Are you dealing with harassment in the workplace?
Local resident would like to know if there is anyone in Alberton dealing with workplace harassment.
I started at a company reporting to the general manager (GM) in June 2008. The first sign of harassment was after a week or two of being employed when the GM asked me if I “batted for the other side”.
The sexual harassment intensified to take the form of SMSes, such as: “I’m lonely tonight, please come sleep with me.”
After receiving an excessive number of SMSes over the December holidays I returned to work to find that two of my subordinates were very out of sorts and depressed. I asked them if they had also received messages from the GM. They didn’t answer, as if they knew that if they said anything the GM would victimise them. They were very afraid.
As the senior within the group of ladies, I had no option but to report the matter to the managing director of the company. We put a formal case together and a consultation was held with the GM. Out of goodwill we decided that should the GM seek professional help and stop sexually harassing the ladies we would not lay criminal charges and he would then keep his job.
The evidence against him was frightening.
I was moved from my position as the GM’s assistant and reported to the MD and board of directors. As the company restructured over time, the GM was made CEO of the group and I found myself in the position of once again reporting to the same person.
I watched female employees being called into his office on a regular basis. In 2015 a temp was employed at the company who quickly caught on to the sexual harassment within the organisation and blew the whistle to the owner of the company.
She told them if the company did not give her a permanent position at the company she would report the matter to Carte Blanche and to Debora Patta.
The company attorneys were brought in and many witnesses testified, from lower level employees to senior management. The ladies were reluctant to give full detailed statements to the attorneys interviewing them for fear of what their husbands would do. The end result was the CEO was given a slap on the wrist and instructed to be professional at all times and his life went back to normal. We had to deal with the aftershock.
The CEO accused me of being the whistleblower and started making my life a living hell. I was moved out of my office into another position and bonuses and my parking were taken away. I was informed that instructions were given by the CEO to employees to make false accusations against me as he wanted to get me out at all costs.
The final straw came when I was accused of stating we had to clock in to go to the bathroom. HR was approached to grant me a voluntary retrenchment that the CEO agreed to. The owner of the company apologised that there was nothing more he could do to protect one of his most loyal and honest employees who tried to protect him and the name of the company. He profusely thanked me and I parted with a golden handshake.
Going to work every day having been falsely accused, bullied and victimised was sheer hell. Being a single parent there is so much one has to endure to ensure that you are in a position to support your family.
The concerning part was my experience that the perpetrator was protected by HR, company attorneys and company labour lawyers, where the victim just wanted support, to be believed and treated fairly.
How many people are being bullied, sexually harassed, victimised and degraded in the workplace because of their honesty and their vulnerability?
It’s time we stand up and have a voice. We must be informed of our rights and have someone to talk to that has been and is going through a situation similar to what I had to endure.
It is my intention along with a respected senior attorney to start a support group to assist people being bullied, victimised and sexually harassed.
We would like to bring on board attorneys, labour lawyers, psychologists and the police in our community. In order to see this through we would first need to identify if there is a need for a support group in the Alberton area in order to bring all the necessary team players on board, and your story is the motivation we need.
Should you feel you would like to be part of this process, please share a one-page story with us. Kindly send an email to cvdwalt@caxton.co.za with “Harassment Support Group” in the subject box.
Also Read:
16 Days of Activism: What you need to know
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