Vol. 544 No. 3
84 Mr. Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of firms registered for the Dignity in the Workplace Charter; and if she will make a statement on the campaign against bullying in the workplace. [28622/01]
The Dignity in the Workplace Charter, which I publicly launched on 23 October 2001, originates from a recommendation of the task force on the prevention of workplace bullying. The charter has been endorsed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Business and Employers Confederation and the Construction Industry Federation. Each of these organisations supports the charter by promoting its adoption by its constituent members and by facilitating its distribution among its members.
The adoption of the Dignity in the Workplace Charter is not a statutory requirement on an employer. Therefore, no system is in place whereby employers register for the charter. However, I have been informed by the Health and Safety Authority, which is the central co-ordinating State agency overseeing the implementation of the task force recommendations, that to date it has distributed more than 3,000 copies of the charter. The authority anticipates that a high level of demand for copies of the charter will continue for the foreseeable future.
The purpose of the charter is to facilitate the management and staff of any and every employment in the country to make a public commitment to provide a workplace free of bullying and to develop policies and procedures which underpin its principles and objectives. Its real value is that it is as relevant to the large multinational company as it is to the micro-enterprise. It is only one element of the strategy to prevent workplace bullying. The task force report recommended a series of actions that should be taken at both the level of the State and the individual enterprise.
The principal recommendations requiring State action include the designation of the Health and Safety Authority as the central co-ordinating State agency; the introduction of three codes of practice on workplace bullying and harassment under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, and the Employment Equality Act, 1998; and the establishment of an advisory committee on workplace bullying within the HSA.
The advisory committee, which has already been established, has a key role in co-ordinating and overseeing the implementation of the recommendations relating to the State's role in responding to workplace bullying, including the three codes of practice.
Additional information.The advisory committee has representation from the main State agencies and bodies dealing with workplace equality, welfare and labour relations issues, in addition to IBEC and the ICTU. In addition, the Health and Safety Authority has set up a bullying response unit to deal with queries from businesses, interested groups and members of the public.
While the adoption of the charter is an important public commitment by an enterprise to prevent and address workplace bullying, enterprises must also have in place appropriate anti-bullying policies to deal with allegations of workplace bullying. The codes of practice on bullying and harassment being finalised by the Health and Safety Authority, the Labour Relations Commission and the Equality Authority will greatly assist employers and managers by providing guidance on putting in place such policies. The codes will also be a valuable reference point for the State agencies charged with offering advice and assistance. I expect to be in a position to make a public announcement on these codes before the end of the year.
Workplace bullying will, ultimately, be most effectively prevented by actions taken at enterprise level. With the designation of the Health and Safety Authority as the central co-ordinating State agency, the establishment of the bullying response unit within the authority and the development of the three codes of practice, the State will have put in place an appropriate framework and structures to assist enterprises in both preventing and addressing the problem.
Notwithstanding what the Minister of State said in his reply and on previous occasions, I put it to him that progress on this matter is far too slow, that there is no system in place and that bullying in the workplace is now a widespread problem. He can distribute charters to 3,000 firms throughout the country, but unless sanctions and a scheme with firm targets are introduced, this is doomed to failure. Will he elaborate on the timeframe and targets which apply, in terms of its remit, to the overseeing body?
I expect to be able to make a public announcement on these codes before the end of the year. I disagree that the work we have done in this area has not been effective. This is the first occasion on which a Government has tackled the issue. Nobody had been willing to deal with the issue of bullying in the workplace until the Government decided to do so.
As the Deputy is aware, codes of practice are quasi-judicial in nature, admissible as evidence and have been taken into consideration in relevant proceedings. The three codes, about which I hope to make an announcement before the end of the year, will be another important step in the process. We have involved the social partners in dealing with the problem of bullying in the workplace and the survey indicates that a total of 7% of those consulted and currently in the workforce stated that they were bullied in the six months preceding the survey. The incident rate among women is almost twice that which applies to men. The representations I have received show that people are concerned about this serious issue, which we are determined to tackle.
