In May 2010, Workplace Health & Safety Queensland uploaded a Workplace Harassment Assessment Tool. The curious element to the information is that Queensland does not mention the word “bullying” even though the assessment criteria cover this hazard.
As Australia moves to harmonised legislation on workplace safety issues, the harmonisation of terminology is going to be important and probably subject to lively discussion. Continue reading “Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS”
In November 2009, a New South Wales Government committee reported on issues concerning bullying. Much of it concerned school-related bullying but there was some evidence and recommendations concerning workplace bullying of apprentices and trainees. On 12 May 2010, the Government responded to the recommendations.
By and large, the responses to the work-related bullying recommendations are uninspiring with the Government exploiting the loopholes left for it in the recommendations. For instance, the Committee recommended:
“That the NSW Attorney General examine the adequacy of the existing legal framework for bullying related offences, and identify any legislative changes that could enhance the legal protection provided to victims of bullying and cyberbullying.”
The long-winded response is that there is a lot of activity but with no definitive aim. But then the recommendation did not call for results, only “examine” and “identify” opportunities.
The Committee report is more interesting than the Government’s response due to the access to various submissions on school, work and cyber-bullying but it has quickly become only of historical interest and added to the pile of missed opportunities.
The role of restorative justice in workplace incidents has received a major boost from the Legal Services Board in Victoria. According to an April 2010 newsletter from the Creative Ministries Network additional research funding has been received for a quality assurance framework. As mentioned in the article below restorative justice could have particular benefits to instances of workplace bullying.
Several of the suggestions and areas of research echo some of the issues raised in US Assembly Labor Committee hearings on workplace bullying and suicides in the last few days.
“The Creative Ministries Network has received a further grant from the Legal Services Board to undertake a project to develop a Victorian quality assurance framework for any restorative justice service operating in the area of work-related death. The project will also examine whether this framework may apply to work-related injury, especially in areas such as workplace bullying. Continue reading “Restorative Justice research gets funding boost as US hearings focus on workplace bullying and suicide”
In 2002, Eric Quaadgras provided some cartoons for the SafetyAtWork magazine. One illustrated the issue of workplace bullying which I thought you may like.
On 25 March 2010, the International Labour Organization released an updated list of occupational diseases. On the ILO website, it is stated that
“Mental and behavioural disorders have for the first time, been specifically included in the ILO list.”
All occupational diseases, including psychosocial hazards, had to satisfy the following criteria in order to be considered:
The exact text from the revised List of Occupational Diseases Recommendation R194 is
“2.4. Mental and behavioural disorders
2.4.1. Post-traumatic stress disorder
2.4.2. Other mental or behavioural disorders not mentioned in the preceding item where a direct link is established scientifically, or determined by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, between the exposure to risk factors arising from work activities and the mental and behavioural disorder(s) contracted by the worker”
What this means in practice is unclear and is likely to vary from country to country in relation to recognition of UN and ILO recommendations. What it does establish is that an international authoritative OHS body has acknowledged the existence of psychosocial hazards.
“The Eagle has landed” however there will remain some organisations who will always believe that occupational causes of psychosocial problems belong on the same sound-stage as the Apollo moon landings.
The Australian Financial Review on 24 March 2010 includes an article (only available through subscription or hard copy purchase) that states that the “tangle of state laws hampers compliance” by business on the issue of workplace bullying. Harvard Business Review reports on how to cut through the distractions and attend to a root cause of workplace bullying. Continue reading “Workplace bullying needs harmony and good managers”
Bernard Keane writing in online newsletter, Crikey, is one of the few who has reported on the Australian Government’s insulation scheme debacle and kept the fact of worker deaths as more than just a moral sideline to the issue.
On 3 March 2010, Keane wrote a very good article which draws on the political and media attitudes to worker deaths over the last decade in Australia. He highlights the political expediency of selective reporting and commentary on safety issues. Many of the comments and assertions made at the Cole Royal Commission are still reiterated today and form the basis of some political party policies.
Given the recent media coverage on workplace bullying, Keane’s reminder on the deaths and suicides in the Australian Defence Forces and the political reticence to do anything on the matter, is timely.
It is only six weeks before the International Workers’ Memorial day, (28 April 2010). The 2010 commemoration is likely to be one of the most political events since it began almost two decades ago.
Some of the statistics that fueled the outrage against then-Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, are seriously questioned in this blog article at Pollytics.com.
