Pilton Sucks dotCom

Victims may do nothing to attract bullying, they may just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But bullies will often target people they consider a threat, perhaps because they are good at their job or because they are popular. A typical target is conscientious,competent and well liked by colleagues. By contrast, bullies are usually disliked by all except their superiors and jealous of attention given to others.

Getting recognition for work well done may be enough to trigger their unwanted attentions. Often a victim will have a vulnerability which the bully can exploit, needing to pay the mortgage, being a single parent, living alone, having caring responsibilities, going through a seperation, divorce, bereavment or belonging to a minority. Usually it is those who are less able to pack in their job to escape who are most likely to be victimised.

The caring professions seem particulary vulnerable to bullying. Perhaps public service workers are vulnerable because the bullied employee feels a responsibility to others.  But Professor Cooper of UMIST argues that it is the unique pressure of the public services that creates a CULTURE OF BULLYING. But there is another type of bully, the one who cannot cope and takes it out on others. Excessive initiatives, heavy workload and a lack of resources are likely to breed more of these overload bullies.

Pilton Sucks.com is campaiging to end bullying in the workplace and to that end we have posted a series of articles outlining this huge problem - especially as practiced in Muirhouse Social Work Department.

Conforming to one victim’s description of a convincing and practised liar with a Jekyll and Hyde personality,the adult bully is often charming. He or she is usually verbally confident and can be adept at using language to make his or her actions seem plausible. But there are several indicators that under the sweet talk all may not be well.

These include random and impulsive decision-making, an obsession with conformity and procedures an inability to distinguish the important from the trivial, an officious man and petty-mindedness.  Many bullies are emotionally or professionally insecure, but this will rarely show. What will come across is arrogance an constant denial of any wrong-doing

More than 90 per cent of reported cases are caused by a serial bully. Bullying is not just a matter of taking a dislike to someone, it is a more deep-rooted psychological problem that means the bully moves easily from victim to victim. 

Readers and friends. We at PiltonSucks.com would like to encourage all community residents and any other interested parties to engage in open debate using the PiltonSucks.com site.  We realise that this type debate not encouraged by our rulers but it is at the very centre of our democracy and we must use that democratic franchise freely.

We encourage all residents to air their views on any subject they feel is concerning them we in turn will open this out to debate giving residents the opportunity to take part in open debate, so get debating.

 

By now Friends and readers you will have received notification of the soon to be Community Councils.  You may also know that your nominations have to be in by the 6th March. This of course you could argue is democracy in action, but is it just a change of name or a re-hash of tried and failed policies of yesteryear.

We at PiltonSucks.com have to be excused if we sound a little sceptical, but the Wester Hailes experience leaves us a little cold and uneasy about the whole exercise. 

We need to have as many people as possible involved in real decision making not just be paid lip service to. So we offer another idea, we would like to see open community meetings at least once a month to discuss and debate the issues that really concern the residents of Greater Pilton.

We have been bludgened into submission by the strength and tactics of the party machines who have in effect undermined and stiffled any kind of democratic forum. This of course they will deny but the people on the ground know the truth.

Having sucessfully stiffled any kind of democratic debate and therefore resistance to the changes they wish to impose, we are now told community planning is the answer to all of the problems facing the community and the new kid on the block.

This of course is nonsense and by employing the spoiling tactics they have in fact called game set and match on democratic debate. No longer will sense play any role in this just party politics with the community as the ball to be kicked and eventually burst. It may well be that at the next local elections some of our rulers wil take the money and run. leaving the mess behind for someone else to clean up.

So beware of Greeks bearing gifts or the Trojan Horse if you like, possibly even white elephant.  The dark cloud of community planning approaches take heed all ye that enter there.

 

Open Letter to Peter Gabbitas 

Mr. Peter Gabbitas
Director of Health and Social Care
City of Edinburgh Council

Dear Sir,

We at PiltonSucks.Com are campaigning for an end to bullying.  We have already highlighted the plight of the MUIRHOUSE TWO where no investigation of any real substance has taken place, but just a series of cover-ups to protect the bully who is still in post in Muirhouse Social Work Centre.

We are also calling for a full independent inquiry into the goings on in M.S.W.C and why the powers that be seem to be sitting on their hands confident in the thought that they have managed to cover up for the bully while trying to rubbish the two victims of this awful mess.  We have this week spoken to a member of staff at M.S.W.C who confirms our allegations of bullying this member of staff also confirmed the name of this bully. The staff member has told us that they overheard and seen verbal abuse being directed at one of the MUIRHOUSE TWO and had spoken about it with a colleague, this person went on to tell us that they had been upset by what they had heard, but such is the culture of fear that exists in M.S.W.C they were too frightened to come forward but insists bullying had and was still going on.

Today we ask you Mr. Gabbitas, in this open letter, to step in and take immediate action and start to clean this mess up.

We at PiltonSucks.com will continue to highlight and campaign against bullying. The buck stops with you sir do not be fooled into believing all is well.  It certainly is not and it is in your remit to take action. We urge action now before this tragedy takes another spiral downwards.           

PiltonSucks.com   

Readers will remember that Mr Gabbitas got the job over what councillors thought was a better candidate last year.  For more information: http://www.scotsman.com/?id=342212005                

There is no legislation that directly addresses the issue of bullying. That does not mean legal action cannot succeed - it just makes proving your case difficult. If you are bullied on grounds of race, gender, or disability harassment there are discrimination laws that can deal with it. But other forms of victimisation require a different approach.

Health and safety legislation offers one line of approach. Employers have responsibility to ensure that the work environment is not detrimental to an employees health. Given the links between bullying and stress empolyers who allow bullying to flourish may be found to be in breach of their DUTY OF CARE.

Another possibility is to bring a case for CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL where emphasis is on proving that there has been a SIGNIFICANT BREACH of normal working relations. The downside here is that you have to quit your job first.

Whilst there have been significant victories for bullied staff - in 1998 one primary school teacher in Northumberland won 100,000 pounds in an out-of-court settlement - the unions are wary of going to the courts because of the costs involved.   It is not enough to prove bullying in itself - you have to prove the motive for bullying, or concequences. But that could be about to change. A dignity at work bill has been passed in the Louse of Lords. If it gets rubber-stamped in the Commons, bullying at work will be an offence in the same way as harassment and discrimination.

Salford City Council have a policy why doesn’t Edinburgh.

Further information:

Dignity at Work Bill PDF Doc
NHS Dignity at Work Policy PDF Doc
Salford Council Dignity at Work Policy MS Word Doc (963kb)
DignityAtWorkNow.co.uk
Crown Prosecution Service Dignity at Work Policy

We at PiltonSucks.com make no secret that we, like all fair minded people, deplore bullying.   Bullying can last for years, with victims continuing to do their jobs under increasingly stressful circumstances.

The result is cumulative injury to victims health. They can for instance suffer many of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) including a compromised immune system of, sleep problems, excessive guilt, irritabile hypervigilance (which feels like paranoia but isnt), constant anxiety, reactive depression and suicidal thoughts.

Stress is now officially the number one cause of sickness absence from work, and the UMIST research found that bullying in the workplace was a key factor in more than one in three stress cases. While there are other contributing factors to stress, including excessive workloads and long hours, it is no coincidence that bullying and stress go together.

Bullying is about power. Bullies want control, control of their victims and of their enviornment.

Mention bullying and most people think of kids scrapping in the playground.few of us see it as an adult  problem,destroying careers and families or causing long-term psychological and emotional damage.

But research published by the University of Manchester (UMIST) in April 2000, found that one in four workers in the U.K had experienced bullying in the workplace at some point in the previous five years.  The prevalence of workplace bullying is startling so to are the consequences.  A run-in with a bully can cause stress, permanently damaged self esteem, psychiatric injury and even suicide

Readers and friends, at last it would seem that the courts have seen sense and awarded a victim of bullying 20,000 pounds. Gwent county Council made the award out of court to avoid liability and costs.

So over to you Edinburgh what are you going to do about your bullying problem. PiltonSucks.com has already highlighted the torment of the MUIRHOUSE TWO and as we have already stated the social work dept. both in Muirhouse and at Shrubhill are covering up what is going on.

But beware, the law is catching up with you so it would be in your own interests to deal with this bullying problem. As we have already said, a former employee of Muirhouse social work dept has come forward to speak to PiltonSucks.com to tell us of the terrible way he was treated by the Muirhouse bully, how long do the social work dept think they can get away with covering up the truth about the extent of the bullying problem.

With bullying now being openly accepted as a crime by the courts we at PiltonSucks.com are convinced that Muirhouse social work department are guilty by cover up and mis-information. Bullying is a disease in our society which has to be removed, the courts now agree so there may just be light at the end of the tunnel.

Readers and friends. Could some kind soul inform the communiy and PiltonSucks.com if the land by the gas works, and the Granton chemical works has been cleaned or is it just a dead issue. Do and say nothing then it will go away?

The smell eminating from the area tells a story of something fishy.

So come on come clean tell us whats happening is it clean or isn’t it, why the silence.