Coping with racial violence or aggression in your workplace

The Victorian Trades Hall Council has issued an invaluable guide for those who experience racial violence or aggression at work.

What to do if you experience racial violence or aggression at work points out that all employers have a legal responsibility (under the OHS Act) to make sure their employees are safe at work.

“That means safe from physical hazards like extreme heat or trip hazards, but also psycho-social hazards like occupational violence or aggression. 

“The bottom line: racial violence or aggression is a workplace safety issue, and you have the right to address it just like any other safety issue.”

This attitude mirrors the approach the IEU is taking to work-related violence in schools, where too often employees and employers have accepted dangerous conduct as “part of the job”.

The guide says, “over time, incidents of racial abuse or violence can have serious consequences for your mental and physical health, as well as making you feel unsafe and unhappy at work”.

The guide steps a workers through possible steps to be taken if they are subjected to racial abuse or aggression, including taking time to recover, safely removing yourself from the hazard, and how to document the incidents and seek support.

It also contains advice for workmates of those being attacked, and links to information including for industries where abuse can be more prevalent.

You can read the IEU’s stance on work-related violence in the latest edition of The Point here.

To read the VTHC guide, click here.