Allegations of “Sexual Assaults & Harassment” of Newham Staff

We have received the following complaints from the Families and support group representing some 20 Newham Refuse Workers.

A named supervisor was accused of serial sexual assaults and harassment in a formal complaint to Newham in November 2021. Instead of investigating and disciplining the supervisor, the complainants allege that that supervisor has been given two management references and was allowed to resign and move on to a management position in neighbouring Tower Hamlets. It now appears that the agency which placed him has found out about his history and he no longer works for Tower Hamlets.

Unusually, those making complaints are men and they claim to have been met by disbelief, abuse and hostility from the management.

In cases like this, you would expect support to be given to those who claim to have suffered bullying and sexual abuse. Not so it seems, in Newham.

The trade union shop steward who was supporting the workers who raised the complaints has been suspended and has now going through a disciplinary process. This is being done by a LABOUR PARTY run council with a LABOUR Mayor. 

The support group is demanding his reinstatement.

 

A Brief History of events, which it is alleged have been going on for a number of years.

In November 2021, after keeping the matter secret from his family, a member of the Newham staff revealed that he had been the subject of repeated sexual harassment. Revealing this meant that other staff members also began to share what had happened to them.

In December 2021, the Support Group wrote to the Mayor and Cabinet. In response they got…NOTHING.

On the 28th February they handed a letter to the Mayor and the Chief Exec. To date they received…NOTHING in reply. That is until 18th March, the day after attending the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, when they received an acknowledgement and the information that the management team who have overseen the department during the period of alleged bullying and harassment will be investigating. 

17th March, they wrote to Newham Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. They are yet to get a response. (Text of all correspondence below)

 

Two staff members have taken up cases before an employment tribunal, the first has been heard and is awaiting the outcome, and the second will not be heard until 2023 because of the COVID backlog.

There is the fear that Newham simply want to brush this embarrassing episode under the carpet. No response means no embarrassing publicity.

We call upon readers not to let that happen. If these events had happened to women, we would quite rightly be outraged and have had major protests. This should not happen to anyone!

If you support the staff who claim to have suffered years of sexual abuse and harassment, please write to the mayor (politely) demanding action, at mayor@newham.gov.uk, cc rokhsana.fiaz@newham.gov.uk.

 

A suggested text:

Dear Mayor Fiaz

I am appalled at the reports of sexual harassment of Newham staff and at the suspension of the only shop steward who was supporting these staff members.

It is galling that a Labour council can leave this issue to fester.

On 5th May 2022, we will be going to the polls. If your administration is unwilling to address this highly disturbing matter I for one will not be casting my vote for Labour. I shall encourage family and friends to do likewise.

Yours etc

 

You may wish to cc in some or all of the other councillors and we provide their contact details below.

rokhsana.fiaz@newham.gov.uk; hanif.abdulmuhit@newham.gov.uk; mushtaq.mughal@newham.gov.uk; Mumtaz.Khan@newham.gov.uk; cllr-nazir.ahmed@newham.gov.uk; riaz.mirza@newham.gov.uk;

pushpa.makwana@newham.gov.uk; Muhammad.Ali@Newham.gov.uk; Muzibur.Rahman@Newham.gov.uk; Nilufa.Jahan@Newham.gov.uk; Zulfiqar.Ali@newham.gov.uk; joy.laguda@newham.gov.uk; Daniel.Lee-Phakoe@newham.gov.uk; James.Asser@Newham.gov.uk; ayesha.chowdhury@newham.gov.uk; tonii.wilson@newham.gov.uk; Jennifer.Bailey@newham.gov.uk; omana.gangadharan@newham.gov.uk; lester.hudson@newham.gov.uk; james.beckles@newham.gov.uk; patricia.holland@newham.gov.uk; sarah.ruiz@newham.gov.uk; Daniel.Blaney@Newham.gov.uk; zuber.gulamussen@newham.gov.uk; firoza.nekiwala@newham.gov.uk; Steve.Brayshaw@newham.gov.uk; anthony.mcalmont@newham.gov.uk; patrick.murphy@newham.gov.uk; ken.clark@newham.gov.uk; mariam.dawood@newham.gov.uk; salim.patel@newham.gov.uk; Rohit.Dasgupta@Newham.gov.uk; alan.griffiths@newham.gov.uk; Belgica.Guana@Newham.gov.uk; sasha.dasgupta@Newham.gov.uk

anamul.islam@newham.gov.uk; rachel.tripp@newham.gov.uk; ann.easter@newham.gov.uk; Shaban.Mohammed@Newham.gov.uk; Delphine.Tohoura@Newham.gov.uk; Joshua.Garfield@newham.gov.uk; terence.paul@newham.gov.uk; Nareser.Osei@newham.gov.uk; john.gray@newham.gov.uk; charlene.mclean@newham.gov.uk; john.whitworth@newham.gov.uk; Moniba.Khan@Newham.gov.uk; Gen.Kitchen@Newham.gov.uk; Harvinder.SinghVirdee@Newham.gov.uk; Carleene.Lee-Phakoe@newham.gov.uk; Jane.Lofthouse@newham.gov.uk; neil.wilson@newham.gov.uk; susan.masters@newham.gov.uk; quintin.peppiatt@newham.gov.uk; Lakmini.Shah@newham.gov.uk; mas.patel@newham.gov.uk; tahmina.rahman@newham.gov.uk; winston.vaughan@newham.gov.uk; Aisha.Siddiqah@Newham.gov.uk; Suga.Thekkeppurayil@Newham.gov.uk

 

The text of the letters from the support group and the personal experiences of a number of the staff who have suffered are included below.

 

Dear members of Newham Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee

We are the support group of family members of Refuse workers in Newham, many of us are Newham residents. 

A number of workers at Newham Council Refuse Department submitted formal complaints to senior management at the beginning of December 2021 regarding sexual assaults & harassment from a named supervisor. We have been told that now over 20 workers have come forward.

As you may understand it has been very difficult for our loved ones to come forward in a general hostile environment of management abuse and victimisations. It is an all-male workforce which made it a particular challenge. Also it is not usual for men to speak out about sexual abuse they have suffered.

What has made things worse is that we have found out that the abuser was allowed to resign before the completion of the investigation, was given two references from management and ended up working as a manager at Tower Hamlets Refuse Department. 

The reaction from Management has been a complete cover up & a failure of their duty of care.

As you may be aware we met the Mayor and the Chief Executive Officer on 28th February 2022 and handed them our collective letter (see letter below & link to audio recording of the meeting)

 We asked for the following:

 “we require you to confirm in writing to us:

a. That the supervisor who is the subject to the complaints of sexual harassment and assaults has not been allowed to resign and will face disciplinary charges. That the disciplinary hearing will be conducted by a manager in your Executive Team and will be observed by an elected member of the Council. 

b. That the union steward, who supported our loved ones, current disciplinary process is stopped permanently and he is allowed to return to work without condition

c. That all those workers who have been subjected the Council sickness procedures due to Covid related absences will be ended and the focus will be on giving them the support and flexibility they deserve.

d. That the Council will immediately enter into discussions with the Refuse workers who are currently been forced through Employment Tribunal, for their return to work.”

We have had no response, not even an acknowledgement of receipt of our collective letter. This was the same non-response to our letter to Mayor, Chief Executive Officer and Newham Council cabinet members in December 2020.

We understand your role is

“Holding executive, individual cabinet members and chief officers to account and ensuring corporate priorities are met”.

We are therefore requesting that you hold an inquiry, taking evidence from refuse workers and their family members.

Representatives of our group will be attending your meeting next week.


Text of our collective letter to the Mayor and the Chief Executive Officer: 

28th February 2022

 “To: Mayor of Newham Council & Newham Chief Executive

From: Newham Refuse Workers Relatives Support group

DOES NEWHAMS’ REFUSE WORKERS RELATIVES, WHOSE LOVED ONES HAVE EXPERIENCED YEARS OF BULLYING, VICTIMISATIONS, ABUSE, SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULTS, LIVES MATTER!

Since 2015 refuse workers at Newham have on, numerous occasions, raised with you and the Council’s senior management the brutal regime of bullying, victimisations and sackings by the Refuse management. The failure of you to act has meant that the bullying in the Refuse Department as escalated to monstrous levels.

From late November 2021, we understand that up to 20 Refuse workers have disclosed to senior management in Refuse, serial sexual harassment and assaults by a named supervisor. To date no disciplinary action has been taken. Instead management suspended the two union stewards who submitted their members’ written complaints and one of them is now facing disciplinary action! We have now heard that the alleged abuser is now working as a manager at a neighbouring Council. As a result we have no faith in the current investigation.

What makes it worse is the way the current investigation has been conducted. Our loved ones have been gaslighted which has made them feel that it is they who have been prosecuted. The alleged abuser was allowed to remain in the workplace for 8 days after formal complaints had been submitted. This allowed him to stalk the victims. We also heard that some managers were openly stating that the complaints were without merit as it is only banter and nothing serious.

As one of the victim’s partners says:

“I have to endure my partner coming home and expressing how the drivers and loaders are being treated by supervisors and management. As of late my own partner has been subjected to sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation from a supervisor which other members of the team, including supervisors and management have witnessed. 

Since speaking out he was told by management that he would be supported and he has hardly heard from them.  His main support throughout this has been his union reps, sadly at one point they were removed and this left him in work alone with no one to turn to. This also left other members of the team venerable to subject of bullying and intimidation from management for being witnesses. This left a lot of others not knowing what the next day would bring and if they would still have a job.

This has not only impacted on work life; it has caused problems at home and within our relationship. Our children think their father has no longer has a job due to him suffering from depression, anxiety and stress.  Our relationship has been strained as our communication has dropped off due to myself being unable to speak freely around him encase it triggers something. He does not like to go out in public, as he worries others may be aware of what has happened or it will happens again.

 I am angry, frustrated and mainly outraged as it was expressed to him that management would support him through this and he barely heard from anyone. The only main times he has heard from management is when they asked when he will be returning back to work. I do believe that something needs to be done.

 I am requesting that you conduct your own investigation into the management of the Refuse Department.  This being due to the fact that yes, only one supervisor subjected this abuse upon him however, the rest of management was made aware and let this abuse to continue for two years.  Therefore, I do believe that all management to be held accountable of for not speaking out and taking action where needed. I don’t not believe in not saying or doing anything in the hope that it will go away. My partner and others have to deal with the aftermath for the rest of their lives.”

When our loved ones carried out their civic duty and continued at great risk to themselves and their family members, every day of the pandemic, are now being victimised for suffering the effects of Covid 19 and reactions to the vaccine.

As one of the workers partners says:

“My husband has been very unwell these last six months and he has struggled with his health, both physically and mentally. I have watched him struggle and in turn both I and my family have had quite a difficult time. I have to say that I have been feeling unhappy, for lack of a better word, with the way my husband has been treated, I feel like he is being punished for being unwell which is very unfair considering an unprecedented illness is beyond anyone’s control, and it is certainly beyond my husband.

The procedure for his absence was felt to us as if he has been in trouble at work and is being reprimanded instead of having his illness taken seriously. I understand that the Covid-19 vaccine and any possible related effects from this is very new, and we had no idea whatsoever that this was going to happen, but because of my husband’s underlying illness, which he was diagnosed with earlier this year, his body and overall health did not react well, and we were both shocked to say the least.

Since my husband has been off work unwell he has been through a high level of anxiety, not helped at all by the added pressure put upon him by his place of work, to go back in. Having to bear witness to watching your partner deteriorate more and more each day knowing you cannot actively help is excruciating.

I have been by my husband side throughout this whole situation and I have to say that it has been truly awful at times. Circumstances were already bad enough with both of us trying to get any help possible from GP’s and physio, almost no communication at times from doctors or their receptionists, being unable to talk to anyone, most likely due to Covid-19 and subsequently a lack of staff. With little to no support from both inside and outside of work, we were left to figure this out alone.

All of this combined with the added stress caused by a Stage Three sickness procedure, was not welcome and I feel, very unnecessary.

As a relative and a wife of one of the workers, I find it quite saddening and outrageous that employees right now, in 2022 are finding themselves victims of bullying, harassment and scare tactics. Being subjected to threats of sacking among other punishments is completely ridiculous and the unfairness of this going on, being allowed and swept aside like it doesn’t matter and it's all just normal policy is quite honestly beyond me.

The poor treatment of my husband and others has been so stressful and inconsiderate that I now have no choice but to speak out. This issue is very important to us and the issues being raised are affecting more than just the employees work life but also their health, mental health and home life.

My husband and I have submitted complaints as to date no action has been taken”

A mother of a black refuse worker wrote to you in December 2020

“My son has been abused, and sacked without being given a right to defend himself. It reminds me of the old days when I saw notices being put up in windows “No blacks, No Irish, No dogs”. This is really bad, we have been told that in the UK everyone has equal rights and justice. We blacks (and other ethnic minorities) have worked for this Country all our lives. My father worked for the British Railways. My mother served in the II World War as a Nurse and came to this country in 1946 (part of the Windrush Generation). I have children and grandchildren (who are mixed-race) living in this Country. Is this the way my children and grandchildren are going to be viewed and treated? No – at the end of the day we have rights.”

When many of our loved ones have dared to raise complaints of bullying, discrimination and victimisations, they have faced with disciplinary action and dismissal.

As one of the worker’s partners says

“I am totally outraged that that a letter I took time to write to you both in November 2020 was totally ignored, not one of you could even be bothered to reply. The Council has submitted by husband and our family to years of abuse.  We had to endure my husband’s suspension from July 2019 and disciplinary and dismissal and the Employment Tribunal process since October 2020.

The tribunal process has been tough because of all the legal jargon that Newham Council’s solicitor has been putting on us as a way to avoid having to defend what they have done. They have dragged the process out making unfounded procedural objections, none of which has been upheld. As a result we will have to wait until the summer of 2023 for the Tribunal hearing.

It has been very stressful and heart-breaking to see my husband and my family put through these enduing processes which will cost Newham’s Council Tax payer 10s of thousands of pounds.

As my husband as always said that it’s not about the money, it about justice for him and his fellow workers, for things to be put right.

I want to make it quite clear to both of you we have not given up and we will not stop fighting.”

 As we told you in our letters of complaint to both of you in 2020 which no action was taken:

“Our loved ones day in and day out, whether in the cold, rain, or snow go out every day to provide one of the most vital services to the residence of Newham. It is heavy, undervalued, grubby and low paid work. What is unacceptable is they have to deal with working in an environment of racism, bullying, harassment and victimisation.

We are the ones who have to deal with the consequences which if not ended will affect all of us for the rest of our lives. The Council has a duty of care not only to its refuse workers but to us as their family members.

It has really affected the younger members of our families, who have had to witness their parents or their aunts and uncles having to deal with stress and financial worries. This hostile environment from the workplace has entered like a storm of destruction in our family’s homes and lives. When our younger members of our families who have to face an uncertain future with the C19 pandemic and the economic fall out that it has created, your management has been allowed to add to this, as one of your worker’s daughter has stated that it has denied her parents spending valuable time with her, time that she will never get back, which she can never forgive Newham Council for.

We know who our loved ones are, and the use of the Council’s disciplinary process to abuse and slander them is unforgivable. What is also unacceptable that during the lockdown our loved ones went out at great risk to themselves (and to their families) to make sure Newham residences remained safe, just as important as the health workers and their families have done”

Over the summer of 2020, you have received letters signed by over 50 Refuse Workers and 67 Queens Market Traders, regarding the failure of the Council management to deal with their complaints of bullying, victimisation and discrimination by the Management of the Recycling, Refuse and Street Cleansing, Environment & Sustainable Transport Department. Again no action was taken.

The Council has stated publicly:

That people will be at the heart of everything the Council does:

“Honesty: We act with Integrity. We communicate openly and transparently. We take responsibility if things go wrong

Equality: We treat people fairly and consistently. We include everyone in our diverse community. We stand up to injustice and discrimination

Ambition: We work hard to make Newham better for everyone. We think creatively to find solutions, We are committed to learning and improving

 Respect: We treat people with courtesy and compassion. We welcome other people’s ideas and perspectives, We consider how our behaviour impact on others.

Together: We are one Council, one team. We collaborate and co-produce to achieve results. We trust, appreciate, and constructively challenge each other”

We are therefore demanding that those words are put into practice by doing the following.

 

1. Arrange with us a meeting with both of you with the relatives within the next 7 days. You can contact us via our email address: newhamrefuserelatives@gmail.com

In the meantime we require you to confirm in writing to us:

a. That the supervisor who is the subject to the complaints of sexual harassment and assaults has not been allowed to resign and will face disciplinary charges. That the disciplinary hearing will be conducted by a manager in your Executive Team and will be observed by an elected member of the Council.

b. That the union steward, who supported our loved ones, current disciplinary process is stopped permanently and he is allowed to return to work without condition

c. That all those workers who have been subjected the Council sickness procedures due to Covid related absences will be ended and the focus will be on giving them the support and flexibility they deserve.

d. That the Council will immediately enter into discussions with the Refuse workers who are currently been forced through Employment Tribunal, for their return to work.

Failure to implement the above requests, we will have no alternative but to go to Newham residents for support. A decision we are not taking lightly as it would mean we would have to reveal publically what has happened to our loved one and the impact it has had on their families.

 

“He who allows oppression shares the crime.”

Erasmus Darwin

[Charles Darwin’s Grandfather; who amongst other things was one of the leading campaigners against the British Slave Trade in the UK]”

 

 

 

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Kind Regards

Newham Refuse Workers Relatives Support group


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Correction:

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Without Irony!