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Friends and readers. The recent Forth Neighbourhood partnership meeting which took place on Tuesday 18-11-08 at the West Pilton Neighbourhhood Centre,was a classic example of,when is a public meeting not a public meeting,answer when it’s dominated by staff of projects doing most of the ranting.

Loud voices at meetings are nothing new as is foul language,as a number of these projects will now have to seek some type of alternative funding,and several staff made their objections felt.

But it is very clear that the feathered bedded pillow days are over,and local projects will have to up their game in what is after all difficult financial times for all.

Several points which could have been made at this ”’public meeting”’ were not and we are told that at least three people were overtly intimidated,which of course would dampen any alternative argument which should have come from the floor,and an alternative view point there is.

First thing to point out is that there have never been so many people from the BCDP[Black Community development project] in one room at the same time. Their project has received a cut as has The Pilton Equality Project,which should now concentrate on what they were started for,to help the elderly.

The alternative view point which was not encouraged to be aired which in itself is a disgrace and all those so called activists should today be ashamed of themselves,activists who either tow the line or are put up to shout by their masters many of whom have no connection with this community except their salary cheque and after what we have been told,some of these salaries need a reality check.

We were recently told one community project manager earned more than £60,000 yearly,not bad at all.

What happened to local empowerment. What happened to local people managing projects on a decent salary. Why are they just good enough to sit on management committees but not good enough to manage these projects. What happened to local employment and not just jobs and grants for the old pals act.

Local people were excluded from any kind of empowerment just as we were lied to over the nine thousand jobs that would be created by the Waterfront development,exactly how many local people are employed in meaningful jobs on that building site. 

That’s were the real argument is not in staff trying to protect their own necks and cushy numbers,but why are local people not running these projects,why do local people not own these projects. It’s all very well a few orchestrated intimidatory empty vessels making the most noice,but were are the local people in all this, if they are lucky they may be involved in some head nodding decisions on their local management committee.

Open up this debate to the whole committee and don’t just allow the self interest group to shout the loudest giving the impression all think the same. They don’t,so use all the forums available and don’t let the self interest campaign fit to the last drop of your blood.      

Friends and readers. We have had great support for our anti workplace bullying campaign.

Several people in the region of about 66 have contacted us all saying they know who the two bully’s in the Muirhouse Social Work Centre are,with some of our friends telling us that it was well known within Criminal Justice who these two were and what they were up to.

Although they tried to hide the fact information was coming from this centre making clear that staff were being targeted and singled out for abuse.

We know now that this information reached senior ears who brushed it off. We do however have an off the cuff comment from a senior manager made to one of our associates,and he told George that there was a real problem at that office and someone might get hurt.

He would not say any more for fear of his own position,but he did say to George ‘Why do you think no-one wants to go anywhere near that place’.

If or when this travesty is made public Pilton Sucks will print the names of those responsible for making others lives a misery.

That’s a promise folks.

Friends and readers. Just now this community is going through a transition process in the way some organisations are funded.

We are moving to a funding process called the Fairer Scotland Fund. This may result in a number of local projects having their grant reduced as different criteria is now put in place.

This of course will spark a debate and rightly so as long as that debate includes the whole community and not just the vested interests of those employed in these projects,which up to now have had the loudest voices.

And it has to be added that a number of local projects have in the past received very generous funding allowing them to grow out of all proportion to the service they deliver. 

So big question.What is the Fairer Scotland Fund?

Lets see if we can unravel it all.

In the context of the recent Spending Review, the Scottish Government announced the creation of a new fund aimed at tackling poverty and deprivation across Scotland.

The Fairer Scotland Fund replaces a number of current programmes and funding streams. On an All Scotland basis the fund totals £145m nationally per year for the next three years and will be part of the Local Government settlement.

An allocation from the fund is to be made to each local authority area to enable community planning partnerships to work together to tackle area based and individual poverty; and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities.

The Scottish Government considers the following principles crucial for  investment of the Fairer Scotland Fund by community planning partnerships.

A clear focus on investment to address the causes of poverty,not it’s symptoms

A strong emphasis placed on making early interventions for vulnerable individuals,families and disadvantaged communities.

Promotion of joint working between local partners.

Focused action on improving employability as a key means of tackling poverty.

Empowering local communities and individuals to influence and inform the decisions made by community partnerships.

The Scottish Government is very clear that not all deprived people in Scotland live in the most deprived areas. So, in recognition of the importance of individual deprivation,community planning partnerships will have increased freedom to invest in particular disadvantaged groups or individuals wherever they live in order to tackle the root causes of poverty across the entire area. There will be no requirement to target a set proportion of their fund allocation for investment only in 15% datazone areas,as under current arrangements.

The allocation is ringfenced for the first two years of the spending review period,in order to provide transparency and ensure that all community planning partnerships can play a part in driving strategic investment of these resources.

However,it is envisaged that the ringfencing will be removed in 20/10/11 as single outcome agreements are concluded with community planning partnerships 

So there you have it,right from the horses mouth,you may agree or disagree as you see fit,that’s if you can understand it all.

Friends and readers.We publish today an interview with Lyn Witheridge,founder of Ban Bullying at Work and the Andrea Adams Trust.

The interview was carried out by Mary O’Hara of the Guardian Newspapr.

Q]You founded the Andrea Adams Trust to combat workplace bullying.Have you made an impact?

A] We,ve been very successful. People need to be listened to when they have been bullied at work. We take up to 70 calls a day,and are now worldwide.

Q] How have you done it.

A] I’ve always looked to involve people who have an expertise,who really know about the issues.

Q] How prevalent is workplace bullying.

A] It’s hugely widespread. One in four of us are being bullied,but we need to recognise how important an issue it is.

Q] Is it getting worse.

A] Yes,because there is so much pressure on us all in work now to meet deadlines and to produce. For me it is a brutal form of psychological intimidation made up of tiny pieces of behaviour.

Q] Are managers the worst offenders.

A]Regrettably yes. It is a primitave form of behaviour,but it can be about abuse of power.

Q] How do you convince employers to rectify problems they might have with bullying in their organisation?

A] By talking to them and making them aware of what is really happening. We run awareness courses for some huge organisations,including governement departments. Some organisations are very proactive about it now.

Q] Are there differenes between the private and public sector.

A] There are,but every organisation has it’s own culture. You have to look at what is acceptable behaviour.

Q] What has surprised you over the years.

A] The fact that more men have been coming forward.

Q] What management skills are needed to tackle bullying?

A] An understanding of human behaviour.

Q] Is part of the problem that there is a macho culture surrounding management?

A] Absolutely. That is still there.

Q] What’s the best piece of management advice you have ever given?

A] Do things honestly and with no agenda.

Q] Do you have a management guru?

A] I have watched Bruce Haines,chairman of Leo Burnett advertising agency,and he ia an outstanding human being and outstanding manager. He uses his power to make people feel comfortable.

Q] Name a management no-no]

A] Having an ego. I don’t hve one and i wouldn’t want one.

Thanks to Martin for sending us this piece.    

Friends and readers. Here is the contact details of the Andrea Adams trust.

Andrea Adams Trust-Workplace Bullying

Office 01273 704 900

Email mail@andreaadamstrust.org

Web Site www.andreaadamstrust.org

Description. Provides advice and support to victims of workplace bullying. Factsheet and other literature on bullying mediation and concilliation services;training;policy and procedure development;bespoke consultancy services.

If you need more information on this agency or other agencies CALL Helpline on 0800 132 737. 

Friends and readers.A reader wrote to us telling us about living with a mental health problem and the feelings the term metal health problem evokes.

We decided to take a closer look at an issue which is the hidden illness in our society.

We have all heard stories of people whose mental heath broke own for one reason or another and being carted off in the little yellow van restrained by a strait jacket.

How many of have used or heard the term Looney Bin. What image  does that present to you. The common held view is that people who are ‘nutters’ get locked up.

Well let’s take a closer look shall we

The term ‘mental health problem’ covers a wide range of problems which affect some one’s ability to get on with their daily life. Mental health problems can affect anyone.of any age and background,as well as having an impact on the people around them such as their family,friends and carers.

Most people recover from their mental health problems. Long term problems can lead to considerable disruption and difficulty in people’s lives,but many of the people affected find ways of managing their problems and are able to lead active lives.

Mental health problems result from a complex interaction of biological,social and psychological factors,but are usually discussed in medical terms.

Most mental health symptoms have traditionally been divided into groups called either ‘neurotic or ‘psychotic’ symptoms. ‘Neurotic’ covers those symptoms which can be regarded as severe forms of ‘normal’ emotional experiences such as depression,anxiety or panic. Conditions formerly referred to as ”neuroses” are now more frequently called ”common mental health problems”

Less common are’psychotic’ symptoms which interfere with a person’s perception of reality,and may include hallucinations such as seeing,hearing,smelling or feeling things that no-one else can. Some mental health problems feature both neurotic and psychotic symptoms.

As well as distinguishing between neurotic and psychotic symptoms,psychiatrists sub-divide different kinds of mental health disorders in other ways:

Organic[identifiable brain malfunction] versus Functional[not due to simple structure abnormalities of the brain]

ICD-10 Classification,which lists major groups of disorders in related family’s e.g. mood disorders,which include depression and manic depression.

When someone experiences severe and or enduring mental health problems they are sometimes described as mentally ill. However ,there are certain difficulties with this term.

1] There is no universally agreed cut-off point between normal behaviour and behaviour associated with mental illness.

2]The label mental health illness is highly stigmatising,encouraging people to think of ‘the mentally ill’ as different.

3]The term mental illness can misleadingly imply that all mental health problems are caused by medical or biological factors. In fact, most mental health problems result from a complex interaction of biological,social/psychological factors.

3] For many people,the existing systems of categorising illnesses do not relate closely enough to their experiences. Some people,including some professionals,prefer not to accept diagnoses which may be misleading or stigmatising.

On average 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. However,of these,only a relatively small number will be diagnosed with a serious and enduring mental health problem.

  Thanks to Andrew who is a community psychiatric nurse for his input into this post. 

Friends and readers. A number of people have asked us,what is workplace bullying?As always we are delighted to keep our readers informed.

When we talk about bullying at work we are referring to an abuse of power or position.

Offensive discrimination through persistent,vindictive,cruel or humiliating attempts to undermine,criticise,condemn,and to hurt or humiliate an individual or group of employees.

It can make employees lives a misery,affect their performance and damage their careers. It can also have a serious impact on organisations,indeed statistics show that each year as many as 18.9 million days are lost to bullying and up to a half of all stress-related illnesses are a direct result of bullying.

Hope this answers our readers questions.   

Friends and readers. It seems from the comments we received that many of you right across the country listened in to the Lyn Witheridge radio 4 broadcast on Saturday 22-11-08 and the reflections of her experiences of being bullied in the workplace.

Slowly but surely this dreadful disease which is present in a number of workplaces is coming out into the open and being publicly spoken about.

Pilton Sucks is among a number of groups campaigning for workplace bullying to be constituted as a crime and punishable as such.

Ms. Witheridges broadcast has given yet another impetus to the campaign as we continue to push for a law to end this workplace tyranny.

The cowards that bully others in the workplace can only do so if they are allowed to get away with it,and unfortunately due to bad management practices in some organisations bullying is allowed to flourish.

As you know Bully’s can only get away with their crimes either by weak management or lying to cover up their sins. As bullying is of a personal nature the serial bully’s know they can get away with it,even better as in the cases of workplace bullying in the Social Work Centre in Muirhouse if the bully has an assistant only to willing to back up the bully’s behaviour and conveniently lie when required.

Weak management compounds the do nothing attitude which then becomes a damage limitation exercise instead of punishing the bully’s and showing there is no toleration of workplace bully’s.

Given the information we have received from staff across the city,it is now very clear that 

1. Management knew that bullying was taking place in Muirhouse.

2. That several members of staff had reported incidents of mistreatment by the two people concerned.

3.Management had been warned some time before that there was a potential time bomb ticking in Muirhouse.

4. Staff across the 4 districts of the city knew exactly who the two responsible for the bullying were and were not at all surprised when it came out,with one manager in another district quoted as saying ‘about bloody time to’.

5.the high turnover of staff compared to other districts tells it’s own story as the bully’s continued to escape justice.

6.When management eventually were forced into taking action after getting reports from a member of staff re-deployed to Muirhouse being subjected to amongst other things threats of physical violence from the bully’s assistant.

7. Mr John Mules one of the investigators brought in to look at these allegations,at first dismissing them,then admitting bullying did take place and action needed to be taken.

8.Ms. Millar head of quality and standards quoted as saying that abuse of staff was a cultural thing,some time later she to changed her mind and was quoted as saying that she took bullying seriously.

So it’s clear to see that in this instance the bully’s could only get away with it because of the unwillingness of those whose duty it was to provide a safe place of work to take any action other than to deny bullying was a problem,unfortunately for those that thought that way,one of their own changed his mind and admitted there was a bullying problem.

The fight continues for justice to be done and the bully’s to be brought to justice,sooner or later those who have bullied will be found out. The thing is bully’s have got to be good liars and how long can that be kept up.

Friends and readers. After our post yesterday regarding the dreadful bullying which took place at the now infamous centre in Muirhouse We received contact from a person who now wishes to make a statement regarding behaviour he witnessed from the bully and his former assistant.

Our friend tells us that he was an eye witness to bullying behaviour dished out to some members of staff by the bully and his former assistant,and to one particular member of staff who was in our friends words treated with vicious contempt.

We suggest his first port of call should be the union with the information he has with copies made and sent to the various managers who buried their heads in the sand.

He tells us the behaviour he witnessed proves beyond doubt that bullying took place at the centre in Muirhouse and those responsible.   

Friends and readers. It seems our newest friend and already under pressure Councillor Day, told some people at the City Chambers on the day of his maiden speech that he did not work for the North Edinburgh Trust.

We would like to remind our newest friend and sucks reader Cammy that he does indeed work for the Trust as a youth development worker,information that is easily and readily available.

It seems friend Cammy just forgot in the heat of the moment must have been the same heat of the moment when he told everybody that he did not know his brother was a member of the BNP or lived at the same address as him without declaring it.

We are happy to remind Councillor Day.