Saturday, April 18, 2015
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) has launched an internal probe into separate allegations of sexual assault and harassment against two supervisors at the government agency, according to union leader John Pinder.
In one claim, a male supervisor sexually assaulted a male employee on work premises - allegedly forcing him into a vehicle and driving him to a secluded area of the compound.
In the second claim, a deputy manager is accused of sexual harassment and leveraging sex for career advancement with female employees. It was further alleged that the male supervisor was caught in a sexual act with another female employee.
The supervisors have been placed on administrative leave, according to Mr Pinder, president of the National Congress of Trade Unions of the Bahamas, who told The Tribune that the incidents have severely impacted staff morale.
He confirmed that up to 75 per cent of employees - most of whom were female - walked out last Wednesday in protest against alleged insulting remarks made against them.
When the alleged incidents took place was not clear. Calls placed to BAIC officials for comment were unreturned yesterday.
"I think the whole staff need some level of counselling," Mr Pinder said. "Male staffers need to know the appropriate way to address a female so that they don't feel sexually harassed and we need to build back confidence of female staffers, to let them know that you don't have to do sexual favours to advance your career.
"But in the situation with the male employee, it was clearly sexual assault. It was pre-meditated and sexual abuse. I expect that will be going before the courts."
Mr Pinder explained that the union responded to one complaint of sexual harassment last year, adding that the matter was resolved internally and the female employee was moved to another area.
"In that case some level of apologies were made and the lady was removed from the area," he said. "Remember, if I say anything that makes you uncomfortable, once I'm aware that you don't want me to then I'm supposed to decease from doing so. If I don't, that is a form of harassment.
"Somewhere along the line, we got to get the right person to talk to them about self esteem. If you're qualified you should be able to work and succeed based on your professional effort."
Mr Pinder said the alleged male victim of sexual assault recently filed a written complaint with the union, but that the incident had not yet been reported to the police.
"Sometimes a male feels damaging to come public to say he was assaulted sexually by another male," Mr Pinder said. "That messes with his manhood. It allegedly happened at the workplace; the guy forced him into a vehicle and drove him to an area in the workplace, a far area away from the main office, and he was apparently giving him some drinks and got him intoxicated."
Mr Pinder commended the swift response of new BAIC chairman, Dion Smith, adding that the union was satisfied with the corporation's response and investigation.
"We have to do what is necessary. They [staff] may need to have counselling so that they feel safe in the workplace," he said.
Mr Pinder said Mr Smith had called him on Thursday to ask to allow him to look into the matter before it goes any further. "It's safe to say he will not tolerate that kind of behaviour by how quickly he acted," Mr Pinder said.
Comments
ThisIsOurs says...
This story is WRONG on soooo many levels
1. *Male staffers need to know the appropriate way to address a female so that they don't feel sexually harassed and we need to build back confidence of female staffers, to let them know that you don't have to do sexual favours to advance your career.*
Simple enough, get Labour Minister Shane Gibson to speak to the men in power and warn them about using their position for sexual leverage and about respecting the personal space of their female subordinates
2 *"But in the situation with the male employee, it was clearly sexual assault. It was pre-meditated and sexual abuse. I expect that will be going before the courts."*
Of course because a man's body is clearly **his own**, if it were a female for example, we'd of course have to ask what was she doing in the car drinking anyway. *She know what time it is*..I mean ...duuuhhh
3 *Mr Pinder explained that the union responded to one complaint of sexual harassment last year, adding that the matter was resolved internally and the female employee was moved to another area.*
THE **LADY** WAS REMOVED???????? What is that??? So you left the man in his comfort zone but you uprooted/punished the **woman**
Posted 18 April 2015, 5:07 p.m. Suggest removal
Emac says...
ThisisOurs, sadly, you will not get a lot of support here. Notice how there aren't many comments in regards to this issue. The whole 'Me Tarzan, you Jane' thing is ingrained in our culture. The average Bahamian male sees nothing wrong with pulling a woman on the side and whispering sexual overtones in her ears. Throughout the years, especially at public events, such as Junkaoo, you would see young men harassing females as they pass by: Even those young ladies that are accompanied by their boyfriends are targets. So this upcoming Carnival should be very interesting, since many females will be dressed in skimpy outfits: An invitation for mating, at least in the minds of the young men. :-) The thing is, both the Bahamian male and female are to blame. The Bahamian woman always puts herself out there as the person who should be taken care off and given money. This trait is passed on from mother to daughter. Bahamian males feel that since they are providing all of the female needs, they have a right to come on to any female, because as far as they are concerned every Bahamian female needs a man to take care of her.
Soooooooo, how do we fix this problem? Education is the key. But I don't see many young Bahamians moving on to college level since they are increasing the fees, making it even more difficult for the average Joe to attend college. So all I can say is, God help us!
Posted 19 April 2015, 6:21 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
Hmmm, my Mother always told me not to take gifts from any man and always take five dollars for taxi. I was very young so I had no idea what she was talking about, I thought she was from Mars. But sure enough when I started dating I would literally check to make sure I had enough for a taxi and I always paid my own way. Now I feel like I'm from Mars. Btw she also told me not to let anyone "touch" me, I had no idea what that meant either so I spent 7th grade walking sideways:) times have changed. We need more Mothers from Mars.
Posted 20 April 2015, 7:03 a.m. Suggest removal
Emac says...
:-)...Yep, you are from Mars. Let's consider Mars to a planet where people come from who have high moral standards and abide by the laws of the land. Very few Martians live in this town though, rare breed of people.
Posted 20 April 2015, 11:59 a.m. Suggest removal
lumi says...
BOL ROTF...
That was good, ThisIsOurs. I needed that.
Posted 20 April 2015, 3:31 p.m. Suggest removal
duppyVAT says...
If there are FAGGOTS in high places at BAIC .............. for Christ sake, name, shame and fire them ..................... in the Name of Jesus!!!!!
Posted 20 April 2015, 4 p.m. Suggest removal
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