When will the Standards Committee Report?

The July 2023 Labour Group meeting saw another motion that caused the mayor some concern.

Group members were invited to discuss a motion on bullying. It might be that this was intended as a wholly abstract discussion item. Or, it might have been that it was intended to highlight the impending report from the Standards Advisory Committee (SAC).

Cllr Liz Booker. Mover of the Motion

We reported that members of staff have submitted evidence to the SAC. Our understanding is that they have described a culture of persistent demeaning of staff members and bullying by the mayor. At the moment this is little more than hearsay, because the SAC has not reported and it seems that it has not even met to discuss the evidence. We know that the mayor’s behaviour towards councillor colleagues was the subject of a complaint from 26 councillors to the Labour Party. This complaint was never addressed by the Labour Party. And we know that such complaints have dogged the mayor throughout her time in office.

Again, and we can only report what people on the ground are suggesting, if one reason for the delay is that Fiaz is being protected, there is a second reason that relates to NEC member, Cllr Asser, not wanting to be embarrassed ahead of the announcements of the selection of a parliamentary candidate for the Beckton and West Ham constituency. Asser (an NEC member) is touted as the candidate likely to be selected by Labour’s NEC.

Asser and Fiaz. Protected?

A third possible motive is that Newham are interviewing for a new Chief Executive on Monday 10th July. This was a fact that also seemed to have been hidden from councillors and Labour Group members. 

It would have been doubly embarrassing to have a report criticising the mayor for bullying, (if that is indeed what it does), published at the same time as candidates for Chief Exec’s post were being interviewed. You never know, it might cause some of them to reconsider their decision to apply.

The text of the motion is below.

It wasn’t discussed. Cllr Ken Penton threw a lifeline to Fiaz and Asser by moving a procedural motion to push discussion back to the September Group meeting. And this was accepted.

So, the allegations against the mayor remain just that, allegations. Until the report is produced, we get nothing definitive. 

Just how long can this complaint, which is now seven months old, be ignored?

The text of the Labour Group Motion on Bullying:

MOTION 7: ANTI-BULLYING MOTION 

Proposer: Liz Booker 

Seconder: Joshua Garfield 

This council notes: 

1. Bullying behaviour in the workplace has been recognised as the most common form of misconduct in the UK, with over a quarter (26%) of office workers having experienced this at some point in their career. 

2. Bullying has a detrimental effect on the individual, their organisation and wider society. 

3. Bullying in the workplace can lead to increased stress, impact on an individual’s mental health, lead to workplace absences, legal proceedings, financial settlements and reputational damage for the employer. 

4. It is estimated that misconduct, including bullying, annually costs the UK economy £1.2 billion in unproductive hours. 

5. A recent report into workplace misconduct highlighted the additional risk public sector organisations are at due to their size, fear of reputational damage, and a lack of adequate procedures. 

6. The most recent national data comes from an FOI request made in 2019 to 152 local authorities, revealing formal grievances involving bullying and harassment by council staff have increased by 7.5%. 

7. A lack of trust in procedures, victimisation and protection from personal harm were issues highlighted as a significant barrier to reporting bullying, with over a third of UK office workers stating that they believed their employers would brush aside at least one form of workplace misconduct if it was likely to impact profits or reputation. 

This council believes: 

1. That everyone in this local government organisation should be treated with dignity and respect 

2. It is the duty of the organisation to nurture a ‘Speak Up’ culture, understanding that employees must have the confidence to report bullying confidently. 

3. Publicly funded organisations must never use their power to silence individuals who are bullied. 

4. Whilst bullying, as well as accusations of bullying, cannot be eliminated all together, we can ensure our policies, processes and procedures are an example of best practice, creating a zero tolerance culture to bullying council wide. 

5. All employees, volunteers and representatives of the council must be protected by our anti-bullying policies and have full access to resources allocated by the council to protect victims of bullying. 

6. Nobody in the council’s employ or representing the council in any capacity can be exempt from these processes and procedures to protect victims of bullying and prevent it from occurring. 

This council resolves to: 

1. Devise a Zero Tolerance Anti Bullying strategy and issue a joint statement with the trade unions representing council staff. 

2. Ensure all staff are aware of how to report bullying, including having access to an internal confidential anti-bullying hotline. 

3. Institute anti-bullying training for all senior staff and line managers. 

4. Regularly review anti-bullying policies with Trade Union input to ensure the highest standards are maintained. 

5. Ensure that all avenues are available to bullied staff; including grievance, mediation, Occupational Health, Trade Union representation, ACAS and HR. Proposed Lab