{"id":14781,"date":"2017-04-06T14:31:02","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T13:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bruxelles.unionsyndicale.eu\/?p=14781"},"modified":"2024-08-27T14:38:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T13:38:16","slug":"harassment-usb-is-there-for-colleagues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bruxelles.unionsyndicale.eu\/en\/harassment-usb-is-there-for-colleagues\/","title":{"rendered":"Harassment: USB is there for colleagues"},"content":{"rendered":"

When faced with cases of\u00a0harassment<\/a>, the worst response from the colleagues is silence. It comforts the perpetrator in their feeling of impunity, even gives them the feeling that their actions are acceptable and prepares the ground for future misbehaviour once the current victim gets away \u2013 if they can. Not speaking out makes the behaviour of a bully seem normal or acceptable to\u00a0<\/strong>the other colleagues and even the hierarchy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Union members must speak up and encourage others to do so when faced with harassment. Not just to ensure justice for the victim but for other, practical reasons: a bully who is caught out just once will probably be treated leniently by management but if people speak out systematically and repeatedly then the hierarchy will be forced to think and things are likely to move. Sadly, the first victims of a given individual most likely won\u2019t be helped but their action clears the way for others to be saved. It\u2019s a form of solidarity.<\/p>\n

But that can\u2019t really happen without the support of a Union. The victims of harassment are\u00a0fragile and cannot manage the process alone, particularly since, even in well managed cases,\u00a0getting things back to the status quo ante so that the victim feels that everything is back to\u00a0normal (and normal sometimes becomes idealised) is next to impossible. Things won\u2019t be like\u00a0before.\u00a0The corrective measures available to our administration when, rarely, they act, are of basically\u00a0two kinds. Either they move the victim to another role or, in the worst cases, they are offered\u00a0sick leave and then invalidity. Both of which are perceived by the victim as a defeat because,\u00a0whilst they lose their post and all they have been dealing with, or when they are put on\u00a0invalidity, the perpetrator keeps everything including their rank.<\/p>\n

Only rarely does the victim get compensation and it\u2019s even rarer that the perpetrator is\u00a0 punished. All these things contribute to a feeling of impunity and it\u2019s time\u00a0something<\/a>\u00a0changed.\u00a0To bring that change about, our Union, possible with others, has to put in place a system\u00a0which avoids harassment happening, encourages victims and onlookers to blow the whistle\u00a0and listens out for colleagues in difficulties.\u00a0We also have to force the administration to put in place a system to provide remedies which\u00a0mainstreams the needs of the victim and helps them back into the normal life of the\u00a0organisation under the best possible conditions and compensates them whilst punishing the\u00a0perpetrators.<\/p>\n

In order for that to be possible, we\u2019d need :<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To know what the situation looks like in the workplace. To know what kinds of\u00a0harassment are present and how bad it is (harassment is also a cultural phenomenon\u00a0with a certain amount of regional and cultural variability). To know the profiles of\u00a0victims. Assess the frequency of complaints where they happen. That takes different\u00a0ways and means which are complementary: obtain official statistics, carry out our own\u00a0surveys, create a network of observers, and in fine create an observatory in public\u00a0administrations.<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cEducate\u201d our members etc. and sensitize them to the issue of harassment. Nothing will happen unless the members of our organisations, at least the most active ones, are\u00a0aware of the scale of the problem and the damage it causes both to the individual and\u00a0collectively. Training should be given to active members. Create a protocol for\u00a0interventions.<\/li>\n
  3. Inform colleagues and create confidential communication channels. Make colleagues\u00a0aware of harassment done to others. Create publications that cover the subject\u00a0systematically. Establish confidential contact points.<\/li>\n
  4. Make harassment a cross cutting issue in all our contacts with the administration to\u00a0create awareness and prevent it being an issue in all procedures, including selection,\u00a0training (on arrival and on posting to management) and assessment. Train the\u00a0colleagues involved in the social dialogue.<\/li>\n
  5. Demand disciplinary measures and more robust action against perpetrators.\u00a0Accompany victims systematically during the complaints procedure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It\u2019s an ambitious plan, certainly, but which can be summed up in a sentence.\u00a0Zero tolerance\u00a0<\/strong>for harassment so that colleagues and the institution can recover lost dignity.<\/p>\n

    Juan Pedro Perez Escanilla
    \nSecr\u00e9taire g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de l\u2019USB<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>
    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Not speaking out makes the behaviour of a bully seem normal or acceptable to\u00a0the other colleagues and even the hierarchy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"dossier-special":[],"class_list":["post-14781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-harassment"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHarassment: USB is there for colleagues - Union Syndicale Bruxelles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not speaking out makes the behaviour of a bully seem normal or acceptable to\u00a0the other colleagues and even the hierarchy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bruxelles.unionsyndicale.eu\/en\/harassment-usb-is-there-for-colleagues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Harassment: USB is there for colleagues - 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