Sexual harassment ‘epidemic’ at Cardiff council
Martin Shipton
Cardiff Council is facing an epidemic of workplace sexual harassment, according to the trade union Unite.
A survey by the union has found that almost 70% of workers at the authority said management did nothing about such incidents
The poll found 6% of workers had been sexually assaulted by a colleague, 3% had been sexually assaulted by a manager and 3% had been sexually assaulted by a third party, such as a member of the public using Cardiff council services.
It also revealed that 15% had been shown pornography by a colleague, 4% by a manager and 3% by a third party, while 14% had been inappropriately touched by a colleague, 9% had this happen at the hands of a third party and 7% by a manager.
Sexual coercion
Meanwhile 6% of respondents had been the victim of sexual coercion at Cardiff council. This is when a person pressures, tricks, threatens, or manipulates someone into engaging in sexual activity without genuine consent.
Out of those who have had incidents at work, 45% had had this happen more than twice while 36% had experienced it at least once.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Staff safety should be among the highest priorities for employers, but the results of this survey are damning – workers at Cardiff council are clearly being failed by management.
“We will fight every step of the way to stamp out workplace harassment at Cardiff council. Every worker there deserves a safe working environment and what is happening is completely unacceptable.”
Lack of reporting
The survey found a lack of reporting when it came to sexual harassment, with 75% of people saying they did not do so when they had experienced an incident.
But workers said that when they do report incidents, they are not taken seriously by management. Over two thirds, 69% of respondents, said the issue was not addressed or tackled by management.
One Cardiff council worker said: “I work in front facing towards customers and all of the comments are from them. I have reported it to management, but the answer I get is ‘we can’t discriminate in case they have a disability’ or ‘we can’t tell them they can’t come in as service users’. I feel they are more worried about numbers than about their employees.”
Other workers have had to go on working with the person who harassed them. Another employee at Cardiff council said: “Only once have I witnessed sexual innuendo from a supervisor to a female colleague, but it has been witnessed by other staff on numerous occasions – so much so that another supervisor built a partition around her workstation so she couldn’t be viewed by the one casting the innuendo.”
‘Shocking’
Commenting on the findings, Unite regional officer Michaela Gilroy said: “The results are shocking. We are now calling on Cardiff council to take a clear and uncompromising stance – sexual harassment in any form is unacceptable and must be taken seriously.
“Addressing sexual harassment is not optional; it is a matter of dignity, accountability, and basic human rights for its workers.”
A wider survey by Unite released earlier this year found that sexual harassment was endemic in UK workplaces, with 25% of women saying they had been sexually assaulted while at work.
This is despite the introduction of The Worker Protection Act last October, which says employers must take measures to prevent sexual harassment from happening in the workplace and at work events such as conferences.
Through its Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment campaign, Unite is calling for several measures to tackle the problem,including the introduction of a stand-alone sexual harassment policy, mandatory training on sexual harassment for all employees and a commitment to recognising union equality representatives with paid time off.
Unite national women’s officer Alison Spencer-Scragg said: “What is happening at Cardiff council is a microcosm of what is happening in workplaces up and down the country, despite The Worker Protection Act.
“It is clear that, like many other employers, Cardiff council is not taking its obligations seriously despite the fact it is the law. This is creating a culture where sexual harassment is going unreported, while those who do take the issues forward are left feeling disbelieved and are forced to work with abusers.
“This must change urgently. The government must take Unite’s demands seriously to stamp out sexual harassment not only at Cardiff council but in every workplace in the UK.”
‘Out of control’
Cardiff councillor Neil McEvoy, who leads the Propel party, said: “Cardiff Labour council is out of control. The organisation is riddled with a culture of cover up, with staff being threatened, bullied, forced out and sacked. I have also been threatened regarding my social media content, which has now been vindicated.
“The Unite the Union survey evidences that staff are being sexually harassed in the workplace. Every case I have heard of is one of women sexually harassing men. People speaking out have either been sacked or forced out.
“Some incidents should be police matters, but staff fear losing their livelihoods, so they have had to accept the unacceptable. The mental health toll on victims is significant, yet unrecognised.
“I commend my union Unite for having the courage to act. I will be consulting with staff before making further comment.”
Zero tolerance
A spokesperson for Cardiff council said: “Cardiff council operates a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment in the workplace and any reports are acted on and investigated in line with strict policy and procedure. A comprehensive mandatory training programme is in place in Cardiff council, including training on tackling sexual harassment.
“Cardiff council and GMB, Unison and Unite have a long established trade union partnership in place, where issues and concerns are discussed collaboratively and constructively. The council will seek discussions on the matters Unite has raised through that trade union partnership.”
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Any percentage over zero is unacceptable. This talking down to wome: inferior creation, prone to emotional outbursts, belly pain, pmt…. . Totally intolerable. I have seen this mentality from how of our councillors responded to one of my neighbours on Facebook last month. We called it out and asked him to apologise. He has refused to apologise. This evil lurks within those corridors.
every person who has come to me is male
That doesn’t mean it can’t happen to women though, does it?
It happens to all. In this case, they are men.
As a Cardiff Council elected member, I am still waiting to see a copy of a so called investigation. There has also been a refusal to give me information given to Labour councillors. Staff advise me that the pool of those interviewed in an alleged investigation was kept small. If you have political cover in Wales, you can do what you want. That goes from Councils, political parties, Senedd to the South Wales Police & Crown Prosecution Service. We must democratise public services.
Sorry Neil weren’t you suspended for bullying an officer of the council?
I was stitched up by Labour Councillors as ever. Staff know this, hence why they confide in me. Period. I spoke up for a family being evicted. That’s what I do. They should not have been evicted.
So you bullied a female member of staff?
Yellow card for you mate. You are like a stuck record.
Never see this type of issue mentioned on ITV or BBC Wales or the radio. I wonder why ? They seem more interested in medical or criminal stories , and sometimes irrelevant and not so current on occasions , which appear to be time fillers and last far too long.
Media companies themselves are havens for crazies who enjoy a bit of harassment and bullying. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t get mentioned until it’s history.
The people engaging in this harassment are likely Unite union members. Unite don’t mention in their statement what they are doing to prevent their members acting inappropriately or even illegally. If a member is disciplined for this type of behaviour is their membership terminated? Come on Unite, put your members first!. Take a principled stand.
So now we are victim blaming without evidence?
Sexual harassment of any kind is awful and if its happening within the workplace then it should be investigated and anyone found to be guilty of it should lose their job, no ifs or buts.
What I find hilarious is that a known narcissist and bully Neil McEvoy taking the moral high ground. Do us a favour mate, stop jumping on bandwagons, have some self reflection on how much hypocrisy you have. You’ve been booted out of Labour, Plaid Cymru for bullying so stay in your lane.
Your comment is hilarious too. Spouting old rubbish used by a politically motivated crew to dump a man who was a serious thorn in their sides is not a good look.
Did sexual harasment occur in the office or on work-doo-benders?
Booze usually leads to promiscuos behaviour…
My free advice is this: to avoid slap and tickle, avoid the pub
Does it count when a male Unite TU representative, on numerous occasions, comments on a female HR Officer’s personal appearance and then tells her she’s thick??