Vol. 505 No. 6
61 Mr. Gilmore asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the consideration, if any, she has given to the problem of bullying in the workplace; the discussions, if any, she has had with the social partners in relation to this problem; her views on the extent of the problem; and the plans, if any, she has to introduce any legislation to deal with the matter. [14449/99]
At my request, the Health and Safety Authority, which is the statutory body responsible for the promotion of occupational health and safety and the enforcement of national legislation in this area, produced an awareness-raising booklet on the subject of bullying at work. The booklet is available from the health and safety authority at 10 Hogan Place, Dublin 2. I have also raised this matter on a number of occasions with the Chairman and the Director-General of the health and safety authority. The board of the authority, as the Deputy is no doubt aware, is a tripartite board with equal representation from both the trade union movement and employer bodies and will also have discussed the question of bullying in the workplace.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, sets out the duties of employers with regard to protecting the safety, health and welfare of their employees at work. In this context it is incumbent upon employers to ensure that any work practices, such as bullying, which are detrimental to the safety, health and welfare of employees are not tolerated within the workplace. Employers should ensure that anti-bullying policies, including procedures for dealing with bullying, are put in place. Such policies should be specified in the safety statement which all employers are legally required to prepare under the 1989 Act.
In addition, the Employment Equality Act, 1998, for which my colleague, Deputy Mary Wallace, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, is responsible, prohibits discrimination in employment on nine grounds. These grounds are gender, marital status, family status, age, sexual orientation, disability, race and religion or membership of the travelling community.
For my part, I assure the Deputy that I am continuing to assess and review what further initiatives can be taken to deal with the serious and important issue of bullying in the workplace.
