High tax officials face charges of workplace bullying
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Four high-ranking officials at the Uusimaa Tax Office could face criminal charges related to allegations of workplace bullying.
The Lahti Criminal Police have investigated the role of the officials in a case which concluded with an experienced tax inspector taking early retirement in the autumn of 2003.
The officials are suspected of discrimination at work, violation of occupational safety rules, and neglect of official duties.
The initial investigation is expected to be completed in the summer, says Martti Hirvonen of the Lahti Criminal Police. A prosecutor has already been named for the case.
The alleged victim of the workplace bullying does not want to discuss the matter in public, and the officials under investigation also do not want to comment on the affair.
The matter boils down to disagreements within the office over the way to conduct a tax inspection a few years back. A statement by the Uusimaa Occupational Safety Office that was acquired by Helsingin Sanomat backs up the views of the alleged victim.
In the statement, the occupational safety officials call for the prosecution of three Uusimaa Tax Office managerial level officials for discrimination at work and violations of occupational safety.
The statement alleges that the purpose of the actions taken by the officials was exclusively to punish, pressure, and torment the man, and to influence his psychological well-being.
The statement reveals how inflamed personal relations were at one of the units of the tax office a few years ago. At one point the man who made the complaint was given extremely precise working hours.
His working hours were set at precisely 8:00 - 16:15, and the lunch hour had to be exactly 60 minutes - not a minute more or less. At the same time, other officials at the office were enjoying more flexibility.
The man in question said that he would have to wait by the time card machine to punch his card at exactly the right moment. Sometimes he would have to interrupt a telephone call to punch the card.
One of the managers facing charges said in the statement that the man in question did not obey the overtime rules of the unit, which made it necessary to impose strict working hours enforced by a time card.
The occupational safety officials reject the argument, saying that this is no reason to require the stamping of a time card at exactly the right instant four times a day for nearly a year.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 17.5.2005 - TODAY |
 High tax officials face charges of workplace bullying
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