Why don’t unions have Anti Bullying Officers?    

Lyn Witheridge is only partially correct when she states that 'the HSWA actually covers bullying' (Implications of Lords decision on workplace bullying, SHP September 2006) With both harassment and discrimination cases you can lodge a direct and indirect claim, and you can also use statutory legislation in place to seek legal redress for the actual breach. However, with bullying cases you must seek legal redress for the stress induced injury that you have suffered as a consequence of bullying; alternately you may resign and sue for breach of contract. In short you have to massage your case to fit the law. It is also prudent to remember that it took us 21 years for section 2(1) HSWA to be used for a workplace stress related injury. I am currently employed as a health and safety advisor for a teaching union, and the volume of enquiries I receive regarding individuals suffering from workplace bullying is disproportionate to the other health and safety queries I receive.

I spent over four years researching workplace bullying and I am aware of the scale of the problem and the devastation it causes. Last year I wrote a dissertation on workplace bullying and I remain convinced that this issue, and the damage it causes, to institutions, business and citizens is the biggest challenge facing the trade union movement as well as safety practitioners within British Industrial Relations today. Union membership has seen a steep decline since our heyday of 1980. There are a number of factors for this decline including the ending of the closed shop, the decline in the manufacturing industries the greater use of fixed term contracts, agency staff and the bullying by the previous Tory Government including the introduction of Anti-Trade Union Laws. However I also believe that the perception that unions are ill equipped to protect workers from bullying at work, and/or this is not a priority within the organisation has a bearing on weather people join a union or not.  If Citizens feel that the ‘Union’ is ineffective within the workplace I feel that membership will continue to decline.

A number of research surveys have shown one of the main reasons that people join a union is for protection within the workplace. In short, within the workplace, people want nothing more from the law then it leaves them alone. This is contrary to the misconception of a seemingly litigious population who would like to take their employer to court at every given opportunity. The CBI have gone on record and stated that outside of public services unions are an irrelevance within British workplaces. As a trade unionist I do not concur with this view. I do however feel that unions have to be far more proactive in highlighting and protecting workers from bullying. As both an active branch member who has spent years ‘fire fighting’   there have been a number of occasions when union members have vented their frustrations out on me. Due too feelings of helplessness and understandable frustrations, union members have turned on the union i.e. ‘What is the union doing about this’ Why is the union not acting’ etc. More often then not these frustrations are directed at the unpaid union official. (Steward, rep, branch officer). 

The late Tim Hall has stated that at time it is difficult to distinguish between the ‘paid union official’ and management. This is a harsh critique from one of the foremost experts on workplace bullying. Both Tim Fields anti bullying site and The Andrea Adams trust are used as help lines by large numbers of union members, one must therefore ask, why?  Both sites are excellent, however a union member should not have to look for assistance outside of their respective union regarding workplace bullying. Unions should have trained officers who sole purpose should be to support members regarding workplace bullying. Most unions have expert health and safety advisors or officers yet few have an anti bullying officer (full time paid officer) Workplace bullying, or the fear of workplace bullying is one of the main reasons that large numbers of citizens join unions. I am not advocating that unions concentrate on this issue alone, however it is not an either or situations. Unions have the resources to employ full time anti bullying officers, in the same manor they employ health and safety officers. Indeed I would argue that they have a duty to do so 

Doru AthinodoruContemporary Trade Union Studies (BA Hons)

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