Unionism today - on the shop floor - sectarian bigotry

antrim | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Thursday February 02, 2012 19:38 by Theobald Wolfe Tone - Catholics, Protestants and Dissenters

Is sectarianism at this level any different from racism?

The Irish News 2 February 2012
Exclusive - Full scale of abuse against Catholic worker revealed
Seanin Graham, Health Correspondent,

The full scale of the sectarian abuse against a Catholic social worker can be revealed today. Co Down woman Laurena Kane (43) was awarded a £60,000 payout from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust at the High Court last week but The Irish News has now seen the result of an internal investigation which sets out the case in full.

While the trust did not admit liability until last month, the internal 2009 investigation concludes the "sustained" sectarian comments represented a "serious case of alleged harassment" which the trust failed to address.

The leaked document reveals the contents of interviews with the "chief protagonist" of the abuse - named in court as Barbara Lowry - and six other staff members.

Irish News front page 2nd February 2012 - full story here

Astonishing sectarian comments, described as "office banter" and "black humour" by Ms Lowry, are detailed as well as the lack of action taken by Ms Kane's line manager.

The abuse took place between 2004 and 2008 at the Knockbracken Health Care Park on the outskirts of Belfast, where Ms Kane, who is from the Castlewellan area, was a member of an all-women 'Early Years' team.

The Irish News last week reported some of the offensive comments, which were outlined in Belfast's High Court hearing at which Ms Kane - who was last year awarded for her outstanding work with young cancer sufferers - was present.

However, the 2009 independent probe details further sectarian comments made by Ms Lowry in the presence of other social workers, including:

- Having a child with ADHD was a "punishment for sleeping with a Catholic"
- "Catholics have dirty homes"
- "You can tell by looking at them they are Catholic"
- She could "no longer hang out her washing at home, the smell of Catholics being atrocious"
- Following a discussion about training for childminders, and the reluctance to drive long distances, Ms Lowry stated: "Is this a Catholic thing?"
- An Irish name given to colleague's child which some of the team had difficulty spelling, led to offensive remarks in relation to a "Taigy" name.

The report also found that other workers engaged in comments against all sections of the community, including "Catholics, gays/lesbians and single parents".

The investigation team were also highly critical of the response of the team's line manager who was approached by Ms Kane as far back as 2004 about her concerns.

In a team meeting, Ms Kane said: "I could take a case of harassment against you" to which her manager is said to have replied: "Over my dead body".

The independent report outlines Ms Lowry's defence, saying that her comments were intended as "humour" which "parodied bigotry and narrow mindedness".

Ms Lowry resigned from the trust in 2008. The investigators said that had she remained working for the trust, they would have recommended disciplinary action.

It also recommended disciplinary action against the team leader.

The Irish News 26 January 2012
Trust must pay £60k to Catholic employee taunted by colleagues
Seanin Graham, Health Correspondent

The Belfast health trust must pay £60,000 in compensation to a Catholic employee who suffered appalling sectarian harassment by her colleagues, a solicitor said last night.

The Irish News revealed yesterday that Laurena Kane (43), an award-winning social worker from the Castlewellan area of Co Down, had succeeded in a lengthy legal battle against her employers after enduring a campaign of religious bullying and intimidation.

In what is thought to have been one of the worst cases of its kind, the Belfast trust did not admit liability until last week - even though a 2009 investigation had concluded that Ms Kane had been the victim of harassment.

Following Tuesday's High Court ruling, the damages paid to Ms Kane were not disclosed but were understood to be in excess of £20,000.
However, her solicitors have now provided details of the £60,000 settlement to highlight the severity of her suffering - she developed a depressive illness and the stress-related condition alopecia - as well as the gravity of the case.

The payout is understood to be one of the largest by a health trust for sectarian abuse. The trust must also pay "significant" legal costs.
The harassment began in 2004 when Ms Kane became a member of an "early years" social work team, based at Knockbracken Healthcare Park on the outskirts of Belfast.

One of her colleagues on the all-women team, Barbara Lowry, was identified as the "chief protagonist" of the abuse during the High Court hearing.
Some of the offensive remarks made in Ms Kane's presence included:

- "I hate Catholics."
- "Since those Catholics moved in there's an awful smell coming over the hedge."
- "Those Catholics, you have to watch them, you can't take your eyes of them."
- "I bet you call him some Taigy name, like Freedom."

Ms Kane - who was redeployed in 2009 to the Belfast Cancer Centre - took legal action the previous year.

Solicitor Maura Herron said her client's prime objective had been to ensure "that the offensive treatment stopped and so ensure that no-one else would be placed in such a similar position or suffer such comparable treatment to her".

Nipsa trade union member Tommy Brownlee, who represented Ms Kane during her initial action against the trust, said he hoped the settlement highlighted how this type of sectarian abuse "must be stamped out" in the workplace.

"On a personal level I am absolutely delighted for Laurena as she can now get on with her life," Mr Brownlee said.

"This is one of the most serious, blatant and sustained cases of sectarian harassment I have ever witnessed.

"The length of time it took for the Belfast trust to address the issue properly also added to Laurena's distress."