Press release for the 4th Integrity Forum on "Mobbing: ethical harassment in the public sector workplace"

More than 400 employees and executives from the wider public sector attended in person and online the ^4th Integrity Forum organised by the National Transparency Authority on the occasion of the World Anti-Corruption Day, with the main topic "Mobbing: ethical harassment in the public sector workplace"

Greetings were given by:

• Alexandra Rogkakou, Interim Governor of the National Transparency Authority, who, referring to the choice of the theme of this year's Forum, noted that "Our goal is through today's action to inform about an issue that until recently has not been highlighted as much as required, at least in the context of the operation of the Greek public administration. With the passing of Law 4808 by the Greek Parliament in 2021 and the incorporation of the European Directive, a comprehensive strategy for preventing, addressing and combating violence and harassment in the workplace has now been developed. Prior to its adoption, our national legislation only provided for provisions on the violation of the principle of gender equality and equal treatment at work. With the 2021 law and the decisions of the Minister of Interior that followed in 2023, the National Transparency Authority was designated as the competent body to receive complaints of mobbing incidents in public workplaces...when the administration has not taken the actions it is required to take in the case of a report by an employee of a harassment incident. Another responsibility for us, but also a great challenge".

He went on to note that: "Through today's Forum we want to inform public opinion and especially civil servants about the issue of Mobbing and to highlight that they are no longer alone in the face of an indifferent or negative administration but have a strong "ally" close to them, the National Transparency Authority to which they can appeal and denounce this attitude. We essentially act as a safety net for the employee who while daring to take the step of making a complaint will find a wall of inaction for various reasons, but which will act as a protective shield for the alleged perpetrator and possibly discourage him/her, leaving the alleged victim defenseless."

• Mr. Athanasios Bouras, Third Vice President of the Parliament & Chairman of the Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency, referred to his cooperation with the ΝΤΑ either in his capacity as Chairman of the Special Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency of the Parliament, or in that of Chairman of the Audit Committee on the Privacy Policy. As he said " I have the pleasure of having the National Transparency Authority participate in the committee with a meaningful voice and role". Mr. Bouras congratulated the National Transparency Authority for this year's theme of the Forum, describing the issue as timely and necessary as never before with all that we see happening around us.
• Mr. Makis Voridis, Minister of State, referring to how corruption is linked to moral harassment in the workplace, noted that "professional and moral integrity, the formation of an environment of mutual respect at the time when public services are provided are not alien to the broader issue of corruption, in fact it is a web of relationships and actions". Voridis spoke of the importance of awareness raising, of building in the work environment a culture of respect that will not tolerate such behaviour, and of the fact that there is now a framework of reporting and support for employees who are subjected to such behaviour.
• Mr. Ioannis Foustanakis, Secretary General of Public Administration, Ministry of Interior, said that at the Ministry of Interior we believe that these incidents should be dealt with immediately and with due care, diligence and professionalism. He went on to note that the Ministry of Interior is going to classify these behaviours as distinct disciplinary offences in the context of a review of the disciplinary law. In order to emphasize the emphasis that the Ministry of Interior places on addressing such behaviors, he stressed that "in 2023 and despite the fact that the law was passed that provided a specific framework for the submission and management of such complaints and for the protection of complainants, the Ministry under Mr. Voridis decided to proceed with the issuance of the potential decision which specified and set the tone for the public sector in relation to cases of bullying and harassment in the public sector, setting specific

The first thematic session entitled "The role of the National Transparency Authority - Mobbing and Corruption" was attended by Ms. Nikolitsa Rapti, Head of the Sector of Insurance, Social Solidarity & Labour Relations at the National Transparency Authority, Mr. Ms. Sotiria Paniera, Head of the Subsector of Insurance & Social Solidarity, National Transparency Authority, Ms. Sotiria Paniera, Head of the Subsector of Labour Relations of the National Transparency Authority, Ms. Styliani Vathrakokoli, Head of the Sector of Control of Disciplinary Procedures of the National Transparency Authority. She presented the role of the ΝΤΑ in terms of managing the complaints it has received from public sector executives, cases of moral harassment the inspectors have managed, analyzed how easily an employee finds the courage to make a complaint and what the provisions of the disciplinary law provide for mobbing and whether public employees who engage in such behavior are ultimately punished.

In the second thematic section entitled: "Public - Private Sector: Prevention Mechanisms - Reporting Mechanisms - Good Practices", Ms. Maria Konstantinidou, Head of the General Directorate of Integrity & Accountability of the National Transparency Authority, Ms. Kalliopi Likovardi, Assistant to the Ombudsman, Ms. Maria Stratigaki, Deputy Mayor of Social Solidarity and Equality of the Municipality of Athens, Mr. Nikos Dimopoulos, Director of Regulatory Compliance of the Growthfund, Ms. Georgia Vazaki, Head of the Department for Monitoring Violence and Harassment at Work. Good practices of the public and private sectors were presented in terms of complaint receiving hubs and the prevention mechanisms they have in place.

Ms. Alexandra Efthymiadou, President of NLP Greece, through typical examples, spoke about how every employee can manage mobbing situations as well as ways of empowerment that can help in dealing with the phenomenon.

During the event, an online real-time voting was conducted with the participation of the public (in person and via YouTube) .

Indicative conclusions of the voting via the mentimeter online platform:

• 74% voted that they have been subjected to mobbing/moral harassment in their workplace.
• 80% voted that the type of harassment was verbal.
• 88% responded that they did not report it anywhere.
• 31% voted that they were afraid of retaliation, 35% that they did not have confidence in the reporting process, 11% that they did not know where to report it, 7% that they did not have sufficient evidence.