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Friends and readers. It seems our old friend The Social Work Centre In Muirhouse is at it again.George our associate who broke the story of serious workplace bullying at this centre has been informed by a reliable source that a person on Community service was left unsupervised for over three hours,surely this is an unacceptable practice leaving all parties involved at risk.

We wonder what the people involved in the bullying cover up feel about this situation,particulary since their pal was the one who left this person unsupervised.  

Friends and readers. I couldn’t resist a snigger when i spotted this quote from a STRATEGIC RECRUITMENT MANAGER for Alton Towers theme park

‘Whether it’s a part-time,full time,permanent or summer job you’re after if you’re are bright,enthusiastic,customer focused and like to get on with the job in hand,it’s highly likely there’s an opportunity here’

Hmmm,Recruitment professionals such as the one’s responsible for that drivel do not live in the real world,it seems to me.They inhabit an entirely imaginary society where people are’bright enthusiastic and customer focused’

The reality in 21st century Britain is this:most people who work are very stressed and depressed by their jobs. They are also deeply,deeply bored by the daily grind and full of contempt for those whingeing customers/clients/stakeholders their employers expect them to interface with.

Sorry if that seems a trifle cynical,but i detect a profound and widespread workplace alienation that is becoming quite worrying.And i think we should be honest about what kind of a country we live in.

Britain is a nation full of crap,low paid jobs and even crapper public services. You only have to scan the job pages of the regional media to see what a travesty of dysfunctional quangos and creeping state intervention the employment market has become.

In every single town and city,the dreary,bloated local council is by far the biggest employer-complete with parking mafia and anti smoking nazis on the public payroll.

Real industry is long gone,now indeed some of our old industrial buildings are being converted into hostels for cheap labour from abroad which is being hastily recruited to work in the services industry.

Foreign workers are more likely to put up with low wages while being’bright,enthusiastic and customer focused’-in a place where the offical emphasis is on having fun and a thrilling time on white-knuckle-and-tight sphincter rides.

It’s the same story  right across the country. Workers are piling in from the former Communist nations of Eastern and Central Europe. Because even pepole from cultures previously under the jackboot of sour-faced tyrants are somehow better suited to being ‘bright,enthusiastic,and customer focused’than the poor long suffering Brits.

Meanwhile the many millions in the UK who are still employed are stressed to the limit of their endurance by the long working hours culture,endless target setting,performance inspection and assessment,spiteful office politics,WORKPLACE BULLYING,boring meetings and moronic management jargon of the kind so effectively satirised by TV’s The Office.

I have come to these views not really out of personal experience but rather because i have been talking to many friends and acquaintances about the subject of work.

They all tell the same story:that they are so very bored by what they have to do for a living:that their jobs are slowly corroding their souls.

Thanks to Steve for that interesting insight in everyday employment.

S-Regan-for Pilton Sucks 

Friends and readers. Below are a few cases which show where workplace bullying can end up.

1]Roderick Mcleod. Was bullied and harassed bu his line manager causing Mr. Mcleod to suffer a mental breakdown and psychiatric injury. The claim was settled out of court for a sum believed to be in excess of £200.000.

2] Randy Ingram. Mr Ingram was backed by Unison after he suffered physical and verbal abuse at his place of employment.Again an out of court settlement which was rumoured to be in excess of £200,000.

3]Michelle Gold Employed by Shell UK. Received £25,000 for suffering RSI repetitive strain injury which Shell were held responsible for.

These and many more are victims of abuse at work. We again point out that the employer has a duty of care to their employees. If they allow a bully to run riot,and do nothing about it they must face the consequences of their actions. 

Friends and readers. Labour have once again been plunged into crisis,with wee Wendy quitting as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Stabbed in the back from within which was of course complimented by her own stupidity.

Not yet taken breath and two candidates have emerged as leading contenders for the vacancy. In the reddish corner is Andy Kerr who fancies the job,and who one or two labour insiders have suggested played not a small part in Ms Alexanders fall from grace.

In the more bluer than red corner is Ian Gray nicknamed slimey by some of his colleagues who perceive Mr. Gray as the final nail in Labours coffin should he get the job.

The early indicators point to slimey not having the required support to nick the top job,leaving Mr. Kerr to slide into the hot seat.

But wait Pilton Sucks thinks there is another candidate who is head and shoulders above the favoured two and may give Alex Salmond a real run for his money.

We believe Margaret Curran should be put forward as a candidate for leader,as she has proved in the past more than capable of holding her own. To have good Government we need an effective opposition,which we don;t have at the moment. Neither Kerr with his ill fitting suits or Grey with his nightmare on Elm Street look, fit the bill.

But we are mere voters and what do us  plebs know about internal politics. Salmond goes from strength to strength and will not fear any of the touted two.

Surely it is time for a grass roots review of how Labour goes about it’s dreary business and let the dwindling membership have a say in who should be the next leader.

We don’t really need the man from M and S nor a carpet bagger from Westminster and a former advisor to our hapless chancellor.

Since we are told that Maggie is a regular Sucks reader and enjoys the articles,she must have sense,and that dear friends may be the most important policy of them all.

Friend and readers. Another reader has posted us an article which appeared in the Herald on Saturday. We will print it for your information.

The reactions by Bill Mcgregor of the Headteachers Association to John Stodter of the Directors of Education and Cosla’s spokesman to the suggestion that bullying is ’endemic’ within six local authorities make interesting reading[The Herald May 16th].They seem to deny it is a problem on their own patches.Just a small review of existing evidence might be helpful.

Two years ago Amicus and the DTI funded a national project that addressed the serious issue of BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE,in which it estimated the cost to UK employers as more than £2bn a year in sick pay, staff turnover and loss of production. One in ten employees said they had been bullied

That friends and readers is a summary of the article and tells us that bullying not only affects the victim which in the first instance is appaling,but it has an affect right across the board,causing havoc and pain for many.

So if employers do the right thing and deal with the bully using decisive action,the organisation and the economy will benefit.Look at the cost of a do nothing policy.

Thanks to Graham for this information and keep it coming. 

Friends and readers. As you know Piltons Sucks is running an intensive campaign to have workplace bullying made a criminal offence.

From time to time readers have sent us information on this subject,which we are always delighted to print. Last week we received some information from John one of our readers,and we print it below.

The Impact of bullying and harassment.

Employers should be aware of the potential legal implications of bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Harassment of an employee can amount to:

:Unlawful discrimination on the grounds of race,sex,marital status,gender reassignment,disability,religon/belief,sexual orientation or age.

: A breach of contract,ie a breach of one of the implied terms of any employment contract,such as the duty to provide a safe working environment or to maintain trust and confidence in the employer.

:A criminal offence.

The employer could be liable for the actions of their employees unless y0u have taken reasonable steps to prevent bullying or harassment,something which was completely ignored in the serious bullying which took place at the Muirhouse Social Work Centre.

Action could still be taken against the employer even after a person has left the organisation,again as in the Muirhouse scandal.

The employer could even be responsible for the actions of third parties,where they are within their control,once again as in the Muirhouse case where the bully had assistance dishing out ill treatment of staff.

The employer can also be held liable for harassment if you fail to prevent a third party repeatedly harassing an employee,as was the case in the Muirhouse scandal.

Note that the harasser does not have to be the same person on each occasion.

Thanks to John for posting this information to us,and we are delighted to note that many more people are now involved in our anti workplace bullying campaign.

Keep the workplace safe don’t let the bully win.

Friends and readers. Pilton Sucks has caught sight of a document which shows North Edinburgh [Forth Neighbourhood Partnership] is to receive a savage cut to it’s grant of £800,000.

This is devastating news and will have serious repercussions for all of the grant funded projects in this community. For all the talk of the North Edinburgh SIP being a showpiece for the rest of Scotland we have been rewarded with this breath taking cut.

Pilton Sucks is informed that the grant allocation is based on population distribution.If that’s the case lets take a closer look at this.

If we look at example at the Portobello/Craigmillar ward which has a total population of 24,130 they receive a cut of 100,000,yet with the capacity building project due to close this takes care of their cut. So in reality it’s no cut at all.

Now if we look at the Forth ward population we see a total population of 29,412 nearly 5 thousand more of a population and we receive an £800,000 cut,so that argument is a nonsense.

The £1 million pound allocation which we will receive may well mean some projects have to close and the services they deliver will stop.

Who is responsible for this genocide type cut to this community. We are told officials drew up this plan,who elected them to take this decisions. Our 4 elected local members must stand together forgetting political differences to rebuke this savage cut alongside the local MSP and MP.

Approximately  16 projects in this community receive grant fund including such projects as The highly regarded North Edinburgh Childcare which at the moment receives £403,394, Granton Information Centre which receives £123,708, North Edinburgh news which receives £73,102 and the Granton Youth Centre which receives £93,670,all these projects and more will be cut and cut deeply if the £800,000 is divided equally amongst all the projects,in fact several could disappear altogether,Edinburgh Activist Training,Community Voices North,Stepping stones,with other projects coming close behind.

Who allowed this to happen why are officials allowed to wield such an axe,where is the community consultataion,and if Pilton Sucks can see what may happen then our elected members certainly should.

This community has a good record and one to be proud of in delivering services to the most vulnerable members of our community,this is now in real danger. So if these services disappear does our Local council pick up the slack?

This night of the long knives savagery must be reversed and common sense rule the day. The community will suffer and the politicians will be blamed and rightly so.

Elected members take the decisions not appointed officials with their own agendas,and if these cuts materialise then it is the elected members who will feel the wrath of the community and feel it where it hurts the most,at the ballot box.  

Friends and readers. Following our explosive revelation that a senior manager within the Health and Social Care Department who himself was primarily involved with an investigation alleging bullying at the infamous Muirhouse Social Work Centre,has admitted there is indeed a bullying problem,after previously denying any kind of a bullying problem.

George our associate who has been actively involved in pursuing workplace bullying received information late on Tuesday evening from a well informed source telling him that this admission was indeed made,coupled with the fact that this statement was witnessed,and it is almost certain a Unison rep was one of the witnesses to this admission.

Friends and readers,if this is true and we believe our information is spot on then all the denials that any kind of bullying went on in Muirhouse or anywhere else,now seems to have been firmly put to bed with this startling admission.

Pilton Sucks has said for some time that a cover up was in operation both to protect the bullys and those that did nothing about it. There is now clear daylight between what has been true all along that institutionalised bullying has been a part of every day working at the Health and Social Care Department,and when complaints were made about bulling at the infamous Muirhouse Social Work Centre by several members of staff,the game was up and a clampdown on anything getting out was put into operation.

Friends and readers Pilton Sucks has lead the way in trying to smash down the doors of workplace bullying and expose the truth of the misery it causes to the victims.

What we have uncovered is truly horrific institutionalised bullying given the green light by senior managers to frightened to act,to incompetent to take the necessary action and cowardly enough to attack the victims of this brutal crime instead of punishing the perpetrators.

It is now out in the open that bullying is part of the culture of the Health and Social Care Department a totally unacceptable part,coupled with the fact that previous to this latest revelation another senior manager was reported to have said that it was accepted or in her words a cultural  thing to abuse staff. That’s now been confirmed.

SHAME ON YOU.  

Friends and readers. We have been informed today that a senior manager within the Health and Social Care Department,in front of witnesses admitted that bullying had been taking place within the Department.

When quizzed if he meant the infamous Muirhouse Social Work Centre we understand he refused to comment,which of course as we all know confirms what Pilton Sucks and many other people have known for a long time,that serious workplace bullying took place at this centre. 

Now Pilton Sucks demands immediate action to discipline these bullys that made the lives of several members of staff at this notorious centre  a misery.

Admitting bullying went on is one thing when it was so obvious it was going on,action is quite another matter. The senior manager[whose name we will with hold for the time being] who himself has conducted investigations has at last had the guts to speak up on this serious matter. The department may well try and shift the problem but that does not solve it,and decisive action is called for.

What went on at the Muirhouse Centre was a disgrace and an abomination to all that is decent,and what makes it worse was that it was well known there was a bullying problem in Muirhouse going back years.

Pilton Sucks through our associate George broke the story of serious workplace bullying in the Muirhouse centre,and the evidence was over whelming. To many people knew what was going on for it to be anything other than true,and now we have confirmation.

Now the two involved at the heart of this travesty must be brought back from their hideouts in Dalkeith and Grindly Street Court and made to face the music and account for their treatment of staff.

Workplace bullying is a crime and should be treated as such. Pilton Sucks is campaigning with others to make this disease a crime punishable by the courts of this country. For those that make others lives a misery there can be no hiding place or lies and denials.

J. Ferns-Pilton Sucks .com

Friends and readers. Another of our readers has sent us some information and asked us to print it. Of course we are delighted to do so.
The workplace bully and bullying in the workplace and obviously debilitating and demeaning office bullying,will develop where there is a CONFLICT CULTURE within the team.
Add that to:
1] Office politics.
2]Interpersonal conflict
3]Workplace Aggression
4]Workplace Gossip
5]Workplace Violence
6]Backstabbing coworkers
7]A lack of accountability
8]Poor professionalism
9]Poor resources.
10]Unskilled communication,and you will have serious work conflict.
If you wish to make sure bullies stop making the workplace hostile,it is time to begin dealing with conflict and in order to do so you will need to resolve conflict,or you may end up with uncontrolled workplace violence.
Don’t let office bullies make your office rude and become full of angry personalities as happened in the infamous Muirhouse Social Work Centre.
Stop the office bully,the team bully and the work bully-workplace bullying has no place in the harmonious workplace. We spend more of our life at work than we do with our familes.
Say NO TO WORKPLACE BULLYING.

Thanks to Karen for sending us this piece.