One More
After our report to you about how a former employee was treated at the Muirhouse Social Work Centre,George’s P.O box was inundated with council staff members voicing support for our anti workplace bullying campaign.
One in particular who was a former part time worker at this centre. She was a part time Community Service worker and in her words she told us that it was a”very hostile place to work”She had heard from staff members elsewhere that bullying was openly carried out and all the other Community Service Departments knew about it. She herself felt uncomfortable and is no longer there.
Before taking up a part time post in Muirhouse several of her colleagues had warned her off saying she would be subjected to bullying as well as this was how things where done in this Social Work Centre. She to witnessed staff being humiliated and degraded with nothing being done to prevent it. She actually spoke to her own manager about it and his reply was to keep her head down and get out of there as quick as possible.
He had told her that as far as he was concerned he wanted nothing to do with what was going on but that it had to be stopped soon as we would all be tarred with the same brush.An interesting comment and one that shows knowledge of what was going on and how staff where being treated within this team.
It is now clear that many people within other districts of the City knew that destructive behaviour was being dished out to staff within the Community Service organisation in Muirhouse,and we are aware that this had filtered out to management at the former head office in Shrubhill.
Why then was nothing done to stop it. Why was it allowed to continue for so long resulting in a number of staff being subjected to undermining,bullying and harrassment, as a former employee put it. No- One it seems was willing to stop this manager from abusing staff even when the evidence was right under their noses. George has uncovered that the bully was well known to senior management and that he had engraciated himself to them on a number of occassions.
Certainly it appears to have worked as he was allowed to continue abusing staff and get away with it. George has contacted Waverley Court for their comments but was told that investigations where ongoing and no comment would be made.
To allow staff to be abused is bad enough but to allow staff to be abused while working with convicted offenders is a whole new ball game. We already know where Chief Social Worker Michelle Miller stands in all this,she deems it acceptable for staff to be abused and we understand she calls it “A cultural thing” A quite staggering admission to make and one we are sure she must regret saying.
This clearly sends out the message that it is open house on abusing staff,wheather you are a service user or a jobsworth small minded thug who impersonates as a manager. We passed Ms. Millers comments on to a City Councillor who was to say the least shocked that a senior employee would take such a line and turn a blind eye to staff abuse what ever nature the abuse took. Staff can have no confidence in a person who takes such a line,and they can be sure of no protection when it comes to their safety at work.
We remind Ms. Miller and her colleagues the City has a duty of care to its staff and as a senior person she should be well aware of that and inforce it,to the letter. We have had an off the record comment from a senior person who is attached to Criminal Justice,who say’s that “I was personally aware of mis-management in Muirhouse and that some members of staff had openly complained of ill treatment,I spoke with some of my colleagues but I was unaware of any action being taken to prevent this kind of behaviour”
He went on to say there was a culture of as he put it “of watching your back” yet another unacceptable culture to add to Ms. Millers list.