February 15, 2007

Open letter to Peter Jones, Roger Kline and Sally Hunt

As of 15/2/07, i.e. eight (8) days now - no reply from any of the candidates to the letter below. We are patient. We will wait, but not forever...
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Dear Peter, dear Roger and dear Sally,

We would like to bring to your attention the tragic issue of entrenched workplace bullying in higher education, and we would like to have your comments, suggestions and proposed strategies to deal with this. We are making some suggestions and comments below but ultimately we want to hear your opinions on the matter.

Right now most - if not all - HEIs have in place and are required to have in place anti-bullying policies. These exist on paper, but - as evidenced in numerous cases (Sheffield Hallam University, Leeds Metropolitan, Birmingham's School of Health Sciences), plus our own UCU survey, the problems persist. Quote from recent UCU survey:

'...An astonishing 82% said their institution had a management culture which 'actively contributed to stress' (87% in colleges, 80% in universities). 27% thought their management 'acknowledged the causes of stress' but only 15% thought their management 'sought to address the causes...'

Some rough figures: It is estimated that 14-16% of the British workforce experiences workplace bullying. In a union with a membership of over 100.000, this translates to over 14.000 members.

It appears that there are few, if any, 'formal' evaluations of bullying intervention programmes. For example, the recent HSE Research Report 024 reviewing supporting knowledge for stress management standards (Rick et al, 2002) found no studies examining evidence on interventions to reduce the bullying/harassment stressor.

In our opinion, it is far more productive for our union to intervene before disciplinary decisions are imposed on academics and other staff, before bullied staff loose their jobs under tragic circumstances. It is far more productive for a truly independent body, external body to assess if the university (employer) has indeed followed the right procedures before reaching a decision. This needs to happen before a decision is imposed and not after. The problem with formal grievance/discipline procedures, from the point of view of statistical monitoring, is that they come at the end of a long chain of actions and decisions and are therefore rare.

Usually, any mediation offered by the employer can be used / is used as another forum for power games where the target (victim) experiences the ultimate bullying and usually leaves with an exit package, a confidentiality clause and wrecked health.

The 2005 Survey of HR Professionals: Which of the following factors impair your organisation's ability to deal effectively with bullying?

Unwillingness to acknowledge a problem by management - 74.4%
Prevailing management style - 70.4%
Lack of training in how to deal with bullying - 45.4%
Lack of cooperation from management - 44.4%
Inadequate procedures - 30.2%

In random order, some of the challenges we face, are:

• Failure of some employers/managers to fully implement ACAS guidelines, and in particular the right to call upon witnesses, to have representation, to have access to accurate records of all hearings. Yes, the Employment Tribunals can decide on this but does it have to always go that far? Are there no other options?

• Failure of some employers to have appropriate internal procedures, embedded with principles of natural justice. How many universities have a record of resolving employment disputes through negotiations and a truck record to prove so?

• Colleagues who are afraid to speak up for fear that they may suffer various forms of penalties. So the victim is often left without wtinesses. Which colleague will openly support the victim of bullying and become a witness against senior managers?

• HR and personnel departments caught in the dilemma between their professional training and professionalism, versus possible management 'pressures' to go along with the prevailing and obviously wrong groupthink.

• A noted lack of expert union reps in workplace bullying backed up by union active policy, strategy, negotiation, and legal action. There is a web page online from a network support group, and a legal/counseling help line that union members can phone, but the issue seems to be the lack of satisfactory results in some well document cases. The available help from the network support group, seems to come too late in the process.

• Funding and quality control bodies should somehow engage in the process of contributing to the implementation and appropriate application of internal grievance and disciplinary procedures. They should/can consider what is happening with workplace bullying, for this has effects on how the general workplace functions or dysfunctions. Yes, we know universities are independent bodies. True, but this is where the collective energies of multiple partners at all levels have to come into this, and the union is only one of them. In fact, the union could lead such a campaign and perhaps attempt to unite all the players in some kind of common cause.

Yes, we do have a new booklet that is well written, BUT the issue remains 'policing' and monitoring and from what we know, universities are not always good at policing their own. An independent party is indeed needed, an external party, even an ombudsman, something, anything… for there are far too many instances when universities when left on their own have not always done the right thing… (ACAS, internal procedures, discrimination, victimisation, racism etc)

TUC, Andrea Adams Trust, and other organisations are working/have worked on a number of projects – policing remains the issue, the gap, the weakness. We feel that our union could be more proactive on this issue and at least advocate for this. This is perhaps one of the central challenges. Does 'independence' mean lack of accountability and transparency on issues of workplace bullying?

The reply from HEFCE is/was that universities are accountable to their own governing bodies. Well, one wonders how cozy these relationships may become after some time. There is a voluntary code of practice for governors, but how many of us know about it or have read it? How many governors have been challenged successfully?

So, who has responsibility for this mess? So far, we have failed to pinpoint a single agent for change. That would be too easy. A collective and coordinated effort of multiple players is needed. We have a long way to go. We would like to know if our union will play a leading role in this or will remain a passive observer offering well-written booklets and support after the events.

It would be good to hear/read from all of you your thoughts and your suggestions on how to tackle workplace bullying in academia.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Kropotkin and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

http://bulliedacademics.blogspot.com/

PS: We have been suspended on full pay for over one year now. Our employer is hoping that we will not exhaust all internal procedures and as our health deteriorates we may decide to resign. In the meanwhile our employer has intimidated our witnesses, has refused to hand over important documents for our defense, has set up a 'micky mouse' court that has found us guilty in a grievance hearing that can be compared to stalinist courts, and has recently made us an offer for - yes do not laugh - £20000 with a confidentiality clause attached to it.

We are fully aware that our case is not unique. Workplace bullying in academia has been researched. For example, Professor of Sociology, Kenneth Westhues has come up with the following formula:

1. By standard criteria of job performance, the target is at least average, probably above average.

2. Rumours and gossip circulate about the target's misdeeds: "Did you hear what she did last week?"

3. The target is not invited to meetings or voted onto committees, is excluded or excludes self.

4. Collective focus on a critical incident that "shows what kind of man [woman] he [she] really is."

5. Shared conviction that the target needs some kind of formal punishment, "to be taught a lesson."

6. Unusual timing of the decision to punish, e. g., apart from the annual performance review.

7. Emotion-laden, defamatory rhetoric about the target in oral and written communications.

8. Formal expressions of collective negative sentiment toward the target, e. g. a vote of censure, signatures on a petition, meeting to discuss what to do about the target.

9. High value on secrecy, confidentiality, and collegial solidarity among the mobbers.

10. Loss of diversity of argument, so that it becomes dangerous to "speak up for"or defend the target.

11. The adding up of the target's real or imagined venial sins to make a mortal sin that cries for action.

12. The target is seen as personally abhorrent, with no redeeming qualities; stigmatizing, exclusionary labels are applied.

13. Disregard of established procedures, as mobbers take matters into their own hands.

14. Resistance to independent, outside review of sanctions imposed on the target.

15. Outraged response to any appeals for outside help the target may make.

16. Mobbers' fear of violence from target, target's fear of violence from mobbers, or both.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are both just brilliant because you ARE taking action....

....just take care that you don't give too much away and get the blog stopped....

This blog is one of the best...

There are many stories to be told about the apathy of the union...

....but they HAVE to be with us...

...bullying is about people's health

... bullying ultimately is about ....suicide....

The union could take on test cases...

..... it could stop being the bedfellow of HR...

....the Union are well aware of what they could do...

...research suggest that the union collude with management...

...well they could stop doing that for a start....

....Sally Hunt could acknowledge that bullying exists.....

.....imagine that she has not even mentioned it on her blog.....

Like my letters about bullying yours is a bit long.....

In solidarity.....so much solidarity.....

Anonymous said...

I have just read this again and realise that the Westhues formula is not part of the letter!!!

Anonymous said...

Peter Jones has a direct link to this blog on his site. As he points out he is the only candidate who has worked for HE.

The silence on workplace bullying on Sally Hunt's blog is in sharp contrast. That silence should be of deep deep concern to us all.

It is the silence of denial.

One of the reasons that makes it so difficult to tackle wpb is the silence abd denial that surrounds it.

Workplace bullying is both the politics of the playground and the politics of governments. In the playground we admit it happens and take steps to tackle it.

What would you do Sally if your daughter was bullied in the playground and the school did nothing? If they ignored your letters? If they denied the bullying?

Would you send her to another school that not only admitted that bullying can be a problem but took action to tackle it?

Why then as a potential General Secretary of a Union whose members are being bullied are you so silent?

We know wpb exists so why try to pretend that it
doesn't as Sally Hunt appears to be doing? it is this attitude that is one of the major blocks to addressing the problem - denial in the face of stark evidence such as internal surveys, research etc. etc.

We are talking about universities here and what they should stand for - not profit making institutions.... our universities should be voices speaking out to address social justice... they should have a moral imperative... how can we believe in them when they harbour bullying?

Yes we are all members of UCU - but it is those in positions of power at UCU who must take a lead.

That is what is so frightening about the silence from Sally Hunt....

Even if those in positions of power have the courage to admit that bullying is happening that will only be a start. It is a long and hard road to tackle bullying...

,,, and yet in some ways... if the silent witnesses come out of the shadows and speak up... there would be a sea change...

... that is why Sally's silence is of such concern..

,,, what message is she giving to those silent witnesses?

What is her silence about?

Her own fear that bullying is too big an issue to deal with?

It's really not Sally... we would all work with you.. or Roger... or Peter...

... but you have to lead us.....

posted on Sally Hunt's blog...

in hope.....?

Anonymous said...

Sally why do you not publish any comments?

What message is this giving to your members?

posted on Sally's blog several times.....

Anonymous said...

November 1999

"One would not expect a victim of rape to have to single-handedly identify, trace, catch, arrest, prosecute, convict and punish the person who raped her. Targets of bullying often find themselves doing all of these WHILST THOSE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY persistently abdicate and deny responsibility."

Tim Field

Anonymous said...

The reference to Sally Huint's daughter is because of what Sally said about her on her blog.....

"I am proud of being UCU general secretary, prouder still of my six year old daughter. As both general secretary and parent one always looks to the future. What will it mean to study and work in a university by the time she is old enough to go? Will academic values and freedoms flourish? Will it still be knowledge rather than wealth generation that drives our institutions?

Anonymous said...

Prolonged silence can often affect a person's state of mind, causing them to hear things and talk to themselves to break the silence.

Most people find silence uncomfortable, and to the extreme, unbearable.

In modern society, especially in the western society, when people are meeting and talking to each other, people often start talking nonsense to skip moments of silence.

Wiki

Anonymous said...

Copied from an earlier post..... on today's theme of silence.....

This is a great site for bullies - gives them lots of tips..... just so they don't run out of ideas...only we have to pretend it is a site for those snivelling victims like me... who take sick leave because they just have to have a moment away from the bullying culture in their university...

...so dysfunctional meetings a great tool.. I have attended quite a few myself.. the best was with the bully, union rep and HR - the bully ended the meeting by accusing me of harassment...

when I emailed HR and the UNION REP to protest...

... there was a DEAFENING SILENCE...


So who is the model for such silences from some of our local reps?

Yes we are all members of UCU - but the modelling from the General Secretary gives very powerful messages to local union reps.....

Anonymous said...

Under what conditions can you "settle" with a bullying university in which you will never work again? This is not a rhetorical question - I, my former employer, union, solicitor and other targets are unable to identify what constitutes a satisfactory resolution.

Anonymous said...

And the final one for today- just posted on Sally's blog.



A last word from me for today Sally on the theme of daughters.

Like you I too have a daughter – much older. A few years ago she was Head Girl of her prestigious state selective school (so you can see MY credentials are far from perfect).

At the end of the summer term when she found out …. she walked into the room where I was sitting and very quietly told me that she was head girl – no grand announcements…. I had really been unaware that it was a possibility…..

In the School magazine her friend wrote:

X was an ideal choice for head girl, partly to avoid any power hungry maniacs from getting the job, and also because she has blue eyes. One thing you may not know about X is that she admires people who can make a sound by blowing grass. One thing you may know about X is that she is mighty clever, too clever for school, one might say. She has a fine soul….X is a damn fine representative of the school, and she never shakes when speaking in public. What more could one want?


Yes Sally as mothers we can take great pride in our daughters. My daughter’s generation is a fine generation…. Maybe if we can’t sort out the lethal playground squabbles in our universities her generation will be able to tackle it….

….I have great faith in them…..

We need leaders who ‘have fine souls’ more than ever……

…..but we need them NOW!!!!

Anonymous said...

Response to Wiki (or Twiki?)

"Prolonged silence can often affect a person's state of mind, causing them to hear things and talk to themselves to break the silence"

How exactly do you know about this?

Talking to oneself is not a problem. Plus, there is no evidence that prolonged silence causes a person to hear things. Talking to oneself can happen as a result of extreme anger and frustration, when someone regularly insults that person, sabotages that person's work, due to his jealousy and inferiority complexes.

Anonymous said...

We need a representative. A lack of response on the candidates parts simply tells us that they are not. It also tells us of the nature of things to come (selective silence and negligence).

Anonymous said...

I posted a comment on Dec 10 2006 on Sally Hunt's weblog about communications monitoring (an ethical issue):
http://sallyhuntucu.blogspot.com/2006/12/hello-all-thanks-for-big-response-to-my.html#links

Still no mention of this or on the treatment of junior staff.

Anonymous said...

We may wait for many days - but the silence speaks... People have waited in silence for years - we learn to be patient,,,,

I have decided sometimes to write under my own name of Aphra Behn. I do not have the political credentials of Pierre-Joseph and Peter but I have spoken out in the past… in small ways…

Many of the postings on this blog are from me – I write for a woman who is too exhausted and too frightened to speak out for herself. But she has some courage like Pierre- Joseph and Peter and Tim Field.

She has tried to speak back to those in her university whom she believes have supported actions that she believes are bullying… But they will not listen to her.

It takes a lot of courage to engage in the ‘dangerous discourses’ that surround bullying.

The words I use are sometimes her words… she has tried to tell them to others but no-one would listen… or they took her words and used them for their own purposes…

I do not know how many people are hearing the words on this blog… it is a long time since Pierre and Peter have posted a list of those who visit.

And a response from

Wiki (or Twiki?)

"Prolonged silence can often affect a person's state of mind, causing them to hear things and talk to themselves to break the silence"How exactly do you know about this? Talking to oneself is not a problem. Plus, there is no evidence that prolonged silence causes a person to hear things. Talking to oneself can happen as a result of extreme anger and frustration, when someone regularly insults that person, sabotages that person's work, due to his jealousy and inferiority complexes.

These words are from Wikipedia – they are not my words to defend – have a look what is said about silence there…. And think maybe about the different kinds of silences that there are….

I am sure that Sally Hunt has integrity – but for those who are bullied the naming of the actions is important Sally – your silence in not using the word – BULLYING - speaks to those members of your union who have been BULLIED…

…the man who was rescued by a stranger as he tried to COMMIT SUICIDE in his car…

..think about why you can’t use the word Sally….

You may choose to remain silent – but your silence speaks to us….

Aphra Behn


... We may wait for many days - but the silence speaks... People have waited in silence for years - we learn to be patient,,,,

Anonymous said...

Wikipedia

In the Western cultures, it is sometimes difficult to interpret the message being sent by a person being silent (i.e. not speaking). It can mean anger, hostility, disinterest, or any number of other emotions. Because of this, people in Western cultures feel uneasy when one party is silent and will usually try their best to fill up the silence with small talk.
The Western Apaches use silence during times of uncertainty or anger in the way most people in Western cultures would be vocal. The goal is to observe and anticipate what the other party is going to do.
In Joy Kogawa's novel Obasan, silence is a symbol of victimization, a sign of the overbearing memories which burden us. Its characters have been silenced by repression.

......but the days of silence will be counted... and the silence will be interpreted...we will not be silent... we will join those who speak OUT....

Anonymous said...

Sally - I do not understand why you have invited people to comment on this blog and then not posted up the comments? What is this about? What message does this give to your members? I do not understand what is happening?

posted on Sally Hunt's blog.....

While I do not understand why Sally has done this - I interpret the silence as..........

There is the same silence in some universities when issues of bullying are raised.

Aphra Behn

Anonymous said...

Sally - do you know how blogs work? Aren't you supposed to post up people's comments?????

Aphra Behn - posted on Sally Hunt's blog