N Kganyago: Workplace Dignity book launch

28 September 2007

The author, publisher, chairperson and founder of the institute, Dr Suzan
Steinman
Professor Anton Senekal
The Deputy Chairperson of South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Dr
Zonke Majodina
The SAHRC Commissioner, Dr Leon Wessels
Senior officials of SAHRC
The business community, chief directors, directors and colleagues from
government departments, business members, colleagues and friends of Workplace
Dignity Institute
Members of the media (electronic and print)
The Programme Director, Ms Vernie Chetty-Henson
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

The choice of a medium remains a means to an end; and the end is always to
convey a shared meaning through powerful messages. Many of us, who grew up in
rural areas under a hash environment created by apartheid and its institutions
such as Bantu Education, will recall that story telling, in the absence of
popular media, became a compelling medium for moralisation, socialisation and
acculturation.

To be integrated into the society and its cultural values and norms as
children we relied on the story-telling abilities of our family their and
extended families to inculcate certain morals and instil acceptable behaviours.
As ridiculous as some of these folk-stories sounded, the impact was that they
had a strong moral which challenged our perceptions and shaped our social
relations. Many folk-tales were composed and recited, often using animals as
metaphors for good and evil, strong and weak, as well as intelligent and
stupid.

One of my favourites was the story of the manipulative hyena (phiri), which
went to the lion to withdraw its allegiance. When the angry lion demanded
reasons, the hyena simply said because the lion was not the king of the jungle
anymore. In anger, the lion asked to be taken to meet this new king of the
jungle called the hunter. On the way, they came across an old man and the lion
asked, is this new king of the jungle?

The hyena laughed and said no, that used to be, not anymore. Further down
the path they saw a young boy and the lion roared. The hyena interjected and
said no that was not a hunter but would grow up to be. When they eventually met
the hunter, the hyena said: Mr Lion, let me introduce to you the new king of
the jungle. The lion could only roar once before the fateful arrow pierced
through its heart. The hyena had won again, wilfully pitting the lion and the
hunter to get rid of the lion.

Consequently, the bush legend has never been kind to the hyenas. They are
known to have deceptive, callous and manipulative characters. Sadly, we have
such characters in our midst and many of them have duped us into appointing
them into positions of power from where they continue to unleash their malice.
Fortunately, the South African society has since 1996 been bequeathed with a
supreme law in the form of a constitution that entrenches the right of every
person to dignity. Even if you may disagree with the person, you may not take
away their right to privacy, dignity and life.

Today, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honour for me to deliver this key
note address at the launch of one of the best straight-to-the-heart and hard
hitting book. Although I still try very hard to bring myself to terms with the
title, I believe Dr Steinman has fearlessly and almost single-handed confronted
a subject; most of us would prefer to avoid workplace violence in all its
forms, physical and emotional like bullying and mobbing, verbal abuse, racial
and sexual harassment and the use of overt or covert threats. Be it physical or
psychological, it has become a global problem crossing borders, work settings
and occupational groups. Violence at work has dramatically gained momentum in
recent years and is now a priority concern in both industrialised and
developing countries.

The book investigates and exposes the rise of bullying and workplace
violence worldwide in the form of the Workplace Hyena and their negative impact
on the organisation. Earlier in the week, the national Department of Public
Works convened a conference on the effects of corruption, fraud and
maladministration on public service delivery. At the same gathering, speakers
and participants alike agreed on the corrosive role of corruption and its
impact on the reputation, morale, productivity and profits.

Corruption was, among others, described as an outcome of "an interdependent
system in which a part of the system is either not performing duties it was
originally intended to or performing them in an improper way, to the detriment
of the system's original purpose." The same can be said about workplace
violence and its consequences on staff morale brought by a sense of loss of
respect, worth and esteem by employees.

But let us turn to the issue of workplace violence. This affects the dignity
of millions of people worldwide. It is a major source of inequality,
discrimination, stigmatisation and conflict at the workplace. Increasingly it
is becoming a central human rights issue. At the same time, workplace violence
is increasingly appearing as a serious, sometimes lethal threat to the
efficiency and success of organisations. Violence causes immediate and often
long-term disruption to interpersonal relationships, the organisation of work
and the overall working environment.

While workplace violence and bullying affects practically all sectors and
all categories of employees, the corporate sector is not free from physical
violence, while mainly dealing with emotional violence. It has been estimated
by a number of reliable studies that stress and violence together possibly
account for approximately 30% of the overall costs of ill health and
accidents.

The evidence clearly indicates that workplace violence is far too high and
that interventions are urgently needed. Further, more specific evidence is
available in each country which should be used to increase awareness of the
importance of the problem of workplace violence and to make it a priority
target for all people operating in or concerned with the corporate and service
sectors.

Issued by: Department of Public Works
28 September 2007