A municipal employee is furious after the council internal disciplinary hearing recommended her removal following a sexual harassment case she opened against her boss.
The 42-year-old woman, who works as a divisional manager at Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality, could not believe it when the council's human resources manager recommended her to move to another department to avoid her alleged abuser.
Last year, the mother filed sexual harassment grievances against her head of department (his name is known to Sowetan) for allegedly making sexual advances on her twice, in 2014 and 2015.
This was followed by an internal disciplinary hearing. According to the outcome contained in a document released by the council's chief operations officer, Dr Imogen Mashazi, in April this year, the man had on one occasion invited the woman to lunch and allegedly touched her thighs "too close to her private parts".
She said she never agreed to go to lunch.
He would sometimes allegedly invite her to "unacceptable" video chats late at night.
In another incident she says her boss came around the table "and positioned his manhood directly into her face".
"It was submitted that when it became clear that she was not interested in entertaining the HOD's advances, she was then unfairly treated and pressurised under the pretence that she was a poor performer. At some point Mr (withheld) reported her to HR for suspicion of using drugs," read the document.
According to the report, the man made her to look incompetent so that she could be fired.
In her report Mashazi stated that the man did not respond to sexual harassment allegations during the hearing but indicated he would deny them.
He instead asked for a full investigation to be done by municipal investigators.
On Friday, the woman's union representative and human resource manager met and it was there where relocation to another department was finalised.
"I'm angry because I'm made out to look like I've done something wrong and I must be moved while the perpetrator remains in his office," the woman told Sowetan.
In another case, another woman resigned after she was allegedly mistreated by the man.
"He seems to have a thing against women in high positions. He questions their work [and] insults them," she said.
sifilel@sowetan.co.za
'He harassed me, I pay for it'
A municipal employee is furious after the council internal disciplinary hearing recommended her removal following a sexual harassment case she opened against her boss.
The 42-year-old woman, who works as a divisional manager at Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality, could not believe it when the council's human resources manager recommended her to move to another department to avoid her alleged abuser.
Last year, the mother filed sexual harassment grievances against her head of department (his name is known to Sowetan) for allegedly making sexual advances on her twice, in 2014 and 2015.
This was followed by an internal disciplinary hearing. According to the outcome contained in a document released by the council's chief operations officer, Dr Imogen Mashazi, in April this year, the man had on one occasion invited the woman to lunch and allegedly touched her thighs "too close to her private parts".
She said she never agreed to go to lunch.
He would sometimes allegedly invite her to "unacceptable" video chats late at night.
In another incident she says her boss came around the table "and positioned his manhood directly into her face".
"It was submitted that when it became clear that she was not interested in entertaining the HOD's advances, she was then unfairly treated and pressurised under the pretence that she was a poor performer. At some point Mr (withheld) reported her to HR for suspicion of using drugs," read the document.
According to the report, the man made her to look incompetent so that she could be fired.
In her report Mashazi stated that the man did not respond to sexual harassment allegations during the hearing but indicated he would deny them.
He instead asked for a full investigation to be done by municipal investigators.
On Friday, the woman's union representative and human resource manager met and it was there where relocation to another department was finalised.
"I'm angry because I'm made out to look like I've done something wrong and I must be moved while the perpetrator remains in his office," the woman told Sowetan.
In another case, another woman resigned after she was allegedly mistreated by the man.
"He seems to have a thing against women in high positions. He questions their work [and] insults them," she said.
sifilel@sowetan.co.za
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