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Raising awareness of bullying and harassment
[ch 4: page 49]There are a number of positive steps union reps can take to raise awareness of the need to tackle bullying and harassment at work:
• reps can use posters and leaflets to raise the issue and take the opportunity to discuss bullying with members to see if they think there are any problems. For example, the communications union CWU has produced an eye-catching poster for workplaces setting out that bullying and harassment are unacceptable, providing a list of unacceptable behaviour and publicising contact details for the CWU harassment helpline. It is important that reps report their concerns and those of their members to management;
• safety reps can use their routine inspections, or undertake special inspections, to speak to members about bullying at work (see Chapter 2 on the law reps can use to tackle bullying and harassment);
• one of the best ways of assessing the scale of bullying within the workplace is to survey members. This can gather evidence of the scale and extent of bullying in the workplace and can be done either by the union or jointly with management. Any survey must be strictly confidential, but it is important that staff are told the overall survey findings. The results can help employers develop a policy on dealing with bullying and can also be useful in trying to change the behaviour of individual managers and staff (see page 53 for guidance on carrying out surveys and Chapter 6 on bullying and harassment policies);
• organising anti-bullying and/or harassment events in the workplace (see example on page 51) can also be effective.
Reps can learn from best practice and share experiences, building on some of the shared union resources highlighted in this booklet.
USDAW rep raises awareness of racism and racial harassment at work
Shopworkers’ union USDAW is currently in the process of refreshing and extending its leaflets so that reps are better able to raise the profile of racism and racial harassment in the workplace. The union works closely with the Show Racism the Red Card campaign and says the campaign has provided very practical help. For example, by making the link with football it enables activists to reach out to members who might otherwise be reluctant to think about racism. The union reports that campaign materials are very popular with USDAW members and have been widely used by reps.
For example, one USDAW member described how she organised an anti-racism campaign in a store as a direct response to multiple incidents of racism aimed at black, Asian and minority ethnic members and those from central and eastern Europe. She explained that her campaign aimed to show that USDAW “takes racism seriously and that if they raise a concern about the way they are treated at work they will get the right support.”
“We’ve had a fantastic response,” she reported. “We set up two tables in the staff restaurant with USDAW and Show Racism the Red Card materials and there has been so much interest. We are going around the store talking to members and non-members about racism and finding out why people don’t feel confident to raise concerns about it or to challenge on the spot.”
USDAW reps also surveyed over 100 employees and empowered some to come forward and talk about the issue openly.
She added: “I’m working with the other reps in store to make sure the night shift were also involved in the campaign. The store manager and personnel manager welcomed the campaign, are being supportive and have given us their backing. We are shortly going to present the results of our anonymous surveys to the entire management team and jointly draw up an action plan. Hopefully, staff can see that this is an issue we can work together on to make a difference to our members.”