- Conference
- 2007 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 19 February 2007
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that:
1) bullying is a major cause of stress in the workplace. Workers will often be absent on sickness grounds as a result. This in turn can lead to punitive action by the employer using draconian sickness policies;
2) workers often remain unwilling to either report bullying or to take out formal grievance complaints. A major reason behind such unwillingness is a failure on the part of employers to take effective and lasting action;
3) employers who have a stated aim of eradication bullying should be congratulated. However, to be effective, action has to go beyond words. Too many times when bullying is reported, it is the victim who is either removed via a “sympathetic” transfer from the workplace or who has to take sick leave.
Conference agrees to:
a) campaign to ensure that bullying is treated as a potential disciplinary offence in all workplaces;
b) demand that policies are in place, which are acted on, and are not just paper policies;
c) demand that such policies stipulate that in serious cases of bullying, consideration must be given to removing the perpetrator from the workplace using mechanisms such as suspensions, without prejudice, pending investigations;
d) work towards increasing the confidence of workers to tackle bullying by campaigning vigorously for the points made in this motion.