Question NW710 to the Minister of Energy
05 April 2018 - NW710
Tarabella - Marchesi, Ms NI to ask the Minister of Energy
Whether his department has a sexual harassment and assault policy in place; if not, (a) why not and (b) by what date will his department have such a policy in place; if so, (i) how are reports investigated and (ii) what are the details of the consequence management and sanctions stipulated by the policy; (2) (a) what is the total number of incidents of sexual harassment and assault that have been reported in his department (i) in each of the past three financial years and (ii) since 1 April 2017, (b) what number of cases were (i) opened and concluded, (ii) withdrawn and (iii) remain open based on the incidents and (c) what sanctions were issued for each person who was found to have been guilty?
Reply:
The Department of Energy has a sexual harassment policy in place. The policy has been in existence since 2011. When a case is reported, an Independent Investigator is appointed to conduct a full investigation and produce a report for consideration by the management. Each case is treated based on its merits and the department strictly follows disciplinary procedure as stipulated in the Labour Relations Act, 1995.