Dear Colleagues,

Here’s a round-up of recent events to do with bullying. Progress is being made in the UK with the occasional case of bullies being sacked. Perhaps more significant is that these cases are deemed sufficiently newsworthy to be reported in the media.

Bullying midwives sacked After complaints from over 50 members of staff including many students, a major investigation into bullying and harassment in the maternity unit at St Mary’s Hospital in Portsmouth has resulted in the dismissal of two midwives and the disciplining of seven other members of staff. Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1581000/1581471..stm

Leaked survey reveals high level of healthcare sector bullying A confidential survey by Grampian University Hospitals Trust in Scotland reveals that nearly 50% of staff working for a leading hospitals trust have been bullied at work. “Undue pressure to produce work” was the largest single cause of bullying. The survey was passed to The Scotsman: http://www.the scotsman.co.uk/scotland.cfm?id=121106&keyword=bullying See also BBC News Online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/newsid _1639000/1639176.stm

Union employee wins damages A secretary who was bullied and harassed by her employer – the Welsh head of a union which looks after people working in public service – has been awarded damages of almost £90,000 at a court in Swansea, South Wales. Joy Pugh suffered panic attacks, depression and sleepless nights after six years working for Unison’s Welsh regional secretary Derek Gregory. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/wales/newsid_1641000/1641828.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/wales/newsid_1645000/1645571.stm

Stress compromises immune system Targets of bullying don’t need to be told how prolonged negative stress weakens the immune system leaving them vulnerable to frequent coughs, colds, flu, glandular fever, laryngitis, etc. Now the scientific community is getting the message; see http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1634 000/1634150.stm

Why don’t you stand up for yourself? This is a frequently asked question which I answer on the new page http://www.successu nlimited.co.uk/bully/standup.htm

Harassed by abusive text messages? If you or someone you know is being bullied, stalked or harassed with abusive text messages on a mobile phone there’s some practical advice at http://www.successunlimited.co.uk/related/mobile.htm

Bullying and terrorism Many people face terrorism daily at work: constant trivial nit-picking criticism, refusal to value, sidelining, overruling, freezing out, undermining, being set up to fail, threats to security and livelihood, etc. In the same way bin Laden incites Moslems and Christians to fight each other, the serial bully gains gratification from encouraging the employer and employee to engage in adversarial interaction and destructive conflict. Following the attacks on September 11 many people have sent me satirical pictures and items which I’ve made available at http://www.successunlimited.co.uk/bull y/terror.htm – the JPEG file (pictures) may take a while to download but it’s worth the wait. Bullies crave attention but hate ridicule.

Media requests There have been several media requests recently to interview people in the UK with experience of being bullied. Sometimes these come in at short notice, eg 24 hours. If you’re in the UK and you’re not receiving these requests, or you have an email address which doesn’t have an obviously UK suffix (eg “.uk” or “.ntlworld” or .virgin” or “.tesco” etc) drop me an email and I’ll be sure to include you in future e-mailings.

—————————————————————————- — – Posted by Tim Field Email Webmaster, Bully OnLine at http://www.successunlimited.co.uk