Results of ACTU survey come as unions lobby for the Fair Work Commission to gain powers over workplace disputes

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Some 61% of women and 35% of men have reported experiencing sexual harassment at work in a survey conducted by Australia’s peak union body.

Since 18 September more than 7,500 people have participated in the Australian Council of Trade Union’s (ACTU) survey on workplace harassment, which will continue to collect workers’ experiences until the end of November.

The preliminary results, released on Wednesday, reveal the widespread nature of sexual harassment in the workplace as unions lobby for the Fair Work Commission to gain powers over workplace disputes including harassment.

A total of 3,612 respondents (53%) reported experiencing sexual harassment at work, either in their current workplace (25%) or their previous workplace (28%).

The most common forms were crude or offensive behaviour, which was experienced by 69% of people who reported sexual harassment; unwanted sexual attention (46%) and inappropriate physical contact of a sexual nature (34%).

The survey found that 64% of people had witnessed sexual harassment at work.

Respondents opt in to the survey and the results are not adjusted to reflect a representative sample of the workforce.

Despite the prevalence of sexual harassment, two thirds of those who had witnessed sexual harassment in their workplace did not make a formal complaint, and 40% did not tell anyone at all. More than half said they feared negative consequences if they spoke up.

The president of the ACTU, Michele O’Neil, said: “Everyone should go to work free from the fear of harassment and unwanted sexual attention.

“For many people – mainly women – today in Australia this is not the reality. Our workplace laws have failed women who are experiencing harassment at work.”

The ACTU’s Change the Rules campaign has called for the Fair Work Commission to gain jurisdiction over underpayment of wages, sexual harassment and other forms of workplace dispute which require litigation in courts under the status quo.

O’Neil said Australians “need access to fair, effective and efficient complaints mechanisms that support people who’ve been harassed, not punish them”.

“Sexual harassment is a workplace issue and people who experience it should be able to take it up through the workplace umpire.”

Asked how current processes could be improved, survey respondents wanted: better protection from victimisation (62%), more support for victims (57%), better remedies (47%), a quicker complaints process (33%) and more involvement from the union (33%).

In August the International Labour Organisation released a consultation paper proposing a new convention on the elimination of violence and harassment at work.

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The convention would require member states to prohibit violence and harassment in the world of work and ensure access to remedies and support for victims.

This should include laws to protect against victimisation or retaliation against complainants, victims, witnesses and whistleblowers, the proposed convention said.

The ILO proposes to recommend that states promote collective bargaining as a means of preventing and addressing violence and harassment at work.

In earlier consultation on the convention, the Australian government lobbied against inclusion of language on collective bargaining and freedom of association, arguing there was “no established connection between these particular rights and protection from violence and harassment”.