Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace
European conference: Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace Banque Nationale de Belgique, Brussels 29 April 2003
Conference organised by the Belgian Federal Ministry for Employment and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Background
The issues of violence and harassment have aroused considerable and growing interest across Europe in recent years. Greater awareness of the problem has been followed by an upsurge in regulatory activity and practical workplace initiatives.
The extent of the phenomenon remains unknown but Foundation research in this field found that in 2000 about 9% of the EU working population had experienced over the past twelve months intimidation or harassment in their place of work. Nearly 13% report themselves to be aware of the existence of physical violence in their place of work. As suggested by previous Foundation research ('Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace'), the problem may be on the increase throughout all European Union Member States.
The conference was aimed at discussing measures to prevent
and combat
violence and harassment in the workplace, and to promote debate among
EU and national authorities, social partners and experts.
Programme
08.30 Registration of participants
09.15 Opening address
Raymond-Pierre BODIN, Director, European Foundation for the Improvement
of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin
09.30 Presentation of the Foundation report, Preventing
violence and harassment in the workplace
Sabrina TESOKA,
Research manager, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
and Working
Conditions
10.00 Laurette ONKELINX, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
for Employment, Belgium
10.20 Anna DIAMANTOPOULOU, Commissioner for Employment and
Social Affairs, European Commission
10.50 Coffee break
11.00 Violence and harassment in the workplace: myths and realities
[ discours
disponible - Word doc ]
Elisabeth BUKSPAN, Chief Auditor of public finances, France
11.50 Overview of European policies relating to violence and harassment
in the workplace
Vittorio DI MARTINO, consultant
Helge HOEL, lecturer, Manchester School of Management
Authors of the Foundation report Preventing violence and
harassment in the workplace
12.30 Lunch
14.00 National experiences
The Belgian experience: the law of June 11 2002
Jean JACQMAIN, Professor, Brussels Free University
The Swedish experience
Ewa MENCKEL, Professor, National Institute of Working Life, Sweden
14.30 Examples of good practice at organisation level
Naema AL-GASSEER, Expert, World Health Organisation
John MYERS, Expert, International Labour Office
Jean-François LEROY, Lecturer, Liège University
15.45 Round table with social partner representatives
Thérèse de LIEDEKERKE, Director of social affairs,
UNICE
Sinead TIERNAN, Adviser, ETUC
CEEP: representative to be selected
16.30 Concluding remarks [ discours
disponible - Word doc ]
Olgierd KUTY, Professor, Liège University