Written answers

Tuesday, 28 March 2006

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Bullying in the Workplace

11:00 pm

Photo of Arthur MorganArthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 265: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the percentage of workers who were victims of bullying in 2005 and in each of the previous five years. [11715/06]

Photo of Arthur MorganArthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 266: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason the recommendations of the report of the expert advisory group on workplace bullying published in August 2005 have not been implemented to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11722/06]

Photo of Tony KilleenTony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 265 and 266 together.

The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, carried out a national survey on the incidence of workplace bullying over the period October 2000 to February 2001, which was commissioned by the task force on the prevention of workplace bullying. The results of the survey show that in aggregate terms, 7% of the workforce at that time were either experiencing bullying currently or had done so in the past six months. In absolute terms, this equated to about 115,000 persons who said that they were being bullied at work.

In order to implement one of the main recommendations of the expert advisory group's report on workplace bullying, which I published in August last year, the Department is evaluating tenders to update the ESRI survey and submit a study of the new survey findings for consideration by the Department. Present indications are that this new study will not be available until about next October.

While the expert advisory group set out a role which it considered for existing State agencies, there was not full agreement within the group on its recommendations. One example of this is the recommendation that either the Employment Appeals Tribunal or the Labour Court should be the final decision maker on bullying appeals and that the decision of whichever body was given statutory responsibility should be enforceable through the civil courts.

The Department has received the preliminary views of the social partners, other interested bodies and some members of the public on the recommendations of the group. I have already given a commitment to publish the results of the survey, which will be brought to Government along with the report and the views of the social partners and other interested parties, for decision on how best to implement the report's recommendations.

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