All the game by establishing effective social the changes affecting the world of work dialogue. in the globalization era must be measured, accompanied and anticipated. Which is why we must tackle the newly emerging Notes hazards of stress-related disorders, but also 1 Doctor A. Khalef, who is the focal point for oc- moral harassment and violence at work. cupational health and safety within the Bureau for Prevention is, of course, the lynchpin Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV), is a specialist in oc- of any policy on this issue. In this respect, cupational medicine, medical and industrial toxicol- it should be recalled that the employer is ogy, practical ergonomics and sociology and human sciences as applied to the world of work. He is also under an obligation to identify potential in charge of following Arab regional affairs for risks to worker health and take all pos- ACTRAV. sible steps to eliminate or limit them. The 2 See, for example, the excellent article by Dr. employer must also adapt the work to the Dominique Huez, Les pathologies mentales générées par individual, notably in order to reduce the l’organisation du travail in “Santé et Travail”, No. 44 effects of monotonous work and paced published by the Mutualité française (Paris, 2003). work, which are major causes of occu- 3 ILO: Code of practice on workplace violence in ser- pational accidents and are damaging to vices sectors and measures to combat this phenomenon, Geneva, November 2003. workers’ health. 4 This deﬁ nition is taken from a joint ILO/ICN/ WHO/PSI study published in May 2002 − see http:// www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/release37/en A “road map” for enterprises 5 See The cost of violence/stress at work and the bene- ﬁ ts of a violence/stress-free working environment, a report Ideally, a sort of “road map” for enterprises prepared for the ILO by Helge Hoel, Kate Sparks and should be drawn up, concerning work- Cary L. Cooper. related stress and violence. This would 6 ibid. facilitate the establishment of prevention 7 Meeting of Experts to Develop a Code of Prac- and monitoring. tice on Violence and Stress at Work in Services: A Threat to Productivity and Decent Work, Geneva, There are many ways of going about 8-15 October 2003. this – for instance, through job redesign, 8 Samaritans information resources pack 2003. improved social support, rewards for http://www.samaritans.org/know/statistics_infores. workers’ efforts and, above all, adapta- shtm

16 Violence and getting the story: Journalists at work

Like all professions, journalism has its fair share of hazards in the office: bullying, psychological stress, loneliness, intense competition from within the organization and from outside, sexual harassment and repetitive stress injury (RSI). Outside the office, where much of their work is done, journalists face even greater hazards.

Lee Woodyear Journalist

tress and repetitive strain injury (RSI) to be thinking of three different mediums Sare common in media offi ces because during your reporting, not to mention the of the rhythm of the work. Journalists deadlines. regularly tap at a keyboard while talking on the phone or editing a tape. Deadlines get tighter, stress sets in, muscles tense and Sexual harassment tendons infl ame. Journalists are also prone to work bizarre hours, and they must spend Sexual harassment in all of its ugly guises a lot of time waiting while their deadline exists in media companies around the draws nearer. Meaning that when it is time world. It can be exacerbated in visual for action, it has to be fast. media, where decisions about your career Journalism is a lonely business. It is depend on how “sexy” you look on televi- also a very competitive business. You sion. This is true for men and women. are competing not only with other media The position of women in a society is companies, but also often with people in also a barrier to their professional success. your own company who want to take over Many women relate the same story. They your beat, or prove that they could do it are asked to meet a source in a restaurant better. Most of the time it is your instincts, or bar. The source insinuates that he would knowledge, connections and intelligence be willing to trade information for sexual that guide a story. Decisions have to be favours. The journalist becomes more wor- made quickly and, of course, your cred- ried about how she will get home safely ibility is on the line each time you are than about what information she may published. gather. “Women are already considered The “more, faster, better for less second-class citizens in many countries, money” motto of the corporate world is and when you are a professional you have the same in journalism. Journalists are twice the fi ght; fi rst to be respected as a often sent out into the fi eld with laptop, human being, then to be respected as a paper, pencil, camera, video recorder and professional”, explained Bettina Peters, the a tape recorder. This is especially true of Director of Programmes at the European freelances. These journalists do not have a Journalism Centre. Peters has conducted fi xed income, so when they get themselves training seminars throughout Africa for the into a certain position, covering a riot, or a past 10 years. She has also run a series of war or a fashion show, they want to exploit gender seminars addressing these issues. all of its aspects as a news event. Not only Many trade unions, professional asso- is that equipment heavy, but you also need ciations and media companies have strict

17 codes of conduct concerning sexual har- Daniel Pearl, an American correspond- assment inside a company. In many cases, ent for the Wall Street Journal, was abducted management upholds these codes. If not, in January 2002 while on his way to meet media workers can fi le grievances against a source in Pakistan. He was investigat- their employer for not providing a harassing terrorist groups, their links and affi li- ment-free environment. Unions can follow ations, in Pakistan. He was tortured and up on these grievances, but it is impossi- assassinated. Had he uncovered specifi c ble to apply standards to people you are information that chagrined one group or interviewing. It is a tricky issue that will another, or was he assassinated because continue to hinder media professionals in he was from the United States? The bot- all parts of the world. tom line is that he died while trying to inform his readers about a very important topic. Revealing the truth

Yet the most dangerous aspect of journal- Terrorism, accidents and war ism, and indeed the very nature of the profession, is uncovering and publishing Terrorism, the new Cold War of the information that someone, or some group twenty-fi rst century, greatly ups the ante or even a majority of a population, does and further endangers journalists. Now not want to have published. correspondents, when travelling abroad, According to statistics gathered by the can conceivably be shot because of their Belgian-based International Federation of nationality even before they ask any ques- Journalists (IFJ), the international trade tions. A number of extremist groups have union secretariat for journalists and other announced that killing any “Westerner” media workers, over the last 12 years al- is good. And if you are a journalist from most 1,200 journalists and media workers an Arabic media company, you could be have died because of their professional denied access to some countries and some duties. These journalists fall into various media events, as has recently happened to categories. The largest number is those the Al Jazeera journalist trying to cover the who are targeted because someone does United States stock market. not like what they are doing. Though the killing of journalists from In June 2002, the Brazilian TV Globo developed countries receives more atten- journalist Tim Lopes was abducted, tor- tion from more media outlets, it is local tured and murdered. He was investigating journalists who are really on the frontline. drug gangs and the sexual exploitation of The New York-based Committee to Protect minors in the favelas (shantytowns) of Rio Journalists estimates, from their statistics de Janeiro. Ram Chander Chaterpatti, the over the past ten years, that for every single editor of a local northern Indian newspa- visiting journalist who dies in a country, per, was gunned down in front of his home three local journalists perish. in April 2002. He was working on a story Cases abound all over the globe. In areas about corruption in a local religious sect. where there is widespread social disorder In September 2001, Martin O’Hagan, who and organized crime, like in Colombia and was working for the Dublin-based Sunday Russia, assassinations are more frequent. World, was also shot outside his home From 1990 to 2002, 104 journalists died on in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. A militant duty in Colombia and 85 were killed while Protestant splinter group claimed respon- working in the Russian Federation. Many sibility for his death. O’Hagan was inves- of these deaths were premeditated. tigating links between Loyalist groups and Another example of this can be seen in security forces in the area. He was the fi rst Nepal. Few journalists have been assassi- journalist to die while covering this dec- nated in that country, but last year, follow- ades-old confl ict. ing the intensifi ed uprising of the Maoist

18 insurgents, three journalists were killed. Media companies can also have politi- According to the Nepalese Federation of cal affi liations, or can be accused of hav- Journalists and other sources, two were ing such affi liations. Journalists associated tortured and killed by Maoists or their sym- with a specifi c company can also be tar- pathizers and one by government agents geted. It is better to have a generic press who were attempting to extract informa- badge than to have one clearly identifying tion from the journalist concerning his ties your employer. During the years of fi ght- with Maoists. A typical Catch-22 – you go ing in Northern Ireland, for example, not to the “enemy” to gather information, and one journalist was killed until 2002. One then you are associated with the “enemy”. of the reasons for this was that all jour- More than 150 Nepalese journalists have nalists carried the same press cards and been arrested, many detained and beaten, were therefore not identifi ed with specifi c since 2001. media companies, which could be consid- Another category of death while on as- ered sympathetic to one side or the other. signments is through accidents. The fact Covering demonstrations, rioting and that journalists are conducting their busi- looting is also dangerous. Television and ness during riots, political rallies, search- photojournalists have the hardest job. They and-rescue operations, natural disasters, want to be as close as they can and if there sports matches and armed standoffs puts is violence they can easily get caught in the them in the vicinity of violence regularly. middle. Demonstrators may target them The pressures of the job also add to the fre- because they do not want to be fi lmed quency of accidents. When an event is tak- doing something illegal, like smashing ing place, if you are from the visual media, windows or throwing fi rebombs. They you need to get there before it is over. Once may believe that a journalist is actually you get the story, you need to get it back to part of the security forces, or is gathering your offi ce so it can be published. evidence that will be given to the police. Journalists have the further burden of The police may not want their actions standing out. Usually they are in desig- fi lmed either, and often claim that cameras nated areas and they have press badges incite people to behave more aggressively. and equipment. Even more worrying, In 2002 in Uganda, at a political rally that and prevalent, is the fact that politicians was banned by the Government, a journal- small and large from all continents openly ism student sent to cover the event was criticize “the media” or even specifi c jour- killed instantly when a frightened police- nalists. In many cases this can lead to an man fi red into the crowd. In Venezuela in uncomfortable moment, in other cases it April 2002, photojournalist Jorge Tortoza can lead to a beating or worse. was shot and killed by a sniper. Four Pal- At the beginning of 2003, a pro-gov- estinian journalists were killed in 2002 by ernment publication in the Ivory Coast Israeli security forces. Three of them were printed the names of individuals that it covering political demonstrations, and considered to be sympathetic towards the two appeared to have been targeted by the rebels who are fi ghting to overthrow the Israeli forces and were fi red on by tanks. Government. Amongst the names was that And then there is war. Of the 1,192 of Kloueu Gonzreu, a journalist working deaths that the IFJ recorded from 1990 to for the news service Agence Ivoirienne 2002, 274, or almost one-quarter, were in de Presse. Two weeks after his name ap- war zones. By December 2003 this fi gure peared in that publication, he disappeared. had risen to 303. His remains were found by the Red Cross Civil wars are the most dangerous to in March 2003. Those investigating his cover. Close to 100 journalists have died murder believe that there is a direct link while reporting on the wars in former Yu- between the publication of his name, and goslavia. In many cases, they were targeted. the accusation that he was sympathetic to During the NATO attack on Serbian forces in the rebel movement, and his murder. 1999, the United States bombed the Serbian

19 national radio and television headquarters Austria, launched the International News in Belgrade, killing 16 media workers. Press Safety Institute (INSI). This Institute al- freedom organizations and the IFJ had been ready has the support of scores of large and given assurances by NATO that Serbian TV small media companies and press freedom would not be targeted. More devastating is organizations. It is a bipartisan undertaking the fact that the journalists in the building with both employers and employees taking were not told beforehand that it would be part in its management and funding. bombed, though NATO claims that they The primary goals of INSI are to set had informed Serbian offi cials. standards for safety training and safety There is a direct correlation between equipment, to collate and distribute safety access, information and death. The more manuals and provide support for safety access that journalists have to a war zone, assistance programmes for journalists the better informed we are about the con- working in dangerous regions. It will also fl ict, and at the same time the greater the develop and promote affordable insurance number of journalists who die. Sixty-four for staff and freelance journalists, and it will journalists died while covering the wars promote health and safety agreements at in Vietnam and Cambodia between 1954 all media outlets to ensure that journalists and 1976. Eight journalists died covering are given risk-awareness training and fi rst the fi ghting in Afghanistan in 2001. During aid courses. More information about INSI the fi rst Gulf War, journalists were given is available through the IFJ’s website. very little access to the battlefi eld, and no Yet much more needs to be done. The journalists died during the liberation of perpetrators of many of the murders and Kuwait, but four died covering the ensu- other human rights violations mentioned ing civil wars in Iraq. in this article have not been identifi ed or have not been punished − or both. Many governments regularly intimidate Safety issues for media workers journalists through threats, harassment, imprisonment and violence. Many media Statistics like these do serve a purpose. In companies bring home their staff corres- the past 12 years, literally hundreds of new pondents when a situation gets hot and organizations have been created to address use freelances. Many journalists perpetu- safety issues for media workers. The IFJ ate the “macho” image of the fearless war and its member unions are working closely correspondent, instead of admitting that with media companies and governments coming under fi re is not fun. If a journal- to see to it that all journalists are trained ist narrowly escapes with his or her life, and have access to equipment before being they should analyse the situation and learn sent on a dangerous assignment. The IFJ how they can avoid it in the future, not published a comprehensive safety manual brag about it. Young and less experienced for journalists in March 2003, entitled Live journalists can be infl uenced by bravado News: A Survival Guide for Journalists. It is behaviour and make fatal mistakes when available through their website (http:// covering a confl ict. These are all problems www.ifj.org). that must be addressed by governments, On 3 May 2003, the IFJ and the Inter- media companies and media workers national Press Institute (IPI), a publish- together in order to improve the working ers’ press freedom organization based in conditions in this profession.

20 Schools must be safe – for students and staff

Violence in schools is bad for education and bad for teachers’ working conditions. ILO data show that 15-20 per cent of students in industrialized countries suffer violence at school. In US schools, between 1995 and 1999, teachers were the victims of some 1,708,000 non-fatal crimes. These included 1,073,000 thefts and 635,000 violent crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery and aggravated or simple assault) – about 79 crimes per 1,000 teachers per year.1

Dominique Marlet Media Officer Education International Frédérique Boni Advocacy Coordinator Education International

ll forms of discrimination, harassment tion and prevention are needed? And what Aor abuse – whether physical or verbal support systems exist for teachers when – based on gender, sexual orientation, dis- dealing with isolated incidents? ability, religion, ideology, ethnic origins Action is being taken in several coun- or physical appearances, amongst pupils, tries. Governments are working with un- teacher-to-teacher, teacher-to-pupil or vice ions to identify causes, and are creating an versa, are a violation of their fundamen- environment in which violence and abuse tal human rights and constitute violence in schools can be reduced to the minimum. in schools. More specifi cally, any form of In Bulgaria, teachers’ unions are contribut- violence that diminishes a child’s right to ing to developing professional qualifi ca- education is a violation of the UN Conven- tions that enhance teachers’ abilities to tion on the Rights of the Child (Art. 19, 28, prevent and counter violence in schools. 29, 34, 37). In Sweden, the fi rst clause of the Educa- Violence in schools has coincided with tion Act forbids any abuse in schools and a general rise of violence in society. Hence, imposes penalties on those who breach it is important to establish better ways of this prohibition. In Scotland and France, reporting and dealing with it. The world national debates are being organized to body for teachers’ unions, Education Inter- examine these issues. In some countries, national (EI), recommends allocating more notably Belgium, support is provided to resources to in-service training for teachers, schools that develop new techniques in- establishing in-school structures to provide volving both pupils and parents. support for both teachers and students, increasing resources for teacher recruitment in order to reduce class sizes, and greater What is violence in schools? involvement of the community in preventing violence. More research is also needed When a child steals another’s lunch or into a number of questions: what kinds of keeps on intimidating a weaker student, violence prevail? What forms of interven- the perpetrator is generally termed a

21 The law’s the law, in school or out Education International recently organized a Round Table on “Violence in Schools” for its Euro- pean affiliates (Brussels, 9-10 October 2003). The event offered teacher unions in Europe a valuable opportunity to issue policy recommendations and discuss violence in schools, together with representatives from the European Parents’ Association and the Organizational Bureau of European Secondary Student Unions. EI has been working on the issue of violence in schools since 1994. Several programmes have been launched with intergovernmental agencies to integrate training on this into both pre- and in-service teacher training. “Teacher education must fully prepare new teachers on how to deal with challenges in the classroom; this is a clear responsibility of teacher institutions”, concluded Elie Jouen, EI’s Deputy General Secretary. Teacher unions also agreed to lobby national governments for the adoption of laws protecting teachers and pupils. For example, workers in Sweden are covered by the Environmental Act and those in the United Kingdom by the Health and Safety at Work Act. If such legislation is to be properly enforced, it needs to clearly spell out duties and responsibilities. “Laws that apply in society should apply in schools” seems to be an appropriate guiding principle. Teacher unions should also seek to ensure that a framework exists in every school both preventing violence and indiscipline and for dealing with it when it occurs. This would enable behavioural policies to be adopted and implemented, and appropriate structures for problem-solving to be set up. Such a process must necessarily involve teachers, pupils and parents working together.

“bully”. Bullying is the most common party of one’s choice, teachers are forbid- form of violence reported in schools. Even den to do so by regulations of the Public so, the extent of the problem is still under- Service Commission.” estimated.2 In Australia, one in six children is bullied on a weekly basis. Bullying is the culture of violence in a nutshell. Sexual harassment Another variant is social bullying, and sexual discrimination when harassment occurs on the basis of race, gender, disability, intellectual capac- A Human Rights Watch study 4 shows that ity and/or sexual orientation. This type “lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are three of harassment can occur verbally and/or times as likely as their peers to have been physically. involved in at least one physical ﬁ ght at Research in Scotland shows that bully- school, three times as likely to have been ing can lead to absenteeism, underachieve- threatened or injured with a weapon at ment, post-traumatic stress disorder and school, and nearly four times as likely even schizophrenia and suicide.3 Similar to skip school because they feel unsafe”. ﬁ ndings were made in Korean schools. The UK teachers’ association NASUWT At times, when victims retaliate, the recommends that all schools and head- consequences can be far worse than the masters adopt a policy against bullying original acts, as was seen in the Colum- on the grounds of sexual orientation, that bine High School shootings in Colorado, they receive adequate training on the issue United States. and that protection be available for both Teachers are also sometimes bullied by teachers and students.5 management or the authorities. In Zimba- Sexual harassment is also a problem bwe, “the Government constantly harasses in schools. EI organized an African forum teachers, mostly in rural areas, accusing in November 2002 addressing the issue them of meddling in the political process”, of sexual harassment in pre-university reports the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Associa- education. The forum pointed to the need tion (ZIMTA). “And while the Constitu- to combat all forms of violence in schools, tion provides the freedom of speech and and the need for teachers to comply with allows individuals to join the political the EI Declaration of Professional Ethics,

22 so as to avoid instances of sexual abuse. It In Latin America, the case of Colombia also recommended that States adopt legal shows how a country’s situation affects its and disciplinary measures to penalize schooling system. “Schools which suffer the sexual harassment. most are the schools in areas where conﬂ icts Again, in the case of sexual abuse, a prevail […], students imitate the situation zero tolerance policy should be enforced in by creating gangs and entering into trench all schools along with training for teachers warfare on school grounds.”8 In Nepal, the and a sound reporting system. This would Maoist insurrection which has lasted seven help to re-establish the gender balance in years has led to the deaths of hundreds of schools, as girls would then come back to teachers in the past ﬁ ve years. school rather than opting for absenteeism, as is often the case after being sexually abused. Internal causes of violence in schools

One of the main factors contributing to The causes violence in schools is the organization of the schools themselves. A low student-to- Factors contributing to violence in schools teacher ratio promotes greater human con- often originate outside the formal educa- tact and a more personalized approach to tion system, for example in the family, the teaching. This increases the attention that local community or, more generally, the teachers give to individual students, and is local or national economic and social situ- vital not only to the learning process, but ation. Increased affl uence has also brought also to the positive social, emotional and its own problems. Some young people have psychological development of each child. too much money and too little supervision It is therefore important for the local and by parents. national authorities to increase resources According to Eric Debarbieux,6 head of for publicly funded schools, so as to the European Observatory of Violence in achieve a low student-to-teacher ratio. Schools based in Bordeaux, France, “To put an end to violence, we need a well-established State with the means to compensate All forms of violence must be banished from for inequalities, a State that tries to re-es- school, as it is the place where children learn tablish diversity in neighbourhoods and and develop life skills. schools, one that does not give up on the notion of justice”. In Germany, research shows that “there According to the German study,9 the are many problems of cultural integration learning-by-success teaching model is a for foreigners and this translates into more major cause of violence amongst pupils. visible social inequalities and poverty This model generates increased competi- amongst the young, which then further tion between students, who then convert enhance tensions and violent acts in Ger- their frustrations into physical and non- man schools”.7 physical acts of violence. School systems Ireland “has undergone radical and that publicly identify pupils as failures rapid changes in the last ten years”, notes − through the assessment systems, or Irish teacher union ASTI. “Society, which through directing pupils into courses or was once very traditional and heavily in- streams perceived as low-status – or which fl uenced by the Roman Catholic Church, leave pupils to struggle on their own from has changed dramatically. Single parent- their earliest years, contribute to raising hood is very common and an increasing levels of violence. Pupils who are publicly number of single mothers fi nd themselves perceived as failures will seek their own bullied or intimidated by their children areas of success through confrontation and who have grown out of control.” rejection of school values.

23 Another internal cause of violence in comply with the Dakar Framework of Ac- schools is the stress and pressure to which tion, the UN Convention on the Rights of the teaching staff is subject. According to the Child and, more generally, the Uni- the ILO Sectoral Activities Department, versal Declaration of Human Rights. This “work-related stress may be defi ned as in itself would greatly diminish violence the physical and emotional response that within all education systems. occurs when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the employee”.10 “The lack of au- tonomy, changes in education policy, and Schools should be places where good management prevails, so as to promote an educa- lowering salaries are a big source of stress tion based on human rights, participation and on teachers”, thus contributing to “in- democratic procedures. creased lack of communication amongst the teaching staff, which further engenders peer-to-peer violence”, notes the Quebec teachers’ union CSQ.11 Governments should allocate more re- In South Africa, teachers have experi- sources for pre-service and in-service enced many problems since corporal pun- training which will better equip teachers ishment was banned in schools in 1996. to deal with violence in schools. Further- “The Government introduced a human more, these resources should be extended rights culture into schools before one was to providing professional support both for in place in the society”, claims South Afri- teachers and for students, in the form of can teachers’ union SADTU. No training, social workers and school psychologists. support or resources have been provided Class size should be lowered in order to for teachers, who feel powerless when promote greater human contact and elimi- faced with problems of gang violence, nate impunity for violence. drugs and criminality. Teacher unions should develop poli- Stress leads to increased teacher absen- cies to counter school violence, with the teeism which further devalues the teaching participation of all stakeholders. For ex- profession and the quality of education. ample, the National Union of Teachers in the United Kingdom has been working on several cases of serious violence. It brought EI recommendations together various elements of the local community – teachers, parents, police, social Education International recommends that workers and even religious fi gures – and all stakeholders be involved in the formu- drew up a policy on violence in schools. lation of policies to ensure that schools are The union has ensured that this policy a safe place for teachers to work, and a safe forms part of the induction programme for place for pupils to learn. all new teachers. In cases where the school EI requests its affi liated organizations management failed to react satisfactorily, to abide by the EI Declaration on Profes- the union sought legal assistance. sional Ethics.12 All teachers should commit Special measures should be taken for themselves to maintaining a professional newly qualifi ed teachers, such as mentor- relationship with their pupils and should ing, in order to prepare them for situations strive to ensure that education remains a of violence in schools. There should be right for all children. Likewise, both the greater emphasis on professional devel- community and the government should opment of teachers so as to further hone accord suffi cient recognition to teachers their skills in dealing with the wide range and education personnel, so as to ensure of school violence. Emergency support that they can exercise their professionalism measures should be established for teach- with dignity throughout their career. In ers who are exposed to or subject to violent addition, the delivery of education should acts.

24 Last but not least, EI calls on interna- 4 Human Rights Watch, Violence against Children tional organizations which have an inter- in Schools, 8 Sep., 2001, pp. 1-14. est in education – such as UNESCO, the 5 NASUWT, Tackling Homophobic Bullying, Apr. ILO, the World Bank, the OECD and the 2002, p. 6. European Union – to give increased vis- 6 Eric Debarbieux, Violence in Schools: A Worldwide ibility to the issue of violence in schools. Affair, The Courier, UNESCO, Apr. 2001. http://www. unesco.org/courier/2001_04/uk/education.htm 7 Reinders, Violence in schools: National activities, Notes programmes and policies – Germany, 10 Oct., 1998, p. 4. 8 Combating Violence in Schools, IPS News, 21 Jan. 1 ILO, Workplace violence in service sectors with im- 2003, Porto Alegre. plications for the education sector: Issues, solutions and 9 See note 6. resources, Richard Verdugo, National Education As- sociation, Washington, DC and Anamaria Vere, ILO, 10 ILO, Violence and Stress at work, 12 May 2003. Oct. 2003. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sec- 2 See, for example: Stevens, Bourdeaudhuij, Van tor/themes/violence/educat.htm Oost, “Bullying in Flemish Schools: an Evaluation of 11 Jacques Salome, Nouvelles CSQ, mars-avril Anti-Bullying Intervention in Primary and Secondary 2003, p. 35. Schools” in The British Journal of Educational Psychol- 12 Education International, Declaration on Profes- ogy, 2000, vol. 70., p. 196. sional Ethics, Oct. 2002. http://www.ei-ie.org/pub/ 3 NJEA Review, May 2003, Edpress, NJ, pp. 14-16. english/Others/2001_leaﬂ et_dpe_e.pdf

In the shadow of the goons

Some governments and employers are using “goons” to intimidate and attack union activists. By hiring these thugs, they hope to avoid responsibility if the violence becomes known. The practice seems to be spreading.

Samuel Grumiau Journalist

mployers and governments who vio- sometimes send members of the ‘Pagoda Elate workers’ basic rights generally hate Boys’, a group of young people with close being taken to task in public. Nonetheless, links to the ruling party, who harass and in countries where human rights are not sometimes attack us. The police simply ﬁ rmly anchored, there is always the temp- look on as they destroy our loudspeakers tation to get rid of union “troublemakers” and banners and even when they hit work- by submitting them to all kinds of repres- ers. On the other hand, when workers try sion, whether by the police or by others, to defend themselves, they are attacked by even if this means breaking national laws. the police”. But companies and States whose workers Recorded in October 2003, his words are seriously ill-treated risk losing con- now echo down to us as the angry cry of tracts with powerful purchasers who are a man whose struggle was always non- concerned about their image (even if these violent. At the age of 36, Chea Vichea, purchasers themselves often impose such married and the father of a child, was low prices that they push the suppliers murdered in Phnom Penh on 22 January into exploiting their staff). The clients fear 2004. Three bullets hit him at point-blank that some end-consumers will shun their range while he was reading his newspaper wares if the media report serious violations on a street in the Cambodian capital. De- of workers’ rights by their suppliers. spite death threats, he had pressed ahead More and more, in a bid to take out with a campaign that brought noticeable the unions without attracting criticism, improvements in working conditions for employers and the authorities in some some 200,000 garment workers.1 parts of the world are using the “services” But it is not only in developing coun- of goons − thugs hired to threaten and in- tries that employers hire goons. In 1997, for timidate workers who stand up for their instance, the Australian and international rights, or even to neutralize them by force. trade union movements thwarted a secret To preserve their image in the media, the plan dreamt up by the Australian Federal people who hire these goons pretend to Government to neutralize the very power- have no connection with them, but more ful Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). and more trade union voices are being An innocuous-looking small ad in the raised in protest against these practices. Australian Defence Force (ADF) maga- This trend of paying goons to attack zine The Army caught the unions’ eye. striking workers is at its strongest in Published just when the ADF was prepar- Asia. Chea Vichea, President of the Free ing to reduce its strength from 57,000 to Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom 50,000, the ad offered “diggers” 2 an attrac- of Cambodia, knew all about this kind tive new opening in civvie street. But the of violence: “When we carry out protests required proﬁ le closely matched that of a such as demonstrations, the authorities docker, and the jobs on offer were in major

27 Australian ports that had recently been There have been other cases of the use through rather tough industrial disputes. of thugs against worker protests in Thai The unions very soon discovered that the factories over the past few years, notably Canberra Government was attempting those producing clothes for Triumph and nothing more or less than the recruitment toys for Master Toy. of mercenaries to bust the dockers’ union, replace the strikers and crack down hard on anyone who still didn’t get the message. Murders go unpunished Nothing was left to chance. The ex-military recruits were sent to Dubai for training. The assaults sometimes turn into murders. Handling them was a fi rm headed by an That is what happened in 2001 at the PT expert in unarmed combat and the close Kadera plant in Indonesia, when 400 strik- protection of VIPs. But the unions’ revela- ing workers held a sit-in for better work- tions caused an outcry. The recruits had to ing conditions. During the night, while pack up and leave, and the Government the workers were asleep inside the plant, fi nally came clean. Otherwise, one can well they were attacked by more than 400 goons imagine the turn that things might have armed with knives, metal bars, stones and taken down on the waterfront…3 even fi rearms. One worker, Kimun Effendi, Thailand has also had its share of anti- died during the attack and another, Rach- worker attacks by goons. The ICFTU annual mat Hidayat, succumbed to his injuries report on violations of trade union rights while in hospital. Another ten were seri- published in 2001 relates the case of the ously wounded. The workers later learned Thai Durable Kriang textile plant, located that the thugs had received more than in the Bangkok region. On 30 May 2000, 2,700 dollars from the employer to carry to break a strike during which the work- out this attack. In a report to the WTO this ers had occupied the plant, management year, the ICFTU emphasizes that Indonesian sacked 390 workers, including 15 union trade unions are reporting more and more representatives. Soon after, the violence attacks on their activists by paramilitaries started. “On 14 and 15 June, a few dozen who are supported by the army and police vandals managed to get into the plant”, and paid by unscrupulous employers. explains union representative Suparb However, Asia is not the only part Sansvay. “They threw stones at us, hit us of the world where these practices are with wooden batons and squirted fi re ex- spreading. In Latin America too, plenty of tinguishers at us. One woman worker had unscrupulous employers and authorities her ribs broken, and several others also had use the services of the goons. This is nota- to be hospitalized. When the police arrived, bly the case in Ecuador where, on 16 May they arrested the thugs, but they let them 2002, 300 armed, masked mercenaries go again before they even got to the police burst into the Los Alamos banana plan- station.” The violence against the strikers tation at two o’clock in the morning and started up again a week later. “This time, attacked striking workers in their homes. 150 vandals arrived, marshalled by people Nineteen people were injured and one in uniform and led by the director of the worker, Mauro Romero, lost a leg. Brutal fi rm”, says 19-year-old worker Nipaporn. repression of trade union activities is also a “First, they destroyed the barriers behind characteristic of Haiti, where gangs linked which we had retreated. We sat down on to the rulers have repeatedly attacked trade the ground and linked arms to stop them unionists. In 2002, after a demonstration getting into the plant. Then they hit us with by rural workers, two elderly members of handcuffs and batons and kicked us all the trade union Batay Ouvriyè (Workers’ over our bodies. The director encouraged Struggle) were dragged out of a house by them to beat us.” It took an hour and a half company-paid hooligans, who mutilated for the police to arrive and chase off the them with knives, beheaded them and attackers. Again, there were no arrests. fl ung them into a pit.

28 Anti-union practices are sometimes confi dential document unearthed in solidly anchored within a fi rm. In Novem- Guatemala. Wackenhut still seems to be ber 2003, Union Network International following it. (UNI), the service workers’ global union federation, lodged a complaint with the International Labour Offi ce about the ac- Sexual aggression tions of the Danish multinational, Group 4 Falck, which specializes in security work. In some countries, the thugs are even In fact, the complaint mainly concerns the tougher on women trade unionists. In the group’s American subsidiary, Wackenhut, Bangladeshi textile industry, for example, known for its seldom-equalled hostility to some women workers have dared to go trade unions. Wackenhut had the nerve to public about the ill-treatment they suffer at tell its workers that they should quit the night, when they are walking home after union if they wanted to benefi t from the long stretches of overtime. “The women company’s health insurance scheme. Such workers are constantly afraid because attitudes are not uncommon in the United there are prowlers around and a number States, where a recent study showed that of sexual attacks have already taken place, 75 per cent of employers hire consultants including rapes”, a Bangladeshi lawyer ex- to help them combat union organizing.4 plains. “Only a tiny fraction of such cases Wackenhut is an old hand at this. By 1997, are reported, as the women would lose the American company was operating in their honour if they disclosed what had about 50 countries. In Guatemala, it even happened to them. So very few complains won the security contract for the Ameri- are lodged, and this encourages the prowl- can embassy in Guatemala City and it ers to continue. But is it pure coincidence handled money transports for a number that the victims include a disproportionate of companies, including McDonald’s number of women who are actively defend- restaurants. But its activities extended ing workers’ rights? Are they better-look- further. Wackenhut also became a special- ing than the others or, more likely, are they ized consultant for fi rms that would like targeted because of their commitment?” In to do without trade unions. A confi dential some cases, the aggressors actually refer document dating back to 1995 was dis- to trade union activities as a justifi cation covered by unions in 1997. It speaks vol- for the rapes that they commit. “In El Sal- umes. The paper reads like an instruction vador, a woman trade unionist who was manual for union-busting: how to recruit active in the textile sector was intimidated spies among the workers, set up puppet on several occasions by an employer’s hit- unions, carve up the business to get round men”, says Janek Kuczkiewicz, who heads union representation rules, and discredit the ICFTU trade union rights department. agitators. The document recommends the “Finally, they raped her daughter and told “iron hand” in the “velvet glove”. At the her it would be her turn next – unless she time, trade unionism was under pres- stopped her trade union activities.” Repris- sure in Guatemala. Trade unionists were als against trade unionists’ families hap- being abducted. Others were receiving pen in a number of countries. In Ukraine, death threats and many were fi red.5 In the wife of a union leader in the mining 2002, when Wackenhut was taken over sector is often stalked around the streets, by G4 Falck, negotiations started be- and his son is harassed by “strangers” who tween the multinational and UNI. Since taunt him about his father’s union activi- then, Wackenhut has continued to blot ties. The union leader decided to send his the escutcheon of the Copenhagen parent daughter to study abroad so as to save her company, which nonetheless refuses to from further harassment. accept responsibility for its subsidiary’s Even the numerically strongest and behaviour. “Neutralize and eliminate most solidly established organizations are the trade unions” was the slogan of the not spared. One February night in 2002,

29 a man in police uniform broke into the Notes headquarters of the Brazilian trade union 1 The murder of Chea Vichea was strongly con- confederation CUT. Hard on his heels came demned by the ILO and its Bureau for Workers’ Activ- an armed gang who trashed the premises ities, and also by the international trade union organi- and stole anything of value. In Mexico, zations which called for an impartial enquiry to iden- just after voting on the terms of a new col- tify the killers and bring them to justice. A complaint lodged with the ILO by the Cambodian union led the lective agreement, members of the pilot’s ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, in No- union ASPA came under brutal attack from vember 2003, to seek explanations from the Cambo- thugs hired by the AVIACSA company. dian Government concerning the dismissal of Vichea “The tenser the industrial relations are, and 30 other members of his trade union on account the more risk there is of physical violence of their trade union activities. The Committee called for urgent measures to reinstate the trade unionists of this kind”, Kuczkiewicz explains. “We in their jobs and measures to ensure their protection only get to hear about a minority of such against acts of anti-union discrimination. cases.” 2 Australians, and more particularly Australian So what can be done about cases like soldiers, have been popularly known as “diggers” this? Proving a link between the goons and ever since the First World War. The nickname recalls employers or the authorities is difﬁ cult their wartime trench-digging, as well as Australia’s mining and prospecting activities. without the authorities’ cooperation. The 3 For more details of this affair, see Luc Demaret: international trade union organizations “Australia’s Fifth Column”, Trade Union World, do call on the governments concerned to ICFTU, Brussels, January 1998. live up to their responsibilities and launch 4 American Federation of Labor – Congress of inquiries, but the great majority of union Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO): The Silent War, rights violations involving thugs still go June 2002. unpunished. 5 Trade Union World, ICFTU, January 1998.

30 Preventing workplace violence – we can’t afford not to

No one knows the real costs of work-related violence, and a devas- tated life has no price. But workers, employers and society as a whole have every interest in reducing violence at work.

Lene Olsen Bureau for Workers’ Activities ILO

iolence at work is now an alarming – both in terms of fi nancial losses and in Vphenomenon worldwide. The extent human costs. of the problem has only recently become Physical attacks are obviously dan- known. In fact, there is some evidence that gerous, and easier to identify than verbal we are still underestimating it. abuse or threats, but persistent psycho- Violence can be physical or psychological or verbal abuse or threats can also logical. It can come from colleagues and harm health, often through anxiety and acquaintances as well as strangers. Teach- stress. Post-traumatic symptoms such as ers can be threatened by their students fear, phobias and sleeping diffi culties may and patients can attack nurses or carers. arise. In extreme cases, post-traumatic Passengers caught without tickets may stress disorder can occur. Violence causes aggress railway staff and someone denied enormous pain and suffering, and some- benefi ts may take it out on the civil servant times even disability or death. Statistics who has to give them the news.1 from the Norwegian National Association Negative effects of violence at work against Mobbing at Work (Landsforeningen may be observed at a personal and an mot mobbing på arbeidsplassen, Lmm)2 show organizational level, as well as in society that more than 100 people in Norway com- as a whole. These negative effects may mit suicide every year because of mobbing be economic or non-economic, fi nancial at work. This fi gure is thought to equal and/or human. The costs may be a direct the number of deaths from work-related result of violence at work or an indirect accidents. consequence of it. Although any estima- Lmm’s defi nition of mobbing is “… tion of costs would have to be somewhat when one or several persons in a given vague, due to the lack of available data, to work environment constantly and over different recording practices and to vari- time are exposed to negative reactions and ations in wages and benefi ts worldwide, acts from one or several individuals in the existing fi gures and studies clearly show same work environment…”. It adds that the potential cost of violence at work. “sexual harassment is also mobbing”. It does not take an expert to see the relation between work-related violence and the Consequences of workplace violence health problems that often follow. Negative at the individual level effects from, for instance, psychological violence – mobbing and harassment – can It goes without saying that the conse- also have an impact outside the workplace quences of violence at work are mainly sphere, on the person’s family life, and can endured by the individual – the worker in turn create family problems.

31 The most important areas to consider, ings, in a few selected European countries, as far as “economic costs” are concerned, plus Australia and the United States. are loss of income as a result of absence due Sick leave payments in most countries to sickness, and expenditure on health care decrease after more than three months’ and medical consultations and treatment. absence, leading to substantial reductions Depending on the compensation systems in of income. the country, and whether the loss of income In developing countries, where social se- is covered by the employer or by the State curity systems are very often less favourable, (or a combination of the two), the worker sick leave has an enormous impact not only may receive anything from full compen- on the affected employee, but also on his/ sation to hardly any compensation at all.3 her family. Women, who are more likely to The table below 4 gives an overview of sick be working part-time, are also more severely leave payments, as a percentage of earn- affected by cuts in already low income.

Table 1. Sick leave payments, as a percentage of earnings, 2000

At At At At At At At Total valuation 1st day 2nd day 3rd day 10th day 20th day 50th day 100th of generosity day of sick leave pay

Austria 100 100 100 100 100 100 50 low Belgium 100 100 100 100 100 60 60 high Finland 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 medium Germany (2001) 100 100 100 100 100 70 70 high GDR (1988) 90 90 90 90 90 50 50 high Luxembourg 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 high Netherlands 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 medium Portugal 0 0 0 65 65 65 65 low Sweden 0 80 80 80 80 80 80 medium United Kingdom 0 0 0 Not calculable per day; upper limit at low about 50 per cent of average income. Norway 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 high Switzerland 0 0 0 According to enterprise or branch low specific contract. Czech Republic 50 50 50 69 69 69 69 medium Hungary 80 80 80 80 70 70 70 medium Slovakia 70 70 70 90 90 90 90 medium Poland 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 medium Australia Not calculable per day; low upper limit at about 50 per cent of average income. United States 0 0 0 60 60 60 60 low Notes: Germany: Figures in the table relate to new regulations in force since January 1999. In the preceding period, from October 1996 to December 1998, minimum sick leave payments were set at 80 per cent. This was, however, raised to 100 per cent under several enterprise-level and sectoral collective agreements. United States: Regulations differ between states and even counties. The table contains plausible medium-range values. Start of sick leave payment is often only at the 8th day of sickness. More generous regulations are found in the public services. France and Canada have been omitted here due to missing or implausible data. Sources: Social Security Programs Throughout the World, US Government; MISSOC database of the European Commission; Ifo Country Data Research; Re-calculation of the data, presentation and valuation: Ifo Institute for Eco- nomic Research, Munich.

32 On top of the income losses, there are the 35 per cent of workers exposed to physi- bills for the patient’s share of consultation cal violence had been absent from work fees, medicines and hospital treatment. over the last 12 months. 34 per cent of workers exposed to bul- Consequences of workplace violence lying had been absent from work over at the organizational level the last 12 months. 31 per cent of workers exposed to sexual Several factors have to be considered when harassment had been absent from work assessing the cost of violence at work to the over the last 12 months. organization: increased sickness absenteeism and Increased turnover rates early retirement costs and replacement costs increased turnover rates and replacement costs When victims of work-related violence are absent from work for longer periods, em- reduced productivity, damage to pro- ployers have to fi nd solutions to fi ll their duction or equipment posts. This may result in extra workloads costs in connection with grievances and for the existing staff or in the hiring of new litigation. staff. Training either of existing staff or of new staff entails extra costs. Administrative costs for hiring new staff would also have Sickness absenteeism to be considered (advertisements, selection procedures, testing, interviews, etc.). Increased sickness absenteeism not only According to a country case study affects the worker, through reduced or lost from South Africa,7 the cost of replacing income, but also the employer, who has to a professional there can be anything from pay part of the sickness benefi ts. Here, sys- 25,000 to 45,000 Rand (1US$ = 6.88 Rand in tems vary between countries, with employ- November 2003). Other expenses include ers’ contributions ranging from 100 per cent exit packages because of ill-health, early of sick pay costs, either directly or indirectly retirement, and legal costs (the cost to the through insurance schemes, to a share of the private sector in the past year alone, with sick pay, with the rest covered by national 1,578 conciliation hearings and compensa- social security schemes. It is worth noting tion costs, could run into millions of Rand). that, regardless of the scheme in operation, Absenteeism and treatment for physical there will be additional administrative violence in the workplace probably cost costs to be borne by the employer.5 The bill hundreds of thousands of Rand, if not for this may be higher if nothing is done to millions. prevent violence at work. In Britain, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC),6 more than 3 million working days are lost Reduced productivity, damage due to violent incidents at work every in production or equipment year. The cost to industry of this lost time, lost production and compensation must The ILO report The cost of violence/stress at run into hundreds of millions of pounds. work and the benefi ts of a violence/stress-free The Third European Survey on Working working environment8 cites a recent na- Conditions, based on 21,500 face-to-face tional survey of workplace bullying in the interviews with workers throughout the United Kingdom. Hoel & Cooper asked European Union in 1996, also showed that participants to assess their own current health-related absenteeism increases when performance as a percentage of their full there is violence in the workplace: working capacity.

33 Table 2. Workplace bullying in the United Kingdom – reduced work performance

Performance Productivity Difference Percentage as percentage shortfall in productivity of workforce of working capacity % between being bullied bullied / not bullied %

Currently bullied 85 15 7 (15 – 8) 25 Bullied in the past 88 12 4 (12 – 8) 25 Witnessed bullying 90 10 Not bullied / witnessed bullying 92 18

The results indicated that the “cur- 50,000 Danish kroner (US$1 = DKR6.35 in rently bullied” group experienced a 15 November 2003) to a trainee after he had per cent fall in productivity, while those become sick because of extreme mobbing who had “neither bullied nor had wit- and bullying by his colleagues at work. He nessed bullying” had a drop of 8 per cent. received disparaging remarks about his In other words, the productivity shortfall physical appearance, and his tool-kit was for the “currently bullied” group was fi lled with garbage. According to the Dan- almost twice as great as for those who ish Metal Workers’ Union (Dansk Metal), were neither bullied nor had witnessed the intolerable situation at the workplace bullying. Moreover, those who had been caused anxiety symptoms and dizziness in bullied in the past fi ve years showed a 12 the trainee and he was obliged to take sick per cent drop in productivity. A quarter of leave.11 After three months of sick leave, the respondents said they were currently he cancelled his contract and left the com- being bullied or had been bullied within pany. the past fi ve years. It may thus be inferred Situations like this may have a negative that bullying causes a 4-7 per cent loss of impact on an organization, by tarnishing productivity in 25 per cent of employees. its image and making it diffi cult for the Another study, by the University of Bergen organization to recruit new staff. in Norway, indicates that 80 per cent of those affected by mobbing and harassment at the workplace will sooner or later have Consequences of workplace violence their work productivity reduced.9 for society

In the end, we all pay for the negative ef- Grievance and litigation costs fects of violence at work – whether it is through deteriorated relationships with Costs in connection with grievances and family, friends and colleagues or through litigation depend to a great extent on the higher taxes to cover state-ﬁ nanced health different practices in the countries con- care, rehabilitation costs, unemployment cerned. Where compensation claims and and re-training costs for victims. Work- litigation in connection with workplace place violence may also increase the level accidents and disease are common, such of fear and anxiety in society. costs can be considerable. However, for A study from South Africa on workplace every case which may end up in court, violence in the health sector12 shows that there is likely to be a large number of griev- there was a general feeling of unhappiness ances which are resolved at the level of the after an incident of physical violence, and organization.10 In August 2003, a Danish the quality of services dropped. Psycho- transport company was sentenced to pay logical violence causes tension and less

34 caring attitudes towards patients. It has a interests of all parties to solve the problem. detrimental infl uence on the patient/carer In order to prevent and reduce violence at relationship. work, some measures have already been The fact that health workers are known taken at the workplace, sectoral, national to be particularly at risk of workplace and international levels. The article by Luc violence, with almost one-quarter of all Demaret in this issue of Labour Education violent incidents at work concentrated highlights some of the good practice de- in this sector, is a cause for concern.13 We veloped by trade unions in this fi eld. The may assume that similar quality drops article by Ian Graham as well as the article occur in other important sectors as well, on the ILO code of practice outline some as for instance in the education sector. The legislative measures. They all show that, in teacher/student relationship will have an the long run, prevention always pays. important impact on the quality of the education our children receive. A high level of workplace violence may Notes ultimately cause staff to leave for other 1 Know your rights: Tackling violence at work , TUC On- countries. South African health care work- line, http://www.tuc.org.uk/tuc/rights_violence.cfm ers, often disillusioned by the high level of 2 Stopp jobb-mobben, Landsforeningen mot mob- workplace violence, tend to seek pastures bing på arbeidsplassen (Lmm), September 2002. new. This type of “brain drain” could lead 3 The cost of violence/stress at work and the benefi ts to shortages of employees in specifi c sec- of a violence/stress-free working environment, ILO, Helge tors, which could have a negative impact Hoel, Kate Sparks and Cary L. Cooper, University of on the countries concerned. Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. 4 CESifo/DICE, http://www.cesifo.de/pls/ diceguest/download/F5614/SICK per cent2DLEA Prevention pays per cent2DPAY.PDF 5 See note 3. 6 Most people spend more than one-third of See note 1. 7 their adult life at work, and it is obvious Workplace violence in the health sector, country case study: South Africa, Susan Steinman, ILO, IGN, WHO, that the work environment has an enor- PSI, 2003, http://www.icn.ch/SewWorkplace/WPV_ mous impact both on their working life and HS_SouthAfrica.pdf on their family life. This is a question not 8 See note 3. just of diseases and injuries but of the total 9 Berusende Mobbing, Norwegian Labour Inspec- work environment. It is also about how our tion Authority, http://www.arbeidstilsynet.no/pub- health as workers affects our families and likasjoner/arbeidervern/art52.html our communities. If a person’s work en- 10 See note 3. vironment is healthy and safe, that person 11 Metal vinder første sag om mobning, Dansk tends to have a higher degree of satisfac- Metal, 26 August 2003, http://www.danskmetal. tion, a better relationship with colleagues dk/sw9910.asp and management and higher effectiveness 12 See note 7. and productivity than a person suffering 13 Workplace violence in the health sector, country from poor working conditions. case studies, Brazil, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand and an additional Australian study, ILO Even though it is diffi cult to estimate Synthesis report by Vittorio di Martino, http://www. the exact cost of violence at work, it is clear ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/ that the fi gures are high and that it is in the health/violence-ccs.pdf

Unions act against violence at work

Trade unions are in the forefront of action against violence in the workplace. But they still often run up against a wall of silence sur- rounding the victims.

Luc Demaret Editor-in-chief Labour Education ILO

ay 2003 in Evian, France. Over in in Evian. And, given the growing extent of Mthe Parc des Bastions in Geneva, the phenomenon, the unions are the fi rst to alternative globalization campaigners are agree that much remains to be done. setting the world to rights. The Heads of In fact, way before “mobbing” or State of the G8, grouping the seven leading “moral harassment” hit the headlines and industrialized countries (Canada, France, the airwaves, and before the publication Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, of books like those by Heinz Leyman1 or United States) and Russia, are about to Marie-France Hirigoyen,2 now regarded as hold their summit in this little spa town authoritative, the unions had sounded the on the banks of Lac Léman. Resistance is alarm. in the air. As the young protesters rightly From the early 1990s onwards, the point out, “information on labour and activists’ newspaper of the Swiss public working conditions is missing from the service union SSP/VPOD reported on its mobilization against the G8”. The debate campaign to defend four women employ- among the campaigners is lively. It takes ees. They had courageously denounced the in the changes in the world of work, the behaviour of the senior offi cial who was ever greater individualization imposed on their hierarchical superior. On the Swiss workers, social exclusion, the “waning” of side of Lac Léman, the case prompted the trade unionism. But to oppose the pow- Canton of Geneva to bring in a new pro- ers that be, ideas are needed – “something cedure, the “internal enquiry”. This now concrete!” Very quickly, one topic gains provides harassment victims with better unanimous approval: “violence at work”. protection than was previously available By taking up this issue, “the union move- under the mediation procedure, which was ment would get back in touch with one not very suitable for such cases. In fact, to of the workers’ main concerns and could launch any mediation, the agreement of regain its youth”, the campaigners stress. the suspected harasser was required. Unions could link up grassroots movements “within and beyond the sphere of work”, they insist. The analysis is well- Unions sound the alarm founded: today, tens of millions of workers reportedly suffer the many forms of When the International Labour Offi ce took internal or external violence existing in up the issue of workplace violence and, in their workplaces. Indeed, trade union 1998, published a report seen at the time as organizations must tackle this scourge. the most detailed study of this subject ever But, fortunately, they started to do so made at the world level, a large propor- long before the amiable debating session tion of the information available to the UN

37 agency came from trade union organiza- A recent study in Bulgaria,4 again by tions. From the Canadian public service trade unions, noted that both the public union CUPE, for example, which from 1994 and the staff appeared to be unaware of onwards had studied the violence to which the extent of the problem of workplace vio- many public service workers were subject. lence, while surveys showed that almost And in 1997, the British public sector union 40 per cent of workers were affected, in UNISON warned that 26.4 per cent of those the form of moral harassment, and that one resigning from public service jobs in the worker in ten confi rms having witnessed United Kingdom that year had done so an act of physical aggression within a because of “bullying” by hierarchical su- work context. In Norway, the social work- periors, work colleagues or customers and ers’ union says that one-fi fth of them have service users. One-fi fth of the 26.4 per cent suffered violence at work. had not suffered violence themselves. Sim- ply witnessing it, over and over again, was enough to make them change employers. Violence and deregulation “From the fi rst day on the job, I was involved with issues which are very im- The unions’ primary motive in tackling portant to our members’ safety and well- workplace violence is, of course, to pro- being”, recalls Michael Farhat, an offi cer of tect workers’ physical and psychological the Rail, Tram and Bus Union in the Aus- integrity, particularly as a large proportion tralian state of New South Wales. Michael of harassment cases are committed by hi- took a well-earned retirement in 2001, but erarchical superiors. But this struggle links he still remembers the day when he had to up with others – for job security and, just deal with a wave of violence against ticket as vitally, for trade union freedom. clerks and drivers at Blacktown station While a causal link has yet to be sci- on Sydney’s urban rail network. Indeed, entifi cally established between deregula- violence against workers really can be tion and labour market fl exibilization on physical and can stem from outsiders – a the one hand, and increased violence on real scourge in the public services, accord- the other, there are many pointers in that ing to Public Services International.3 “One direction. Most surveys show that employ- of our members was attacked and injured ees on fi xed-length contracts are twice as by a passenger who kicked in a door at likely to suffer violence at work. In 1999, the station while there were four CityRail the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, in security offi cers on duty”, Farhat recalls. a feature on violence, wrote that “the Brit- “I visited the station and had a meeting ish unions’ astonishing fi gure of 5 million with staff to address the situation and a people suffering harassment should be temporary plan was put into place to try seen in relation to the extent of deregula- to prevent further incidents. As a result tion which, across the Channel, has turned of our intervention, the management ac- employment contracts into mere com- cepted to establish a committee and to mercial contracts. No surprises: the more adopt a policy on violence at work for the precarious the job contract, the stronger whole rail network.” No doubt the union’s the harassment”.5 Here too, the unions set threat of a work stoppage helped to speed bells ringing. From 1997 onwards, various things up. Training was one of the Austral- British unions established freephone num- ian union’s main demands. It is also high bers for workers to lodge complaints about up the wish lists of workers’ organiza- their conditions. In the year 2000, 40 per tions almost everywhere, particularly in cent of the calls were about harassment. the public services. In the UK, no less than A Belgian study6 published in 2003 found 1.3 million violent incidents were recorded that people on fi xed-term contracts are in the public services in 1999, but only 18 more exposed to harassment than those per cent of the workers had been trained on permanent ones. This is confi rmed by to anticipate threatening situations. a Finnish report, which adds that young

38 people on temporary contracts are even sidelining and assaults on their dignity more vulnerable.7 Temps, part-timers, ap- can crack even the toughest cases. And prentices, new recruits … in workplaces, it it is often cheaper and more discreet. As seems, violence and vulnerability go hand Marie, a supervisor in a furniture company, in hand. found out to her cost. And yet she was well regarded by her employer. Until she started worrying about the high staff turnover (22 Anti-union weapon dismissals and 18 resignations over seven years, within a workforce of 15 people). She The Belgian study also notes, among the was also surprised by a manager’s exces- four triggers of violence, the victim’s de- sive reactions when colleagues put in le- nunciation of dysfunctions or fi nancial gitimate claims, such as for the payment of irregularities or a dispute relating to the or- overtime. The last straw was when her boss ganization of work. Obviously, this means asked her to testify in support of dismiss- that union activists are in the front line. In ing a colleague. She suggested to her col- its most recent annual report, the Interna- leagues that they should form a union, and tional Confederation of Free Trade Unions she was even planning to stand for shop (ICFTU) estimates that 30,000 workers steward. Oh, dear! From then on, humilia- were fi red in 2002, and 20,000 others were tion and discrimination were her daily lot. harassed, purely on account of their trade Shunted off to a decrepit warehouse, Marie union activities. A case in point was the was told that she had been demoted. The nurse at a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, next step, of course, was a pay cut.8 who was unfortunate enough to be elected president of the national registered nurses’ association. Dismissed in 2002 along with “Social killers” nine other labour activists, she was taken back on a few months later. But it took “Moral harassment is always linked to a some effort. A formal complaint had been hierarchical relationship”, observes the oc- lodged by Public Services International, cupational health specialist Dr. Christian which took her case to the ILO Committee Richoux. And, says a French monthly,9 the on Freedom of Association. The committee background is almost always the same: eco- found her dismissal to be contrary to the nomic pressure. So, from an act of individ- principles of trade union freedom, which ual perversity, harassment is transformed every member country of the International into a workplace pathology and becomes a Labour Organization is committed to re- management tool. Shoehorning people out spect and to see respected. It also took an by turning nasty or hiring a “social killer” is international campaign to achieve the rein- cheaper than a redundancy package. “We’re statement of Nam Meuk and Choy Jantorn, now getting complaints concerning fi ve or two trade unionists persecuted at a factory six people at a time”, notes Loïc Scoarnec, in Cambodia. In other places, hundreds of former trade unionist and founder of the workers are brutalized or bullied simply French association Harcèlement Moral Stop for joining a union, as their demands are (Stop Moral Harassment).10 considered tantamount to sabotage (see So it is all the more understandable also Samuel Grumiau’s article on anti- that unions are committed to combating union violence on page 27). workplace violence and are not satisfi ed The trend is towards more and more with just denouncing it. Here too, there reports of moral harassment against trade are many examples of concrete action. unionists or workers whom the employer The British union Amicus-MSF, with more wants to shed. Why bother with collective than a million members in the United dismissals, with redundancy schemes that Kingdom’s private and public sectors, just get you a bad press, or with expen- has drawn up a model charter for “zero sive breaches of contract? Moral pressure, tolerance” of violence against women at

39 work. It has also called on employers to to abstain on a text which, to the unions’ adopt a culture of prevention and training satisfaction, called for aggression to be to tackle workplace violence. In Switzer- recognized as a work accident. Nonethe- land, the transport union SEV initiated less, since January 2002, employees in an agreement between unions and public France who feel they have suffered moral transport concerns, including the Swiss harassment may use several provisions of railways, providing for joint measures to the Social Modernization Law to start pro- ensure the safety of staff and passengers ceedings against their harassers. Thanks to and reduce the number of attacks. these new provisions, an employee of the Information campaigns, assistance to regional health insurance fund (CRAM) in victims, specialized structures, codes of the northern French region of Normandy, practice … the unions seem to have taken who felt she had been subjected to moral the bull by the horns. For example, Brit- harassment, won her case. The CRAM’s ain’s GMB union, affi liated to the Trades medical service was fi ned € 45,700 (about Union Congress (TUC), proudly points out US$40,000) because her requests for a that its 25,000 representatives have been transfer and training were refused several trained to help employers design and im- times – a breach of the provisions in the plement preventive measures. collective agreement for her workplace. In June 2002, Belgium brought in a law on moral and sexual harassment and Bosses standing back? violence in the workplace. Backed by the unions, who helped to draft it, the law per- Similar commitment will be needed from mits unions and specialized organizations the employers, who do not always approach to initiate legal proceedings in order to this issue with the same enthusiasm. “Com- defend a victim of harassment. Employers panies need to create strategies and policies are required to introduce risk prevention to understand the issues behind violence, and problem-solving measures, and the rather than just lay down conditions”, recourses available to victims under this notes Jacqueline Mpolokeng, in charge of law range up from conciliation to court safety, health, environmental issues and proceedings. The victim is immune from HIV/AIDS campaigns at the Congress of dismissal throughout the procedure and South African Trade Unions (COSATU). “In even beyond. As for the court, it has a wide my own experience I have seen a worker range of sanctions at its disposal. The per- provoked. Management would not even petrator may be placed under an injunction check why the person was provoked, why to desist from harassing, on pain of a fi ne the person was fi ghting.” She fears that or a criminal conviction, in which case it is workers may be unjustly dismissed. The even possible to demand damages. South African unions are concentrating Clearly, trade union pressure can make on training, to help their members avoid a difference − although workers’ organiza- situations that might provoke violence. A tions know that much remains to be done wise precaution, given the gaps in provi- before people’s dignity is fully respected sions on the employers’ side. “In my own at work. Will things now move forward research”, explains South African specialist more quickly? We may well wonder, Susan Steinman, “some companies did not when we witness the attitude of a French even know if they have a policy, or they employer who, citing the new provisions deny there is a problem.” against moral harassment, accused one of The employers’ federations are luke- his employees of engaging in “unaccept- warm, to put it mildly, about many of able moral harassment” of his hierarchical the union calls to protect workers against superior. The employer started dismissal violence. Thus, in the voting on an opinion proceedings against the employee – who of the French Economic and Social Council just happens to be the union representa- in November 1999, the employers chose tive. As many observers have emphasized,

40 tackling violence at work also means 4 Tomev, L., Daskalova, N., Ivanova, V. 2003. changing mentalities. Workplace violence in the health sector, case study Bul- Indeed, several researchers have noted garia, working paper of the Joint ILO/ICN/WHO/ PSI Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health that a worker subjected to violence will Sector, Geneva. http://www.icn.ch/SewWorkplace/ generally fare better if defended by a WPV_HS_Bulgaria.pdf union. Yet surveys show that few workers 5 See Malaurie, G. “Ces collègues et patrons qui think of turning to their union representa- vous rendent fou”, Le Nouvel Observateur (Paris), tives for help when suffering harassment week of 21 January 1999. or violence. Isolation, vulnerability, fear ... 6 Garcia, A., et al. 2003. Violences au travail, harcèle- solid barriers still stand between would- ment moral et sexuel, a synthesis of research conducted by the Political and Social Science Department of the be helpers and the victims of harassment. Catholic University of Louvain for the work humani- Breaking down that wall of silence is the zation directorate of Belgium’s Federal Employment, victims’ ﬁ rst great challenge. Workplace Labour and Social Concertation Service, Brussels, solidarity can help them to meet it. April (http://www.meta.fgov.be). 7 This study by the Finnish health and social services workers’ union (TEHY) is available in Finn- Notes ish only, but there is an English summary on the site of the European Foundation for the Improvement of 1 Leyman, H. 1996. Le mobbing: la persécution au Living and Working Conditions: http://www.euro- travail. Paris, Editions du Seuil. found.ie/working/2003/12/FI0312NU02.htm. 8 2 Hirgoyen, M.-F. 1998. Le harcèlement moral – La Marie’s story is told on the metalworkers’ web- violence perverse au quotidien. Paris, Syros. site of the French General Confederation of Labour 3 (CGT): http://cgtji.free.fr/dossiers%20pratiques/ Most studies conﬁ rm that public service em- liberte/harcelement1.htm ployees who are in contact with the users are more 9 exposed to physical violence. Also, according to re- Seyrig, S. 2003. “Harcèlement moral: la grande search in Belgium, they are twice as likely to suffer confusion ”, L’entreprise (Paris), September. moral harassment. 10 http://www.hmstop.com

“We don’t have to take this” – protecting Britain’s health staff

Worldwide, health staff are one of the groups most at risk from violence at work. A steep rise in attacks on British health workers prompted government action. How effective has it been, and what lessons can be learned?

Adrian Hock Journalist

ithin Europe’s biggest employer, health sector (see our inset Peace Plan for Wviolence is a daily hazard. World’s Health Workers). Launched in 1948, the British National In Britain, attacks on health staff Health Service (NHS) provides the full reached the point where the government range of health care, mostly free of charge had to act. British employers have a legal to the patient. It employs about a mil- “duty of care” to their workforce. In the lion people in the United Kingdom alone NHS, the ultimate employer is the State. – roughly 5 per cent of the working popu- Ending workplace violence in the NHS lation.1 is the aim of two government initiatives Undeniably, the NHS has been a force launched in October 1999: for good. Socialized medicine quickly The NHS zero tolerance zone is a gained broad support in Britain. Today, campaign designed to make NHS staff politicians of all hues dread any hint that aware of the need to report violence they are against the “National Health”. and threats, to assure them that the But this gigantic workplace has some issue is being tackled and, not least, to big problems. Growing demand and tell the public that violence in the NHS budget constraints have stretched its re- is unacceptable and will be stamped sources to the limit. There are often long out. We don’t have to take this, the cam- waiting times for treatment, especially paign insists. Advice to NHS managers surgery. This means increased stress for is another important part of the pack- the already overworked NHS staff. age. Guidelines and a special website On top of it all, they face assault. promote “good practice”.3 Nurses, in particular, are over four times more likely to experience work-related The Working Together initiative, aimed violence and aggression than are other at “securing a quality workforce for British workers.2 the NHS”, includes provisions for the The United Kingdom is not alone in recording and reduction of violence. this. Worldwide, health staff are among The health authorities and the “trusts” the groups most at risk. The culprits are (roughly the NHS equivalent of business usually patients and visitors, although units) are required to have systems in bullying by fellow-workers or hierarchi- place for recording incidents of violence cal superiors may also be a factor. The and aggression. Targets were set for a 20 situation is so serious that a group of per cent reduction of incidents by 2001 international organizations, including and 30 per cent by 2003. This initiative the ILO, has drawn up special guidelines was subsequently built into the wider for countering workplace violence in the human resource strategy for the NHS.

43 Peace plan for world’s health workers Almost a quarter of the world’s workplace violence may be found within the health sector. Over half of all healthcare workers may be affected. In a bid to tackle this vast problem, joint international guidelines were launched in 2002 by the ILO, the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Public Services International (PSI).1 Emphasizing prevention, the guidelines give advice on conducting workplace risk assessments and on identifying potential perpetrators and victims. They also advocate an integrated, systematic approach, based on participation. The various roles are described in some detail: ● Governments and their competent authorities should “provide the necessary framework for the reduction and elimination of such violence”. ● Employers and their organizations should “provide and promote a violence-free workplace”. ● Workers should “take all reasonable care to reduce and eliminate the risks associated with workplace violence”. ● Trade unions, professional councils and associations should “launch, participate in and contribute to initiatives and mechanisms to reduce and eliminate the risks associated with workplace violence”. ● The “enlarged community” (media, research and educational institutions, specialists on workplace violence, consumer/patient advocacy groups, the police and other criminal justice professionals, NGOs active in the area of workplace violence, health and safety, human rights and gender promotion) should “actively support and participate in the initiatives to combat workplace violence”.

The current version of these guidelines is a pilot. The aim is to test it in practice and generate feedback. At this stage, the document has informal status and aims to promote initiatives at the international, national and local levels. The guidelines are just part of the work done by the ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI Joint Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector. To help fill the big information gaps on this subject, several country case studies and cross-cutting theme studies have also been carried out.2

1 Framework Guidelines for addressing workplace violence in the health sector, Joint ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector, Geneva, 2002. http://www-ilo-mirror.cornell.edu/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/health/guidelines.pdf 2 Relationship between work stress and workplace violence in the health sector, working paper of the Joint ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector, Geneva, 2003. http://www-ilo-mirror. cornell.edu/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/health/stress-violence.pdf Workplace violence in the health sector: State of the Art, Cooper, Cary L. and Swandson, Naomi (Eds.). Work- ing paper of the Joint ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector, Geneva, 2002. http://www-ilo-mirror.cornell.edu/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/health/state.pdf Workplace violence in the health sector, Country case studies: Brazil, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand and an additional Australian study − Synthesis Report, di Martino, Vittorio. Working paper of the Joint ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector, Geneva, 2002. http://www-ilo-mirror. cornell.edu/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/health/violence-ccs.pdf A listing of international publications on labour issues in the health services is maintained at http://www-ilo-mirror. cornell.edu/public/english/dialogue/sector/sectors/health/publ.htm

Violence still rising by the British parliament but independent of government. In 1996, the Audit Offi ce Has it all worked? So far, the research published an assessment of health and carried out by the Department of Health safety in part of the NHS.4 This also pointed gives scant cause for joy. Their survey in to the violence problem. It said there was 2000-2001 found 84,214 reported incidents a lack of information on the extent of inci- of violence and aggression − an increase of dents and their costs. The report helped to 30 per cent over 1998-1999. spark the initiatives in 1999. Another frank and well-informed The Audit Offi ce has now revisited progress report comes from the Audit the issue. A new study concentrates on Offi ce, a public spending watchdog set up violence and aggression within the NHS.5

44 These cases accounted for 40 per cent of all However, “80 per cent of trusts’ accident NHS health and safety incidents reported and emergency department managers and in 2001-2002. The auditors’ own survey for 68 per cent of ambulance trust operational that period showed a further 13 per cent managers believe that the level and cover- increase in reported cases of violence and age of the violence and aggression training aggression, to 95,501. There are variations that their staff receive is inadequate”, the between regions and between different audit notes. branches of the service. Mental health staff are at particular risk. The steep rises may be due in part to High costs “better awareness of reporting, with more widespread use of the common defi nition Present security measures include “the use which includes verbal abuse”. But the re- of closed-circuit TV (92 per cent of trusts), port also cites “increased hospital activity, panic alarm systems (85 per cent of trusts), higher patient expectations and frustra- and having security staff (40 per cent of tions due to increased waiting times”. trusts) and/or a police presence (20 per And it points to “an increased tendency cent of trusts)”. Money well spent? The to resort to physical and verbal aggression auditors are cautious: “there is limited in society more generally”. quantifi able evidence on the effectiveness of these measures”. Also, as they point out, “there is a balance to be drawn between Reluctant to report the amount of security that can be put in place and the operational requirements of In fact, there is still “a high and varied level NHS trusts and creating a patient-friendly of under-reporting of incidents (which we environment”. Fortress clinics can damage estimate is around 39 per cent).” Reasons your health. given by NHS staff for not reporting in- Accentuate the positive, urges the report. clude “concern that an incident might be “In accident and emergency departments, viewed as a refl ection of their inability to factors such as reducing waiting times manage the incident, not wanting the at- and improving the waiting environment tention any action might bring, and forms are seen as key to reducing violence and being too complicated or inappropriate aggression by removing causes of stress for recording what happened”. And NHS to patients and their families.” Examples workers fear there may be no action or of improvements to waiting facilities are support. Staff surveys show that “a lack “information screens, refreshment areas of feedback on actions taken to deal with or and children’s areas”. However, “many reduce incidents discourages reporting”. trusts identifi ed a problem in making a Whilst “all NHS trusts have embraced business case for investment, due to a lack the values set out in the campaign”, the of scientifi c evidence of the effectiveness of audit found wide variations in the action these measures”. taken and in reporting standards, includ- Then there is the vexed question of ing defi nitions. denying treatment to persistent offenders. Counselling is another defi cit area. “A This raises ethical issues for workers dedi- Nursing Times survey of 1,500 nurses in April cated to providing universal care. By April 2002 showed that, of the 581 who had been 2002, each trust was supposed to have as- assaulted whilst on duty, only 11 per cent sessed the need for a policy on withhold- were afforded counselling following the in- ing treatment, but the auditors report that cident, and this can be a signifi cant reason only 39 per cent of trusts had a policy on why staff choose not to report cases.”6 this, and 44 per cent were developing one. The zero tolerance campaign also The deadline was subsequently extended stresses the need for all relevant staff to to October 2002. “In practice, most trusts receive training on dealing with violence. have found it diffi cult to implement.”

45 What are the costs of the violence? Commission research on how far and There are no consistent data for the NHS, why staff fail to report serious inci- but the auditors give a “crude estimate” dents to the police, and on the pros- that “the direct cost is likely to be at least ecution process as it applies within the £69 million per annum” (about US$116m NHS or € 99m). This does not include the ﬁ nan- Review guidance on withholding treat- cial impact of staff replacement, treatment ment, to ensure that it is being applied and compensation. Nor does it count the consistently and in all NHS sectors human costs, such as “physical and/or psychological pain and increased stress Ensure that “reducing violence re- levels, which are known to be substantial” mains part of the strategy for improv- and “the impact of violence on staff conﬁ - ing the quality of working life in the dence and retention”. NHS”. Here, it is “important that health and safety managers and staff side representatives are consulted in taking Advice to government forward any changes”.

The auditors recommend that the Depart- ment of Health should: Advice to management Issue further guidance on consistent reporting standards Similar advice is given to the NHS trusts, which should also: Encourage the inclusion, in health and safety audits, of questions about vio- Ensure that their policies “support a lence and aggression clear, unambiguous reporting culture” Ensure that the new NHS electronic Review incident reporting systems staff record system is “developed to and procedures, ensuring proper deﬁ - capture information on reasons for nition of the information required work-related staff sickness absences Ensure that “exit interviews” − con- and turnover, including those related ducted with NHS employees who de- to violence and aggression” cide to quit the service – “identify cases Help develop “a robust costing meth- where staff leave due to concerns or odology” concerning violence experience of violence and aggression”. The results should be fed into Help the trusts to clarify the legal im- “action plans” plications of policies on violence and aggression Review their policies on violence and aggression, “including the withhold- Encourage the trusts to integrate their ing of treatment”, and “ensuring that strategies for managing violence and they reﬂ ect the views of staff, staff aggression into their general risk man- representatives, police and legal ad- agement arrangements visers” Achieve a system of accreditation for Take a more strategic approach to train- all training on dealing with violence ing and aggression Ensure that occupational health strat- Continue to promulgate good practice egies include measures for dealing with examples via the zero tolerance zone the effects of violence and aggression website Apply “central guidance on pursuing Share good practice with other relevant prosecutions in a consistent and com- public and private sector services and prehensive way, within a strategy that industries includes staff support”

46 Ensure “full compliance with the statu- there is still a lot of work to be done to fur- tory requirement to participate in crime ther reduce the risk of violence to staff”. reduction partnerships”. Notes

Unions want tougher penalties 1 The NHS is Europe’s biggest single employer. According to the BBC, the NHS is probably also the The report has been broadly welcomed third-largest employer in the world – after the Chi- by Britain’s health sector unions, which nese army and the Indian railways. have been clamouring for stronger ac- 2 Violence at work: New Findings of the British Crime tion against violence. UNISON, a union Survey 2000, Home Offi ce and Health and Safety Ex- ecutive, London, July 2001. representing over 460,000 health workers 3 in Britain, wants tougher penalties for http://www.nhs.uk/zerotolerance 4 people found guilty of attacking them. It HC 82 Session 1996-97, and Committee of Pub- lic Accounts Second Report, 1997-98, Health and Safety has also called for better risk assessments in NHS Acute Hospital Trusts in England, Stationery and training, and improvements in the Offi ce, London. partnerships between the trusts and other 5 A Safer Place to Work – protecting NHS hospital and agencies, such as the police. ambulance staff from violence and aggression, Stationery The zero tolerance campaign is begin- Offi ce, London, March 2003. http://www.nao.gov. ning to work, says UNISON’s head of health uk/publications/nao_reports/02-03/0203527.pdf Not to be confused with another 2003 Audit Offi ce Karen Jennings. “It is raising awareness report, with the same main title, which covers general among staff, managers and the public that workplace health and safety issues in the NHS. it is simply not acceptable for NHS staff 6 Nursing Times, London, 14 May 2002, Vol. 98, to work in fear.” “But”, she adds, “clearly No. 20.

SOLVE: ILO tackles violence at work

Violence and other psychosocial problems in the workplace feed on each other. Dealing with them together is the focus of SOLVE, a holistic ILO education and action programme.

David Gold and Joannah Caborn SOLVE programme InFocus Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SAFEWORK) ILO

iolence has unfortunately always tional violence) between co-workers, on Vbeen part of working life, but its sta- the other hand, can and does happen in just tus is changing. It used to be the case that about any profession, but it is more diffi cult violence was part of the unequal relation- to measure and it is mostly not reported. ship between employers and workers, or There can, however, be no doubt that it is among workers or between workers and very widespread. A 1998-1999 Internet sur- clients. Today, through increasing respect vey of South African workers reported that, for human rights and the infl uence of trade of those interviewed, 78 per cent had expe- unions in many parts of the world, it is no rienced hostile behaviour at the workplace longer considered acceptable. at some time during their working life. In Nevertheless violence still exists in the addition, it is well documented that both world of work for millions of people. It physical and psychological violence has can take a number of different forms. Acts considerable consequences for bystanders of violence originating outside the work- as well as for those immediately involved.2 place may be psychological or physical, for The wider impact of violence, in creating example committed by frustrated or im- an atmosphere of fear at the workplace, is patient clients or customers. On the other often neglected. Fear does not belong in a hand, workers may be victims of people decent workplace and should be dealt with committing a crime, such as a grocery store wherever possible. robbery. Internal acts of violence may also The consequences of workplace vio- be psychological or physical and can be lence can be immense, both in health terms carried out by co-workers, be they super- and fi nancially. For the worker, physical iors, subordinates or peers. violence may be the cause of injury, psychological or physical illness, disability or even death. Witnessing a violent act Fear does not belong can be so traumatic for bystanders that in a decent workplace they may, without adequate counselling, suffer from the long-term effects of post- Different types of violence tend to happen traumatic stress disorder. Psychological more in certain sectors. Health care, educa- violence can also lead to serious mental tion and retailing, in particular convenience health problems and even breakdown. store clerks and taxi drivers, are among the Taking a wider perspective, it sours the occupations suffering a higher incidence of work atmosphere for all workers whether external physical violence.1 Psychological they are directly involved or not and can violence (be it bullying, mobbing or emo- lead to widespread job dissatisfaction.

49 For the employer, acts of physical and its relevant environment. There are in our psychological violence may result in in- view two crucial vectors which inﬂ uence creased absenteeism, greater staff turnover, the occurrence of workplace violence and decreased morale and decreased produc- which are key to our concept of how to tivity. Eventually, even the survivability address the issue. of the enterprise may be threatened as Firstly, while workplace violence in productivity decreases and costs increase. the narrowest terms is an occupational Loss of productivity has been measured, problem, the causes of violence do not for example, in a survey in the United necessarily respect the border between the States, conducted by the University of workplace and the community or between North Carolina, in which 53 per cent of the the worker and the family. Psychosocial victims of psychological violence lost time problems at work are different to other worrying about future encounters with the traditional workplace problems. Although perpetrator. Altogether, 46 per cent of the the act of violence may occur in the work- victims surveyed considered changing place, the event that precipitated the act of jobs to avoid the person concerned. The violence may have occurred at home, in the overall costs of bullying in the United community or in the social environment. Kingdom have been estimated at £32 bil- The ecological model is used to illus- lion per year, while in the USA the cost trate factors that may describe either the of workplace violence in general is put at origins of violence or where the results of more than US$25 billion. violence may be played out. Figure 1 shows the interrelationships of the ecological model. The model explains Violence in context that behaviour can be affected by or can affect individual factors (intrapersonal), Before we can develop strategies on solv- interpersonal factors (social), organiza- ing the problem of workplace violence, tional factors (institutional), community we have to consider the phenomenon in factors and public policy factors.3

Figure 1. The ecological model

The community

The social environment

The Work family

The person

Source: Di Martino et al., 2002

50 The interrelationships between the chase new medications, have created factors point us towards a new way of increased levels of stress. He has now addressing workplace violence. Concen- started to smoke and consume more al- trating purely on the workplace would cohol. Sometimes, leaving the workplace fall short of the real problems. Any work- and drinking alone at lunch, he has been place-based intervention on violence must observed becoming more and more abu- be oriented towards taking outside infl u- sive towards his colleagues and friends. ences into account. He repeatedly insults or cajoles individu- Secondly, the occurrence of workplace als about their work or their private lives. violence may be related to other psycho- He has now been accused of bullying and social problems. Take the following case faces possible disciplinary action. study as an example: This case, although fi ctitious, is close to A group of workers in a health care reality. There is clear evidence that psycho- facility has been working together for social problems are causal factors of other a number of years. They come from the psychosocial problems. HIV/AIDS, stress, same community and share the same alcohol and violence are interrelated and extended family. One of the individuals they can reinforce each other in a most neg- was recently diagnosed as being HIV- ative way.4 As a result, in an enterprise or positive. Due to a lack of understanding organization where there is much violence, among his co-workers, he is now eating there is a high risk that one or more ad- alone in the canteen and the colleagues ditional psychosocial problems are either are keeping their distance, out of an un- already rampant or will emerge as serious necessary fear of infection. The anxiety issues in the near future. Clearly, the im- of knowing he has HIV, the isolation and pact of multiple psychosocial problems on the stigmatization, as well as increased worker health and enterprise survivability fi nancial pressure on the family to pur- will be even more severe than violence

Figure 2. The interrelationships between psychosocial problems

Source: Di Martino et al., 2002

51 alone. There will be signifi cant increases respective workplaces. This policy should in absenteeism and staff turnover, as well incorporate issues such as prevention, as worker ill-heath and discontentment. non-discrimination, social support, worker A new approach is therefore needed involvement, the provision of training and that does not treat psychosocial issues information and the provision of treatment in isolation but recognizes the true and and rehabilitation. The policy should call troublesome links between them. In addi- for an occupational safety and health tion, the causal links between the issues management system to ensure smooth also make it all the more imperative to development, implementation and evalu- adopt a preventive strategy. Waiting until ation. These are common policy elements a problem is judged serious enough to which are relevant to preventing not only warrant a reaction also means waiting violence but also stress, problems related until other psychosocial problems have to tobacco, alcohol and drug use and social had the chance to take root. Prevention is problems pertaining to HIV/AIDS, if not the only way to stop the downward spiral many more psychosocial problems. Incor- from one problem to the next. Therefore, porating all these policy elements into an a major paradigm shift towards an inte- integrated policy provides a stable and grated, proactive and prevention-oriented comprehensive basis for dealing with all approach is essential. psychosocial problems. For workers and supervisors, SOLVE provides for action through education The ILO solution and training, translating policy into action at the shop-fl oor level. A series of The SOLVE programme, operated by the worker-supervisor training packages are ILO’s SafeWork, provides a response to provided to enterprises and organizations the problems and the relationships out- that have been through the SOLVE courses lined above. It combines economic and mentioned above. As the policy in an or- social objectives by stressing win-win, ganization develops, so should the vehi- low-cost, practical solutions that meet the cles providing information on that policy needs of both industry and workers. With to the whole workforce and improving the implementation of SOLVE activities, policy implementation at all levels. a capacity can be established to address, SOLVE as an educational programme in a combined way, violence, drugs, alco- was originally designed for the manu- hol, stress, tobacco and HIV/AIDS issues facturing sector. However adaptations within occupational safety and health and are under way to develop SOLVE for the industry development programmes. health sector, emergency workers, the To address these problems at the en- maritime sector, and for the management terprise or organizational level, a compre- of large events. A number of multinational hensive policy should be put into place. A companies are using SOLVE as a way to holistic enterprise policy focusing on oc- address psychosocial problems at work. cupational safety and health needs should Psychosocial problems are culturally also include psychosocial problems. Tradi- sensitive. There is a need to make sure tional approaches have addressed neither that the development of both policy and the policy requirements nor the action solution-oriented action fi ts into the local needed in order to reduce the negative culture. Because SOLVE is highly partici- impact of psychosocial problems. pative (half of the policy course consists Through educational courses, SOLVE of discussion and simulation exercises) encourages senior executives, directors the participants are able to role play and of human resources, occupational safety participate using their existing cultural and health professionals, employers’ and norms. This allows SOLVE to fi t into the workers’ representatives and others to local culture rather than trying to make the develop a comprehensive policy for their local culture fi t into SOLVE.

52 SOLVE currently exists in English, Committee on Post Offi ce and Civil Services. 1992. A French and Thai. Translations into Portu- post offi ce tragedy: The shooting at Royal Oak, Govt guese, Spanish, Russian, German, Italian Printing Offi ce, Washington, DC. and Bulgarian are in various stages of ne- Cooper, C.L. and Swanson, N. 2002. Workplace violence gotiation or completion. Other languages in the health sector: State of the art. ILO, Geneva. will soon follow. Di Martino, V., Gold, D. and Schaap, A. 2002. Man- aging emerging health-related problems at work. The ILO is striving to establish the ca- SOLVE, ILO, Geneva. pacity to develop and implement SOLVE Fox, J.A. and Levin, J. 1994. “Firing back: the growing in a number of different countries around threat of workplace homicide”, The Annals of the the world, in both the developing and the American Academy of Political and Social Science, developed regions. Part of the SOLVE edu- No. 534, pp. 16-30. cational package trains course directors Gielen, A.C., McDonnel, K.A., Wu, A.W., O’Campo, and national facilitators to organize and P. and Faden, R. 2001. “Quality of life among women living with HIV: The importance of vio- implement the SOLVE programme. The lence, social support and self care behaviors”, So- capacity to implement SOLVE currently cial Science and Medicine, No. 52, pp. 315-322. exists in 25 countries with over 150 course Greenberg, L. and Barling, J. 1999. “Predicting em- directors world-wide. ployee aggression against co-workers, subordinates and supervisors: The roles of person behav- iours and perceived workplace issues”, Journal of For further information please contact: Organizational Behaviour, No. 20, pp. 897-913. [email protected] ILO. 1996. Management of alcohol- and drug-related is- SOLVE sues in the workplace. An ILO code of practice. Ge- SafeWork, ILO neva. 4 route des Morillons CH-1211 Geneva 22 —. 2001. Code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. Geneva. —. 2003. Code of practice on workplace violence. Geneva (in print). Notes Lundberg, I. 2001. “The labour market, working

1 life and mental ill-health”, in Marklund, S. (ed.) See Cooper and Swanson, 2002. Worklife and Health in Sweden, National Institute 2 See, for example, Bennett and Lehman, 1999. for Working Life, Stockholm. 3 See also Stokols et al., 1996, also McLeroy et McLeroy, K.R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A. and Glanz, A. al., 1988. 1988. “An ecological perspective on health pro- 4 For two examples from the scientiﬁ c literature, motion programmes”, Health Education Quarterly, see Bennett and Lehman, 1999 and Richman, 1999. No. 15, pp. 351-377. For survey-based evidence of correlations, see also Northwestern National Life Insurance Company. the National Health Interview Survey conducted by 1993. Fear and violence in the workplace, Northwest- the US Government at regular intervals. ern National Life Insurance, Minneapolis, MN. Richman, J.A., Rospenda, K.M., Nawyn, S.J., Flaherty, J.A., Fendrich, M., Drum, M.L. and Johnson, T.P. References 1999. “Sexual harassment and generalized workplace abuse among university employees: prev- Barling, J. 1996. “The prediction, psychological expe- alence and mental health correlates”, American rience and consequences of workplace violence”, Journal of Public Health, No. 89, pp. 358-363. in VandenBos G. and Bulatao E.Q. Violence on Stokols, D., Pelletier, K.R. and Fielding, J.E. 1996. “The the job: Identifying risks and developing solutions. ecology of work and health: Research and policy American Psychological Association, Washing- directions for the promotion of employee health”, ton, DC. Health Education Quarterly, No. 23, pp. 137-158. Bennett, J.B. and Lehman, W.E. 1999. “The relation- Voss, M., Folderus, B. and Diderichsen, F. 2001. “Phys- ship between problem co-workers and quality ical, psychosocial and organisational issues rela- work practices: A case study of exposure to sex- tive to sickness absence: a study based on Sweden ual harassment, substance abuse, violence and Post”, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, job stress”. Work & Stress, No. 13, pp. 299-311. No. 58, pp. 178-184.

Mopping up mobbing – legislate or negotiate?

How can we counter violence and mobbing at work? An overview of the main regulatory approaches – and a closer look at Swedish laws and German collective agreements.

Ian Graham Journalist

obbing, harassment, workplace tals. Washington and Florida have laws Mviolence. Call it what you will, it is a to protect retail workers against certain growing threat to the health of workers and types of violence.1 productivity alike. So how is it to be tackled? Other industrial legislation that in- The long arm of the law? The strong arm of cludes references to this problem. collective agreement? Codes of conduct? These are often new or updated occu- The answer may depend on the coun- pational health and safety laws. Recent try, but also on the type of offence. At examples are found in Austria, Belgium, least three different hostile acts may be Brazil (covering public service workers involved, singly or in combination – moral in the states of São Paulo and Rio de harassment, discrimination (for example, Janeiro), Finland, France, Norway and on grounds of age, sex, race or migrant sta- Uruguay.2 tus) and physical violence. There are also three rather different types of harasser − Other industrial law. Employers may, bosses (managers, supervisors, owners); for instance, have a “duty of care” or co-workers; and outsiders (usually “cus- “general duty” towards their employ- tomers” in the broadest sense). ees. This may be interpreted to include a Efforts to counter workplace harass- legal duty to protect employees against ment and violence centre on three main harassment and violence. approaches: Other general law (criminal or civil). For example, some countries have out- Legislation lawed deliberate harassment wherever it takes place. And, of course, a serious assault or a murder at work will involve Four kinds of law may be involved: the wider criminal law. Speciﬁ c laws. Legal remedies against employment discrimination and sexual harassment are becoming more com- Collective agreements mon, but laws against other workplace mobbing and violence are still rare. A number of anti-mobbing agreements are Sweden has had such legislation since already in place in German workplaces 1993 – see below. In Canada, the prov- – see below. inces of British Columbia and Saskatch- In 2001, the Danish Government an- ewan have speciﬁ c regulations for the nounced plans to extend the powers of prevention of workplace violence. In the Working Environment Authority, per- the United States, California passed a mitting it to intervene in case of serious special law to combat violence in hospi- psychological problems at the workplace,

55 Signing against mobbing What should go into a collective agreement referral within two weeks to the workplace com- against workplace harassment? Here, we trans- plaints committee, whose decisions are binding late the main points of a model text from the on both sides.] German Trade Union Federation (DGB).1 Pas- sages in square brackets are summaries. 7. Composition of the workplace complaints committee 2. Prohibition of harassment The workplace complaints committee is a per- Management and the works council/staff coun- manent body. It is composed of three members cil agree that in (name of workplace/company/ nominated by management and three members branch), no person may suffer disadvantage be- nominated by the staff council/works council. cause of their descent, religion, nationality, ori- It is chaired by a neutral person (possibly from gin, age, gender, sexual orientation, personal outside the enterprise). Its decisions are on the characteristics, political or trade union activity basis of unanimity. or views. (…) The workplace complaints committee has All members of the enterprise are therefore the right to take measures to resolve the con- urged to desist from measures that could hinder flict. Management and the staff council/works the free development of individuals’ personalities council are obliged to implement the commit- or could be perceived as harassing and insulting. tee’s decision. In particular, it should be ensured that: If no agreement is reached, there shall be ● nobody’s ability to express themselves or to recourse to an external mediator, whose media- speak with their colleagues and superiors is tion proposal must be accepted. restricted ● nobody’s ability to maintain social relations is 8. Workplace contact persons impaired To prevent the escalation of conflicts, workplace ● contact persons shall be appointed who may be nobody’s social standing is damaged called in by complainants if they feel subject to ● nobody is sexually harassed by word, gesture harassment or disadvantage. The contact per- or deed sons are nominated by the management and ● nobody is discriminated against or humiliated the works council, by mutual agreement and through the work tasks assigned to them in the following numbers: one contact person ● nobody is subjected to physical violence or per 1,000 employees, but with a minimum of unhealthy working conditions. two per branch/workplace/unit. These contact persons shall receive special training and shall 3. Sanctions have the following rights: [Violations of paragraph 2 are to be regarded as ● to convoke and moderate discussions between a serious breach of the workplace peace.] Per- two conflicting parties, where no complaint sons who, despite being reprimanded, engage has yet been lodged under paragraph 6 in such conduct must expect to be transferred ● where so mandated by a complainant, to con- or dismissed. duct negotiations with superiors and the personnel department in order to eliminate an 4. Measures to improve the workplace climate abuse or to find a mutually agreeable solution [Courses for managers and supervisors every ● three years. Works council/staff council has a say to appear as expert witnesses before the in course design and selection of trainers and has workplace complaints committee and to pro- the right to take part in the sessions.] pose solutions ● to veto decisions of the workplace complaints 5. Right to lodge a complaint committee if the contact persons have good Every member of the enterprise who feels that grounds for suspecting that the case concerns he/she has been disadvantaged, unjustly treated mobbing. or otherwise compromised by the employer or by employees of the enterprise has the right to If a workplace contact person vetoes the de- lodge a complaint. No disadvantages shall ac- cision of the workplace complaints committee, it crue to him/her in consequence of this. must hear the views of an external expert concerning mobbing and must accept the expert’s 6. Stages of the grievance procedure mediation proposal. [First, a discussion with the other party to the conflict, in the presence of a neutral modera- 1 The DGB’s model agreement is online in German tor – and of a works councillor/staff councillor at http://www.dgb.de/themen/mobbing/mobbing_ if wished. If no settlement, then mediation by 07.htm. The IG Metall guide cited in footnote 14 will in- the immediate hierarchical superior. If this fails, clude detailed parameters for collective agreements.

56 including sexual harassment and bullying. Sweden: Mobbing outlawed The government move was opposed by the employers, who feared interference in their Victimization at work is outlawed under managerial prerogatives, but also by some a special ordinance issued by the Swedish trade unions. They saw it as a threat to the National Occupational Board of Occupa- Danish model of tackling labour issues pri- tional Health and Safety in 1993.6 This de- marily through negotiation rather than leg- fi nes victimization as “recurrent reprehen- islation. In the end, unions and employers sible or distinctly negative actions which in Danish industry concluded their own col- are directed against individual employees lective agreement to deal with “psychologi- in an offensive manner and can result in cal working environment” issues through those employees being placed outside the existing procedures for dispute resolution, workplace community”. and the government plan was shelved.3 All the signs are that workplace mobbing has increased in Sweden over the past decade. Between 1998 and 2001, the Codes of conduct number of reported cases rose by more than 60 per cent for men and almost 90 Many guidelines and codes of conduct per cent for women, according to the have been issued on this problem. Often, Swedish Work Environment Authority.7 they are addressed to managers, and they Of the 26,500 cases of work-related illness tend to take a “best practice” approach.4 reported in 2001, mobbing was a factor in They may also complement legislation or 1,250. The majority of these (60 per cent) collective agreements. In countries that were in sectors involving direct contact opt to tackle mobbing through special with people and employing a high propor- interpretations of existing law, it may be tion of women, especially social services, useful to publicize those interpretations health care and education. in guidelines that have received tripartite Part of the increase may be due to backing. A clear recent example of this better reporting, not least because of the comes from the Australian state of Victo- ordinance. However, the Swedish union ria, where a guide issued in 2003 points out federation LO says that work stress often that “The Occupational Health and Safety triggers mobbing. Calculations from of- Act 1985 (OHS Act) imposes legal responsi- fi cial statistics show a rise in “stress and bilities on both employers and employees. psychological strain at work within LO’s These duties extend to the risks to health occupational sectors in recent years”.8 As and safety from workplace bullying and to mobbing itself, “the hidden fi gures, like occupational violence.” It goes on to list those for other psychosocial problems at the duties. Issued by an offi cial health and work, are probably very high”. safety agency, the guide was endorsed by Unions are taking the problem of har- employers’ organizations and the unions.5 assment seriously. In August 2003, when the white-collar union federation TCO presented Labour Minister Hans Karls- Different approaches – son with proposals for improving oc- but a lot in common cupational health, the wish list included “efforts to ensure that active work against National approaches to workplace mob- mobbing is carried out in all workplaces, bing and violence differ widely. Here, we e.g. by establishing a resource centre look in a little more detail at two appar- against mobbing”.9 ently contrasting options – Sweden’s leg- The ordinance places employers under islation and Germany’s collective agree- a duty to “plan and organize work so as ments. As will be seen, they nonetheless to prevent victimization as far as possible” have much in common, particularly as and to “make clear that victimization can- regards trade union concerns. not be accepted in the activities”. Routines

57 must be in place for the early detection and assistance”, and the ordinance prescribes rectifi cation of “such unsatisfactory work- alarm equipment and other technical aids. ing conditions, problems of work organiza- Tasks that carry the risk of violence “may tion or defi ciencies of co-operation as can not be performed as solitary work”. Cash- provide a basis for victimization”. There in-transit operations “shall be organized must also be special routines for giving and conducted in such a way as to afford rapid help to workers suffering victimiza- adequate security for the employees”. tion, and “counter-measures shall without Given the sharp rise in workplace vic- delay be taken and followed up”. These timization and violence, are Sweden’s un- are to include a “special investigation” to ions happy with the 1993 ordinances? “I “ascertain whether the causes of shortcom- think the main problem is that these issues ings of cooperation are to be found in the have had too low a profi le”, says LO health way in which work is organized”. and safety ombudsman Stefan Wiberg. “We Victimization is “most often an effect in the unions should be doing more to raise of poor work organization and manage- awareness of them and of the legal remedies ment”, insists an LO guide to psychosocial available. Obviously, our safety representa- problems at work.10 “Obviously, all safety tives will have a key role in this.” representatives have a duty to intervene if it is suspected that offensive special treatment is taking place. Contacting the Germany: Bargaining to the fore personnel department and the company’s safety offi cer are immediate steps that Mobbing can also be tackled through may be taken.” However, “bosses have the collective agreements. In Germany, this ultimate responsibility for taking a stand approach is backed by the national trade against mobbing. One approach may be for union federation DGB, which has pub- the work group and management to jointly lished a model text (see our inset Signing draw up internal regulations on conduct Against Mobbing). And since 1996, the and treatment in the workplace. Training German metal industries union IG Metall and guidance for bosses and managers on has concluded ten workplace agreements human relations can be important.” on “partnerly behaviour at work”, anti- Another ordinance from 1993 tackles discrimination and related issues.13 Sig- “violence and menaces in the working natories include Ford, Opel, Volkswagen, environment.”11 In Sweden, work injuries Thyssen and Preussag. due to threats and violence increased by Some of these agreements are quite de- 80 per cent between 1993 and 1999.12 More tailed. For example, those with Volkswagen than 3,000 cases are now reported per year. (dating from 1996) and Opel (2001) both Seventy per cent of them concern women. name three types of harassment − mob- The worst-affected groups are psychiatric bing, sexual harassment and discrimina- nurses, warders, police offi cers, public tion. They list examples of each. The Opel transport employees, care workers and text adds that, as a rule, conduct will be re- health staff. garded as breaching the agreement “if the The ordinance applies to “work where relevant action, toleration or omission is there may be a risk of violence or the threat subjectively felt to be insulting, vexatious of violence”. It obliges employers to inves- or otherwise demeaning and is recogniz- tigate the risks and “take such measures as ably rejected by the person concerned”. may be occasioned by the investigation”. Grievance procedures are set out in Work and workplaces must be designed to both agreements, and both mention pen- minimize violence. Where risks exist, “spe- alties for persistent offenders, including cial security routines” must be in place, and reprimands and dismissals. must be “known to all employees who can But that, of course, is the end of a road be affected by the risks”. Employees must that nobody wants to go down. The agree- have “the possibility of summoning prompt ments tend to emphasize prevention, and

58 they generally point out that poor work- awareness raising and training of em- ing relationships are bad for a company’s ployees, including superiors overall performance. transparency of workplace decision- This refl ects IG Metall’s own outlook. making “The consequences of psycho-terror at work are devastating for all concerned”, promotion of social management com- warns the union’s soon-to-be-published petence through qualifi cations anti-mobbing guide.14 confl ict processing and employee quali- The reasons for mobbing are just as fi cation in problematic departments (on wide-ranging as its effects. “Rarely is just request)”. one trigger responsible. Whether an initial confl ict will develop into mobbing depends The collective agreement approach on various factors and circumstances.” certainly does not exclude legal back-up. The causes may lie with the organization Germany does not have specifi c anti- of the workplace (including management mobbing legislation, but case law has failings), working conditions, the perpe- provided a clear defi nition – “systematic trators, the victim, the work group and/or hostility, bullying or discrimination be- the overall social context – not least glo- tween employees or by superiors”.15 As balization, which lowers job security and both IG Metall and the DGB point out, raises job stress. industrial and general law can be brought IG Metall’s advice is correspondingly to bear on this, in particular the recently holistic. It emphasizes prevention, alert- updated health and safety legislation. ness to early warning signs, counselling, Also, the Workplace Constitution Act and self-help groups, management training, other laws give works councillors wide awareness-raising within the workforce powers and duties to promote employee and appropriate design of work processes well-being. These are directly relevant to and workplaces. mobbing cases, as are the criminal and But regulation certainly also has a part civil law. But going to court means giv- to play. The guide recommends a collective ing evidence. IG Metall advises mobbing agreement between the employer and the victims to keep a diary of incidents, and works council on “fair behaviour in the it provides a format. workplace”. This should, IG Metall says, So do the collective agreements work “have regard to the following points: in practice? enterprise commitment to being a “It’s a bit early to say”, replies Eva Zinke, ‘health-promoting enterprise’ the IG Metall executive board member responsible for health and safety. “Our fi rst principles for fair behaviour priority now is to get the new guide out to elaboration of a code of conduct our works councillors and reps. We want to raise awareness of the problem and of general proscription of discrimination, the available remedies. The next step will mobbing and sexual harassment at be to assess the results of the agreements. work One thing we do know, because it emerged defi nition of terms concerning confl ict from a recent phone-in organized by our situations at work magazine – mobbing is very much an issue for our members.” listing of fair forms of confl ict resolution establishment of a qualifi ed contact point (offi cer) for those affected by mobbing, with clearly delineated tasks and powers and a duty of confi dentiality

59 Notes 8 Psykiska och sociala hälsorisker i arbetsmiljön, LO, Stockholm, 2002. 1 Information on Canada and the US from the 9 Skrivelse till statsrådet Hans Karlsson: Dags att gå Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety från ohälsa till hälsa, TCO, Stockholm, 15 August 2003. at http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/ http://web.tco.se/ArticlePages/200308/15/2003081 violence.html 5111555_TCO459/20030815111555_TCO459.dbp.asp 2 ILO. 2003. Draft code of practice on violence and 10 Hur är läget? Börje Nenzén, LO, Stockholm, 2002. stress at work in services: A threat to productivity and 11 decent work. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/ Ordinance AFS 1993:2. Quotations are from the dialogue/sector/techmeet/mevsws03/mevsws-cp. offi cial English translation, online at: http://www. pdf. For more on the French and Belgian legislation, av.se/english/legislation/afs/eng9302.pdf see Anne Renaut’s article on page 1 of this Labour 12 Nenzén, 2002, op. cit. Education. 13 The agreements are online in German at: 3 For details of the Danish case, see Industry http://www.igmetall.de/betriebsraete/betriebsv- sector social partners reach agreement on psychological ereinbarungen/index.html. Workplace agreements working environment, European Industrial Relations (Betriebsvereinbarungen) are the secondary tier of Observatory, 2001, at http://www.eiro.eurofound. German collective bargaining. Core bargaining, on eu.int/2001/07/feature/DK0107128F.html basic pay rates, etc., takes place regionally, sector by 4 A detailed international list of codes and guide- sector. Workplace agreements add detail for individ- lines is included in the ILO publication cited in foot- ual companies or workplaces. There are two types note 2. of labour representation within German workplaces – the union representatives and the works council 5 Prevention of Bullying and Violence at Work – (Betriebsrat). A staff council (Personalrat) is a white-col- Guidance Note, WorkSafe Victoria, Melbourne, 2003, lar equivalent of the Betriebsrat. Works councillors are http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au/vwa/publica. elected by the workforce as a whole, unionized or not, nsf/InterPubDocsA/4358646FBA071B82CA256CD and have wide-ranging legal rights to information, 40011DD09/$File/WorkSafe_bullying_GN_V2.pdf consultation and participation in decision-making. 6 Ordinance AFS 1993:17. Quotations are from In practice, most works councillors are active trade the offi cial English translation, online at: http:// unionists, and many have previously been union rep- www.av.se/english/legislation/afs/eng9317.pdf. resentatives in the same workplace. The Swedish original speaks of “offensive special 14 Mobbing wirkungsvoll begegnen, IG Metall, treatment” (kränkande särbehandling), and this has Frankfurt am Main. Scheduled for publication by the become the offi cial Swedish term for mobbing. end of 2003. Quotations are from the fi nal draft, with 7 Mobbning och trakasserier, Arbetsmiljöverket, IG Metall’s permission. Solna, 20 March 2003. http://www.av.se/statistik/ 15 Federal Labour Court judgement of 15 January dok/0000198.pdf 1997, ref. BAGE 85,56 (58).

60 Services sectors: ILO code of practice combats workplace violence

A code of practice on workplace violence in services sectors and measures to combat this phenomenon was adopted by the ILO Governing Body in November 2003. However, workers’ representatives were dissatisfied with the final outcome of the code, and governments had misgivings about the omission of the stress issue and of important appendices.

Lene Olsen Bureau for Workers’ Activities ILO

ntil recently, few international in- vention and management of unruly passenger Ustruments dealt exclusively with behaviour. The Sectoral Activities Depart- work-related violence, whether physical ment of the ILO has published several or moral violence, mobbing, bullying, or working papers on violence and stress in racial, sexual or other harassment. Exist- specifi c services sectors, and has further ing legislation and instruments are mostly information on its website.3 national, and there are only a few regional In November 2000, the ILO Governing examples. Body agreed to hold a Meeting of Experts The European Union (EU) adopted a during 2003 in order to develop a code of Resolution on moral harassment at work practice on violence and stress in services in 2000, and in 2002 it amended its Direc- sectors. This has now been adopted, and tive on equal treatment for men and women the Governing Body has authorized the as regards access to employment, vocational ILO Director-General to publish it under training and promotion, and working condi- the title Code of practice on workplace violence tions (from 1976).1 A clause on harassment in services sectors and measures to combat this and sexual harassment was added. This phenomenon. defi nes “sexual harassment” for the fi rst time at the EU level, and it also includes a defi nition of “harassment”. Code’s aims and scope International guidelines and codes are now increasingly being developed and The intention of this instrument is to re- adopted. At the moment, these instru- duce or eliminate workplace violence in ments are mainly applicable to specifi c the services sectors. The preface4 of the sectors. In 2002, a joint programme by Report of the Meeting of Experts points out the International Labour Offi ce (ILO), the the legal nature of the code as well as its in- International Council of Nurses (ICN), the tention: “This code is not a legally binding World Health Organization (WHO) and instrument and is not intended to replace Public Services International (PSI) adopted national laws and regulations. The practi- a set of Framework guidelines for addressing cal recommendations of this publication workplace violence in the health sector.2 In have been designed to provide guidance to 1999, the International Transport Workers’ ILO constituents and all those responsible Federation (ITF) also published guidelines for addressing workplace violence in ser- for the aviation sector − Air rage: The pre- vices sectors. It is based on an analysis of

61 the extent, nature and causes of workplace at the Governing Body meeting regretted violence in public and private services. It this omission. In particular, they took issue identifi es the roles and responsibilities of with the removal of the bibliographical ref- governments, employers and workers. erences contained in Appendices A and B, The code promotes a proactive approach to respectively a bibliography and a list of prevention, based on occupational safety selected published guidelines on violence and health management systems.” and stress. Despite the non-binding nature of the code itself, the language used is also very Experts’ meeting careful in stipulating real obligations for the different parties, especially for the employ- The meeting of experts, held on 8-15 Octo- ers. The extensive use of expressions such ber 2003, brought together 36 experts, 12 of as “in so far as reasonably practicable”, “as whom were nominated by governments, appropriate”, “within reason” and “wher- 12 nominated after consultations with the ever possible and convenient” adds to the Employers’ Group of the Governing Body non-binding and non-prescriptive nature and 12 nominated after consultations with of the code. Actually, both the Worker the Workers’ Group. and the Government experts found the The development of the code was not fi nal text too diluted in comparison with an easy task, as there were several differ- the initial draft prepared by the ILO. But ences between the three parties on essen- even if the fi nal code did not meet all the tial points. A fundamental difference of expectations of the Worker experts, it was opinion on the inclusion of stress in the nevertheless pointed out that it would be code caused particular diffi culties. The “good to have a ‘stepping stone’ on vio- initial draft, entitled Draft code of practice lence” – especially for countries that do not on violence and stress at work in services: A have any codes at all. threat to productivity and decent work, did also include stress at work, but because of strong resistance by the Employers’ Code’s provisions Group, references to stress were taken out. The Employers’ experts asserted that The general provisions of the code contain it was diffi cult to know whether stress was its main objectives, which are to provide related to work or to the private sphere. guidance in addressing the problem of vio- The Workers’ experts did not agree lence at work; to develop responses to the with this and wanted to include stress in problem at all levels; to promote dialogue, the code, as legal precedents have already consultation and negotiation among stake- established a clear link between excessive holders; and to give guidance in develop- workloads and stress. ing national laws. The code applies to both After lengthy discussions, in which the public and the private sectors. the Employers’ group showed their un- A policy against workplace violence willingness to move on this issue, it was should, the code says, be developed in decided to have a reference to stress only cooperation with the social partners, so as in the preamble of the code: “There are to promote workplace practices that help some consequences of workplace violence, eliminate workplace violence. Top manage- which may include stress, although stress ment should provide a policy statement, is a concept which, for some, is not clearly with a defi nition of workplace violence and defi nable.” a declaration that such violence will not be Another point of disagreement was tolerated. The policy should also include a the inclusion of appendices to the code. fair complaints system and provisions for The draft included twelve appendices, information, education and training. which were removed from the fi nal ver- It is important that the values of the sion. Several Government representatives workplace culture should be based on

62 decent work. The social partners should propriate. Employers and workers and engage in social dialogue on violence in their representatives should jointly assess services sectors and support actions that the nature and magnitude of violence in create a violence-free work environment. the workplace, and they should conduct In the part of the code dealing with risk assessments. Acts of violence should organization, governments, employers be recorded at the workplace level by the and workers are given different roles and employer, and at the sectoral, national and responsibilities. international levels, a comprehensive ap- Governments should assume leader- proach involving governments, employ- ship in the development and application of ers, workers and their representatives is preventive interventions by carrying out required, to collate and assess data from research, offering guidelines, reviewing a range of sources on violence in services national legislation, seeking to mobilize fi - sectors. This is necessary in order to chart nancial resources and promoting and sup- trends and evaluate the effectiveness of porting cooperation at all levels, including different prevention initiatives. the regional and international ones. In developing policy and strategies on Employers should, in so far as is reason- workplace violence, its causes should be able and practicable, ensure risk reduction considered, so as to defi ne good preven- at their workplaces, include provisions on tion strategies. Governments, employers, the prevention of workplace violence in workers and their representatives should agreements at all levels, adopt appropri- be actively engaged in giving appropriate ate personnel policies and grievance and priority to the reduction of violence in disciplinary procedures and, in consulta- services sectors. In particular, they should tion with workers, initiate and support aim to enhance recognition of workplace information strategies and training pro- violence as a major threat to health and grammes. safety, service effi ciency, productivity, Workers should take all reasonable care, equal treatment and decent work. Preven- should cooperate with employers in occu- tive measures should include improved pational safety and health committees, and communication and work practices as should develop risk assessment strategies, well as improvements in the physical work prevention policies and training courses for environment. workers. The workers and their representa- Violence prevention, preparedness tives should also endeavour to include pro- and response arrangements should be es- visions on the prevention and control of tablished and maintained in all organiza- workplace violence in national, sectoral tions. Managements should have plans for and workplace/enterprise agreements, as handling situations of workplace violence well as reporting acts of violence. and they should also provide support to Information and training are very im- workers affected by violence. Such sup- portant here. Workers, supervisors and port may include medical treatment or managers should receive appropriate debriefi ngs. Governments should promote training in preventing and dealing with vio- care and support to the victims of work- lence at work. Information on workplace place violence through public health-care violence should also be made available to programmes, access to treatment where all workers, supervisors and managers, appropriate, social security systems, oc- and the employer should establish, main- cupational safety and health systems and tain and communicate documentation on other government initiatives. workplace violence management systems, The employer should, in cooperation together with records of acts of violence. with the workers and their representatives, In order to plan its implementation evaluate the effectiveness of workplace of the code, the organization’s existing violence prevention policies and develop violence management system and relevant a strategic learning process on issues relat- arrangements should be reviewed as ap- ing to workplace violence.

63 Future developments in favour of selecting this meeting and a few others from the list, it did not achieve The development of the sectoral code of consensus among the representatives of practice on workplace violence in services the governments and the employers. sectors may serve as a catalyst for the devel- It was therefore deleted from the list of opment of future codes which cover a wider meetings for 2004-05. range of workers, and also lead to the devel- The ILO should, however, start dis- opment of instruments of a more binding seminating and promoting the code on nature − for instance, an ILO Convention. workplace violence in services sectors. It The Governing Body invited the Director- should also continue its work on develop- General to continue research on the issue of ing future instruments on violence at work, workplace stress in the sectors. applicable to all sectors, as well as instru- The Programme, Financial and Admin- ments that provide an international frame- istrative Committee of the 288th Session of work concerning work-related stress. the Governing Body was also invited to decide upon a list of technical meetings in 2004-05, in which another tripartite Notes meeting of experts, on Harassment and 1 5 Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parlia- Violence at Work, was mentioned. The ment and of the Council of 23 September 2002 amend- aim of that meeting would have been the ing Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implemen- adoption of a code of practice on harass- tation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational ment and violence at work. This would training and promotion, and working conditions. have included speciﬁ c treatment of the 2 http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ problem of sexual harassment, and rec- sector/papers/health/guidelines.pdf ommendations for action by constituents 3 http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ and the ILO to strengthen the develop- sector/themes/violence.htm ment at national and regional levels of 4 http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ policies and practical programmes to relm/gb/docs/gb288/pdf/mevsws-11.pdf combat workplace harassment and vio- 5 http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ lence. Although the workers’ group was relm/gb/docs/gb288/pdf/gb-9-1.pdf