Union action against bullying

Over the past year there have been a number of examples of unions organising industrial action to respond collectively to management bullying when all else has failed.

In March and June 2014, Unite members working as occupational therapists at Greenwich Council, London took strike action over its “bullying culture”.

In December 2013, the Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) held a conference called Creating without Conflict, at which it launched a report examining bullying, harassment and discrimination in the entertainment and media industries. The report revealed that, in the words of the FEU, the industry is a “hotspot” for bullying. The conference agreed to take forward recommendations. These include training for managers and workers in dealing with unreasonable behaviour; education on awareness of bullying; and confidential bullying hotlines.

An FEU survey of 4,000 workers found “shocking” levels of bad treatment and a culture of silence in the creative industries. It found that more than half of those questioned (56%) said they had been bullied, harassed or discriminated against at work.

A government-funded investigation into workplace bullying, headed by general union Unite, worked with some of the biggest employers in the UK to draw up guidance on dealing with bullying. The employment relations service Acas has also produced a guide to bullying which safety reps can use to negotiate policies and the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), part of the HSE, has published a detailed review of research on bullying.

Several unions have been very active in addressing this issue through collective bargaining. For example, the CWU signed a national agreement with the Royal Mail and the Equal Opportunities Commission (now the Equality and Human Rights Commission) after high levels of bullying and harassment at Royal Mail led to intervention by the Commission. The agreement includes a harassment and complaints procedure, independent investigators to handle formal complaints of harassment, a rolling survey of staff views and an extensive training programme for all workers and management. The union runs a national CWU Harassment helpline and supports branches via a Harassment Advice Network.

Restrictions on the ability of workers to access the employment tribunal to enforce individual employment rights, especially the introduction of fees, are likely to result in an escalation in collective responses, both organised and unofficial, and a diminishing reliance on individual rights.