TURKEY - Workplace Bullying Lawsuits Expected To Skyrocket

The passing of a law offering expanded protection against workplace harassment is expected to create an increase in the already growing number of bullying-related lawsuits in Turkey.

For the first time, employers are obligated to protect all workers from psychological abuse under the revised Article 417 of the Debts Law that Parliament passed last week.

Previously, the law focused specifically on protecting both female and male workers from sexual abuse in the workplace.

Lawsuits related to workplace bullying, also known as “mobbing,” have already increased in Turkey due to the growing level of societal awareness on the topic. With the new law, however, the number of legal cases is expected to skyrocket.

Workplace bullying is most frequently seen in the finance, education, health and communications sectors, as well as in the military, according to Çağlar Çabuk, the founder of the Workplace Bullying Training and Support Center. She said the entire private sector has been waiting for such a law to be instituted, though further measures are still necessary.

The biggest problem in bullying-related lawsuits is proving that systematic harassment took place, Çabuk said. “There are witnesses, but nobody wants to take the stand.”

She suggested the system implemented in Germany as a solution to this issue. “In Germany, a witness [to workplace harassment] cannot be fired from work for a year,” she said. “Don’t you have the urge to help someone who is being beaten up in the street? It is the same thing. Someone is suffering before you, but you do nothing.”

If companies want to fight against workplace bullying, they should set up ethics boards, Çabuk said.

“Even small- and medium-size enterprises, which have less than 250 workers, should set up ethics boards,” she said. “In a company, we can defend our rights by sticking to an ethics law. That will be our guide. We should include mobbing in ethics, too.”

Çabuk additionally called for the disciplines of law, psychology, psychiatry, criminology, human-resources management and business science to be applied to solving the problem of workplace bullying.

Women affected more

Sixty percent of the 135 people who have sought the support of Çabuk’s Workplace Bullying Training and Support Center over the past year are women. According to psychiatrist Derya Deniz, women are more open to support and have an easier time expressing their feelings. “Men hide it; they don’t want others to say, ‘He couldn’t cope,’” she said.

The most frequent problems involved in mobbing cases examined by the center were lambasting, belittling and gossiping about the victim, as well as a general disapproval of the individual’s work. Some victims receiving support from the center decided to take their cases to court, while others were satisfied with receiving psychological support or having their stories listened to. In addition, some cases that initially seemed to be incidents of workplace bullying were ultimately determined not to be so, while some people who explained how they had been treated eventually even turned out to be the bullies themselves.

The aim of filing lawsuits is to discourage perpetrators, according to lawyer Metin İriz, who has given legal support in bullying cases to some 20 people. Before workplace bullying was defined under the law, such cases were generally filed as lawsuits for damage, libel suits and harassment cases.

One of his İriz’s clients is a vocational high school teacher in Istanbul identified only as F.İ. who has filed a lawsuit alleging cruelty by the headmaster and deputy headmasters of the school. The Bakırköy High Criminal Court accepted the indictment two weeks ago, something that could set an example for future cases. The first trial is scheduled for March.

F.İ. claims that because she is a widow, neither the headmaster nor the deputies wanted her at the school. She said they spread gossip about her with the help of other teachers and did everything they could to keep her away from the school. During the process, F.İ. had two heart attacks. When she came to İriz for legal help, the center immediately obtained a report from the psychiatry department at Istanbul University’s School of Medicine indicating that she was suffering from “major depression” and “post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Following this, İriz consulted with a criminal jurist. If F.İ. wins her case, he said, the accused could be punished with eight to 15 years in prison on charges of cruelty toward a member of the public.

More protection to come

Under the new law passed by Parliament, psychological abuse in the workplace is described as including verbal insults, belittling, leaving a person alone on purpose, excluding an employee from company activities and assigning a worker either too little or too much work. The real purpose of any of these systematic acts of bullying and intimidation is to wear a worker down until he or she quits the job. Such behavior, however, is different than job-related tension, stress or momentary outbursts.

In addition, a draft law on “The Board for Equality and Fighting against Discrimination” that gives a detailed description of harassment is pending at the Prime Ministry. If passed, it is expected to serve as a good reference to support jurists in bullying cases.

Workplace bullying is also currently being discussed in a sub-commission of the Parliamentary Commission on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. The commission, which has consulted expert views, is expected to release a report in late February.

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SURVEY - Bullying Rampant in the US, 35 per cent of Americans are bullied at work

The majority of bullying is same-gender harassment

Thirty-five per cent of Americans report experiencing workplace bullying firsthand, according to a 2010 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) in Bellingham, Wash. An additional 15 per cent of survey respondents report witnessing it.

The survey defined bullying as "repeated, health harming abusive conduct committed by bosses and co-workers." The institute also issued another single-question survey in order to make the direct comparison to the 2007 survey of this nature. In this second survey, workplace bullying was defined as "repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation and humiliation." Thirty-seven per cent of Americans reported experiencing workplace bullying in the 2007 survey.

Of the two 2010 surveys, the first survey had 4,210 respondents across America and the one single-item survey had 2,092 respondents.

The majority of bullying (68 per cent) is same-gender harassment. The survey found women bullies target women in 80 per cent of cases. This harassment is mostly legal according to anti-discrimination laws and workplace policies in the United States, said the WBI. Bullying is four times more prevalent than illegal harassment, the institute found in its first workplace bullying survey in 2007.

The survey also found that 62 per cent of bullies are men and 58 per cent of targets are women.

The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) wrote the survey and commissioned Zogby International to collect data for this representative study of all adult Americans on the topic of workplace bullying.

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Workplace Bullying Runs Rampant

UPDATE - IS THIS THE WORLDS MOST EXTREME SEXUAL HARASSMENT WORKPLACE? NAVY SEX RING RULED UNACCEPTABLE

"The (defence) command structure down has zero tolerance for such unacceptable behaviour."

Sex shame of HMAS Success sinks navy reputation

Ship of shame ... HMAS Success

A JUDICIAL inquiry into the navy's ship of sex shame HMAS Success uncovered a "tribal" culture of bullying, sex, drug and alcohol abuse and high-level incompetence.

The Gillard Government has refused to release the damning report by retired judge Roger Gyles QC that has so far cost taxpayers more than $4 million.

The 400-page HMAS Success Commission of Inquiry report was delivered to defence boss Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston earlier this month and passed to Defence Minister Stephen Smith on Sunday.

Mr Gyles, who is being paid $7700 a day to conduct the inquiry, was given an extra six months to produce part two of his report dealing with wider issues and recommendations.

It is understood the first part is highly critical of the navy's high command and how the allegations of sexual ledgers, bullying, drunkenness and sexual misconduct on the navy's largest ship were dealt with by senior officers.

Those allegations included public sex acts in Asian bars, intimidation, drunken attacks on private property and sexual misconduct between senior male officers and junior female officers. Both Mr Smith and ACM Houston yesterday expressed grave concerns about the contents of the report.

Mr Smith said it raised "very concerning" matters of discipline and "so-called tribal culture".

"[The report] doesn't make good reading, either about the suggestions of individual conduct or the suggestions of discipline," Mr Smith said.

"The report goes to not just individual conduct, on and off the ships, but also goes to matters of discipline, goes to matters of authority."

Mr Smith said humans weren't perfect but that bad behaviour should not become institutional.

He refused to release the Gyles Report on the grounds of due process.

Hinting at the seriousness of the findings, ACM Houston said it would take "some time" to analyse the report and to decide what to do about it.

ACM Houston will brief a Senate Committee into the HMAS Success matter when Parliament resumes.

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UK - Health Worker Bullied by NHS for asking colleagues to consider abortion's impact gets her job back

A health worker who faced the sack after giving an NHS colleague a booklet about the potential dangers of abortion has been allowed to return to work.

Margaret Forrester, 39, claimed to have been ‘bullied’ and ‘treated like a criminal’ for expressing her religious views, but said yesterday that she has now been offered a better job at the same NHS trust.

Miss Forrester, claims she was suspended in November last year after she handed the £4 pro-life booklet called Forsaken – published by a charity – to her colleague. It detailed the physical and psychological trauma experienced by five women from Taunton, Somerset, who terminated their pregnancies.

She said she offered it to a family planning worker during a private conversation because she felt the NHS did not give enough information about the potential risks of abortion.

The mental health worker, who has been employed by the NHS for six years, said there was no sign her colleague, with whom she had discussed abortion, was offended by the booklet or by their conversation.

'Treated like a criminal': Margaret Forrester says she has now been offered a better job by the NHS

But a few days later her manager told her she was being sent home on ‘special leave with full pay’. She was ordered not to see any patients and to stay away from all NHS sites while the trust investigated.

Later, she was told she had not been suspended and could return to work, but claimed she was not allowed to do her normal job. Instead she was put on other duties, which she found ‘bullying and offensive’, adding: ‘I felt physically sickened by their bullying.’

She was eventually signed off on sick leave and has not been back to the health centre since.

Miss Forrester, who worked at the Central and North West London Mental Health Trust, in Camden, attended an internal disciplinary hearing last month where she was accused of ‘distributing materials some people may find offensive’.

Last night a spokesman for the trust said Miss Forrester had been warned not to distribute the ‘offensive’ material or anything similar again, but confirmed she had been offered a new role within the trust.

Offensive? Margaret Forrester said she offered the booklet - Forsaken - to a family planning worker during a private conversation because she felt the NHS did not give enough information about the potential risks of abortion

Miss Forrester said: ‘My employers have not given me any warnings of any kind. They have offered me a new, better role with a wider scope. If at any point they do send me a warning, I will challenge it in court.

‘It was incredible that I was suspended in the first place, just because I expressed a personal opinion. I should be able to express my opinion privately without fear and act freely in good conscience. Today is a victory for freedom of speech. I want to thank all of those who have prayed for me and supported me.’

Andrea Minichiello Williams, a barrister who runs the Christian Legal Centre which supported Miss Forrester, said: ‘The level of intolerance in the public sphere, demonstrated increasingly in public sector employment, is deeply worrying. ‘We hope that today’s decision by the NHS will help to reverse the tide of intolerance. This is a victory for freedom of conscience and freedom of speech.’

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ADVICE FOR 2011 - Don’t Take Shit From Hyenas in the Workplace

How to become wise to office bullying

Watch your back or you may be the victim of a Workplace Hyena looking for a kill! This is the warning given by Dr Susan Steinman in her book, Don’t take shit from hyenas in the workplace. Steinman should know: she has spent 16 years studying Workplace Hyenas – bullies who use underhand and malevolent tactics to destroy rivals to gain money and power.

In the famous The Lion King film, various animals are archetypes for certain human characteristics.

The hyena is depicted as treacherous, cunning and two-faced. Similarly, Steinman uses the hyena as an archetype for the bully.

When one meets Steinman in person, she is cheerful, optimistic and down to earth, and one wonders why she involves herself in the murky world of dirty office politics.

“At first, it was a process of discovery through my research, but when I saw the dreadful impact of bullying, I had to become involved,” she explains.

Steinman has two doctorates, is founder of the Workplace Dignity Institute, and is currently director of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Johannesburg.

She is considered a leading expert on the subject of violence and bullying in the workplace, and assists victims all over the world. She was awarded an Ashoka fellowship in 2002 for her pioneering work in research, raising awareness and the development of programmes to tackle these issues.

We caught up with Steinman shortly before she jetted off to Cape Town, Amsterdam and then Saudi Arabia to address audiences about how to become Hyena-wise.

Her clever use of the hyena metaphor, which she finds is universally recognised, is her way of injecting lightness into a rather dark subject.

Humour, she believes, can be therapeutic and diminishes the power of the bully in the eyes of the victim.

So how does one identify a Workplace Hyena?

“They operate in overt and covert ways,” says Steinman. “Some scream, shout, throw tantrums and deliberately humiliate employees. Sometimes they resort to passive aggression, ignoring and isolating a victim, or use sarcasm and innuendo at the victim’s expense.”

Steinman describes e-mail as a terrible tool in the hands of a Workplace Hyena, who will copy an entire audience to belittle an employee. Other more covert methods are labelling, gossiping, half truths and conspiracies.

She says bullying must not be confused with normal conflict or strict discipline. Bullying is about 80% top down, is persistent and prolonged over a period of time. There is an imbalance in power. Its intention is to harm and degrade an individual.

Sometimes a subordinate will work to undermine a superior. “An example is of a personal assistant who knew exactly what her manager’s movements were, but would say that she had no idea where he was – implying he was incompetent. But Hyenas always operate in a clan, and she was under its protection,” says Steinman.

At the top of the clan are the Royal Hyenas – the Makhula Hyena and the Squeeza. They are supported by Power Hyenas (the Laughing, Quiet, Halo and Mampara Hyenas). Also in the clan are Competitive and Impimpi Hyenas (Den Creeper and Shit-Stirrer Hyenas).

Many organisations encourage a “kill or be killed” mentality. “These are Hyena Positive Enterprises, and a prime example of this was Enron where the Hyenas became untouchable,” says Steinman.

The Clan is headed by the Makula Hyena (Zulu for “great one”), usually employed in a key position. Steinman says former British prime minister Gordon Brown has allegedly been identified by his own staff as a bully; as well as Henry Kissinger.

Driven by power, the Makhula Hyena prefers to manipulate people. Being a clever strategist, the Makhula will use other Hyenas to ‘finish off’ a victim.

Every Workplace Hyena tries to get closer to the Squeeza, the protégé of the Makula. “It is almost pathetic to see a person squirm at the feet of the favourite, who may be of a lower rank than those trying to get into its good books.

“They often resemble the Makhula in many ways and keep ‘the boss’ informed at all times.

“The Squeeza can destroy careers because of its alliance with the Makula,” says Steinman.

Next in rank are Power Hyenas, who can be extrovert, dynamic and expressive. They can appear charming, intelligent and sometimes sympathetic. These traits can be very appealing to an uninformed non-Hyena. But Power Hyenas only support clan members. They are two-faced and do not like competent, dynamic non-Hyenas, and they never share their limelight.

The Quiet Hyenas are very dangerous, says Steinman. “They enjoy gaining power by intimidation and gathering intelligence for the Clan. This hyena is normally introverted, but an air of danger lurks around them.”

Even more treacherous, although lower ranking, are the Competitive Hyenas. They are ambitious, unethical and have a relentless drive to win at all costs, with an eye on displacing their superiors – even within the Clan.

When a Hyena decides to hunt, it does a risk assessment. It will only hunt someone who is vulnerable at work or in their personal life.

Steinman describes this tactic in the following case (names have been changed):

Rita, a bright and competent employee, was on her way up the corporate ladder. She worked for James, who realised her potential and was developing her into a managerial position.

Anna, another staff member, became extremely jealous of this relationship, as it threatened her career aspirations.

Rita’s general popularity was another thorn in Anna’s side. She started spreading rumours that James and Rita were having an affair, despite Rita being completely devoted to her fiancé. When Rita fell pregnant, Anna exploited the situation by insinuating that James was the father.

Rita was vulnerable, unwed and pregnant – easy prey for Anna, who used Rita’s circumstances to launch a “Hyena Attack”.

Rita went through one of the worst periods in her life. Though she survived, she has never forgotten the trauma of being attacked by a Workplace Hyena.

And then there is the Mampara Hyena. The African word mampara, meaning an “incompetent or foolish person”, ideally describes these Hyenas who resort to excessive bullying tactics and blatant lies to assert their dominance. More often than not, they get away with incompetence because the Clan protects them.

One of the more bizarre tactics Steinman has witnessed was the threat of witchcraft by a Workplace Hyena in the public sector, which resulted in high levels of absenteeism.

Impimpi is an African word for an “informer”.

The Impimpi Hyenas are exactly that – the low-ranking informers and intelligence gatherers such as the Shit-Stirrer Hyena. They thrive on gossip. These deceitful hyenas appear to side with everyone and anyone. But they feel safe in the Hyena Clan, and that is exactly where their loyalties lie.

Steinman does, however, warn against stigmatising the bully, as she believes everyone has the potential to bully. “Power and money are great tests of character. Look at some of our politicians who were once humble and idealistic, but became swollen headed and self-serving when elevated by politics. Anyone can fall under the spell of money and power and become Hyenas.”

She says certain events trigger increased Hyena behaviour. She calls them “work quakes”, for example retrenchments, mergers, changes in management and restructuring.

“Some organisations engage in serial restructuring or, to coin a word, ‘destructuring’.

“We even use violent words like ‘can’, ‘kill’ and ‘purge’. But it is an illusion that this is an effective solution.

“There seems to be a loss of creative thinking about how to improve business. Constant restructuring creates insecurity and can kill the soul of the business and its employees,” says Steinman.

“The recession has definitely triggered an upsurge in workplace bullying in both the public and private sectors.”

But surely, Hyena tactics are merely part and parcel of normal corporate politics?

Steinman does not accept this. “The trail of angst left by Workplace Hyenas has a detrimental effect on organisations. It makes employees unproductive, increases absenteeism and chases away real talent.

“It has been estimated that people who are being bullied lose 4.5 hours of productivity per week over a year (this includes the witnesses) in surveys done in the US and UK.

“It is highly counterproductive and can do reputational damage,” she adds.

Bullying is likely to seriously impact on the emotional and physical well-being of employees. Steinman says people who consult her compare being bullied to rape and physical abuse.

“There is a deep sense of hurt and betrayal. There is also a sense of shame at being bullied, that they are somehow to blame. This is exactly what the bully wants the victim to feel, so abuse continues to thrive.”

The impact can be so severe on victims that many suffer depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, migraines, ulcers, exhaustion, panic attacks
and illness. Some even have suicidal thoughts.

Research conducted by the European Union in 2000 found that many people still had symptoms of post-traumatic stress five years after being bullied.

People often label the victim a loser or deserving of their fate. But anyone can be a victim, even the most successful, popular and highly competent, if one is seen as a threat to a Hyena.

“No one deserves this, even if the person is perhaps irritating, neurotic or seen as a nerd,” says Steinman. “This is a human rights issue.

“Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.”

She believes that bullying has to be confronted openly and transparently. “One needs to hold up a mirror to the bully. Sometimes that person may listen because no one likes being labelled a bully. There is a name for a bully – a Hyena. It is shameful. That is why awareness programmes can successfully reduce the frequency of bullying.”

Steinman believes policies are effective deterrents for Workplace Hyenas. But a policy is only as good as the paper it is written on.

Top management must commit to and support these policies and implement them vigorously to sustain a Hyena-free corporate culture.

“A golden rule is that the ego of the most senior employee is not worth the dignity of the person lowest in the hierarchy,” she says. “Management must keep relationships in an organisation healthy in order to encourage productivity and success. We need to create a more people-centred economy, where it is the norm to treat people with dignity and respect.”

Don’t take shit from hyenas in the workplace is available online from www.thepeoplebottomline.com.

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WORKPLACE SURVEY - 28% Quit their job over bad management, bad bosses

Getting away: One in ten workers have taken up a new career to get away from bad management

Fed-up with your boss? You're not alone as 28% quit their job over bad management

Workers are quitting their jobs and even switching chosen careers because they’re fed-up with their boss.

A survey found 28 per cent of workers have moved work in an attempt to find someone who can motivate them more.

More than one in ten have taken up a completely new career in their search, while one in 20 has decided to set up their own business to get away from bad management.

Asked what they thought were the qualities of a good manager, the top credentials were:

• Approachability (83 per cent),
• Good communicator (82 per cent),
• Supportive (81 per cent),
• Good leader (80 per cent),
• Someone who respects their staff as individuals (76 per cent)

The report, compiled for bank First Direct also showed bad behaviour in the workplace is putting a strain on British business.

When working under a bad boss, employees report a loss of motivation (47 per cent) and productivity (28 per cent), with one in five (18 per cent) taking 'sickies' as an avoidance tactic.

Paul Say, First Direct's Head of Marketing, said: 'When it comes to fostering British creativity at work, it seems many managers are holding back the true potential of their staff.

'More than three quarters of workers (77 per cent) think their boss does not encourage new ideas or allow self-expression.

'The results make for bleak reading and given the current economic climate, so much untapped potential is a serious issue.

'But valuing workers as individuals and embracing their creativity can make all the difference - which is why we have launched a new search to find and reward the best bosses in Britain.'

The findings are featured in the Colourful Lives Report by the Future Foundation, commissioned by first direct to mark its 21st birthday.

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COURSE - Sydney University - Psychopaths in the Workplace - 2011

PSYCHOPATHS IN THE WORKPLACE

The majority of psychopaths are not serial killers or rapists; they’re colleagues, bosses and employees found in workplaces throughout Australia. We’ll examine what a psychopath is, their personality style, behaviours, interpersonal approach and thought processes. You’ll learn how they infiltrate companies undetected and the strategies they use to manipulate those around them to achieve power and promotion. The four different types of workplace psychopath will be explored, and we’ll also look at what companies and individuals can do to minimise damage caused by the psychopath. (Warning: this course will include material that may confront some students.)

Course Content

• Psychopath Characteristics
• The four types of workplace psychopath – organisational psychopath; corporate criminal psychopath; violent criminal psychopath; and occupational psychopath
• Tactics and Strategies used by each workplace psychopath sub-type
• Workplace Psychopath – Good For Business?
• Victims of the Workplace Psychopath – Protecting yourself and your employees
• Profiling the Workplace Psychopath
• A Case of Mistaken Identity

IF INTERESTED, ADD YOURSELF TO THE WAITING LIST

Link to Sydney University's Centre for Continuing Education

Australian Workplace - Canberra Hospital's Maternity Unit Bullying Cover Up?

Gallagher 'covering-up' maternity unit report

Pressure is mounting on the ACT Government to release the findings of an inquiry into bullying allegations at Canberra Hospital's maternity unit.

Earlier this year the ACT Government ordered two external reviews into the hospital's obstetrics and gynaecology units after allegations of workplace bullying were made.

The Government appointed a workplace relations expert to investigate the bullying claims.

The investigation was conducted under the Public Interest Disclosure Act - a law designed to protect whistleblowers by keeping information confidential.

Health Minister Katy Gallagher says confidentiality clauses in the legislation prevent her from reading the report or it being publicly released.

But the Opposition is pushing for the report's recommendations to be released in the Legislative Assembly.

Opposition health spokesman Jeremy Hanson says the information could be released without personal details being made public.

"I want to see the recommendations, I want to see the findings and unless we see that then we're going to have to consider further action," he said.

Mr Hanson says the Government is deliberately trying to cover-up the report.

"The minister has set this process up under the Public Interest Disclosure Act to avoid scrutiny," he said.

"We were very concerned about this when it occurred in February. We said then that what we needed was an open inquiry because in the end of the day the minister's going to make sure that this never sees the light of day, and it has come to fruition."

The ACT Greens says releasing details of the inquiry could jeopardise investigations in the future.

"What Mr Hanson is suggesting could potentially expose people, could threaten their confidentiality - either he doesn't understand the process or he's using it for his own political ends," said Greens MLA Amanda Bresnan.

Ms Bresnan says releasing any detail could lead to a loss of faith in the public interest disclosure process.

"With public interest disclosure, people have come forward on the understanding everything would be protected and while we might say, 'it's only a few details', Canberra's a small place, this is a small unit, and any information could actually potentially identify the people involved," she said.

"It would really seriously undermine the whole public interest disclosure process."

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says the inquiry will be followed up.

"I can give an absolute assurance that any of the findings will be taken absolutely seriously and if there were recommendations or implications they will be taken seriously and there's no reason for people not to believe that," he said.

The Health Services Union says there is a broader problem with the way bullying claims are handled.

"It just seems to be endemic and also the process is so lacking in transparency and information," said union spokeswoman Bev Turello.

ACT Health says it has written to the people involved in the inquiry.

But the Ms Turello says in the union's experience, staff are often kept in the dark.

"They need to know if action has been taken, if appropriate action has been taken, if they're going to be safe in their workplaces."

Royal College of Obstetricians ACT chair Dr Andrew Foote says it has been nearly 12 months since the bullying allegations were made public and nothing has changed.

"I've spoken to a number of people at the hospital and there is a real dread, and fear and sense of helplessness," he said.

"It sends the message, what's the point in complaining about bullying because nothing will get done."

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JETSTAR WHISTLEBLOWER SACKED - Pilots union issue threat after Jetstar whistleblower Joe Eakins sacked

Jetstar pilot Joe Eakins has been fired by the airline

UPDATE 4:17pm: JETSTAR will be challeged over claims its fired a whistleblower who criticised the budget airline for "diminishing safety standards", the pilot's union says.

First Officer Joe Eakins, 31, criticised cost-cutting at Jetstar and the plan to hire air crews based in Singapore "on wages well below their Australian-based colleagues" and what effect this would have on passenger safety.

Eakins has been sacked for breaching company policy of speaking publicly about the airline in an article published last month.

"I am shocked and saddened they have chosen to react this way," he told the Herald Sun.

"I've been a good employee and I'm shocked any company would sack an employee for raising their concerns about safety and industrial issues, especially in the airline industry."

His said his treatment by the company did not "bode well for any other pilot with safety concerns".

"I believe the concerns I voiced were reasonable and legitimate," Mr Eakins said on Friday.

"I was acting within my rights as a union representative who advanced views of the association.

"I think Jetstar's actions were unwarranted and unjustified."

The airline disagrees, saying his claims are are “untrue”.

"The employee chose to publicly make incorrect accusations on multiple and separate occasions against Jetstar with the effect of misleading the travelling public," the airline said in a statement.

The Australian and International Pilots Association had said earlier this week it was prepared to take the case to the High Court and did not ruled out pursuing industrial action.

Association president Barry Jackson described Eakins as a whistleblower and hero to the Australian aviation community.

"Joe's bravery in blowing the whistle on some of these practices has been rewarded by an unfair dismissal," Captain Jackson said.

"The association will be taking Joe's case to Fair Work Australia, claiming unfair dismissal and making an adverse-action claim under untested Fair Work laws.

"The association is calling on all federal parliamentarians to carefully consider the implications of this shocking case."

Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway confirmed the first officer had been sacked "after a standard and lengthy process" for bringing the company into disrepute and said there were many "internal measures" for raising safety concerns.

"The Australian aviation sector is at a crossroads. Not only are the dreams of the youngsters who look skyward at risk, but the institutions that created our reputation for safety through well trained experienced pilots is under threat, which is bad news for all Australians."

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NEWS - Will Sexual Harrassment Ever End? UK Sales manager 'put female colleague over his knee and spanked her'

A sales manager chased a female colleague around the office, put her across his knee and spanked her as well as encouraging other women to grab his genitals.

Peter Smith also sat female staff on his knee and looked at sex toys and blow up dolls on the internet, an employment tribunal was told.

Mr Smith and some of his colleagues are accused of bullying and and harassing former sales executive Angelina Ashby who worked for a marine supplies firm.

Sexual harassment: Angelina Ashby says she suffered at the hands of boss Pete Smith from marine supplies firm Cathelco

Miss Ashby, 40, told the Sheffield tribunal she was ostracised by staff for two years who teased her, talked about her in derogatory way, sent emails about and excluded her from office banter.

She also claimed they drew insulting cartoons about her weight which drove her to taking anti-depressants.

Miss Ashby, from Chesterfield, started working for the firm in June 2003 as a sales executive for Cathelco.

She said problems began in September 2006 when Mr Smith became her sales manager.

She said: 'I was subjected to a continuous course of mistreatment.

'A few days after my formal grievance was submitted Laura Holland, a sales administrator was chased round the office by Pete Smith, who then proceeded to put her over his knee and spank her.'

Her complaint was investigated by bosses but she resigned in October 2008. Miss Ashby said: 'Peter Smith would often make me feel uncomfortable.

'On one occasion he took his time to view sex toys, such as blow up dolls on the internet.

'He was more than aware I could see his screen as I sat directly behind and seemed to take his time viewing the website.'

Miss Ashby added: 'Pete Smith also used to sit female staff on his knee and stroke their hair and he would stand behind their chairs to do the same. I found it disconcerting and uncomfortable.'

She claimed Mr Smith also 'successfully encouraged' female staff to feel his genitals.

She is claiming constructive dismissal, sexual discrimination and pay discrimination against the firm, which supplies products to the marine industry to prevent metal corrosion and algae sticking to vessels.

The firm denies the allegations.

The tribunal was halted because one of the tribunal panel knew a witness. It will start again before a new panel next year.

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