Objective: To study enablers of bullying and harassment in the work environment on board ships.
Method: A qualitative sub-study embedded within a large population-based cross-sectional survey of the prevalence of bullying and harassment on ships in the Danish merchant fleet. The sub-study is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews and responses to open-ended questions in the survey questionnaire. In total, 32 participants were interviewed face-to-face or online. The data was imported into NVivo and coded thematically.
Results: Four themes emerged as enablers specific to the work environment on a ship: The first theme, Isolation, covers how the crew -as a group, is physically isolated from the world outside the vessel, but also that new crew members can be challenged when trying to become established inside the groups on board. The second theme, Hierarchy, encompasses how challenging the existing hierarchy based on rank is not tolerated and that the hierarchy is often maintained through bullying and harassment. The third theme, Crewing, includes how diversity related to e.g., culture, language, gender, or age/experience may create another form of hierarchy with the same negative consequences as the hierarchy based on formal rank. The fourth theme, Leadership, covers how leadership can enable both a good and an unacceptable work environment related to bullying and harassment. Conclusion: Bullying and harassment pose serious challenges to the work environment on ships. Four themes were identified as enablers of bullying and harassment. Some are a premise, but others may be improved through continued awareness and focused educational initiatives.
I december 2019 kommer fiskeriminister Mogens Jensen hjem fra Rådsmøde - de årlige kvoteforhandlinger
for 2020 i Bruxelles - med den besked, at jomfruhummerfiskeriet i Kattegat i fremtiden vil blive underlagt
kameraovervågning for forventeligt at nedbringe bifangst af torsk i dette fiskeri. Torskebestanden i Kattegat
er yderst presset og den generelle kvote er sat til nul. En mindre bifangstkvote på torsk blev således betinget
af denne overvågning, så man kan monitere torskefangsterne og sikre mod et udsmid af mindre torsk i fiskeriet,
en praksis, som myndighederne forudsatte yderligere ville forværre tilstanden i torskebestanden. Denne sidste
kausalsammenhæng er dog tvivlsom.
Torsk er således blevet en ”stop-art” for jomfruhummerfiskeriet og myndighedernes argumentation er, at
alternativet til kameraovervågning er et stop for jomfruhummerfiskeriet i Kattegat, da det ikke kan opretholdes
uden en bifangstkvote af torsk (Bilag 5). Udkommet af forhandlingerne kender vi, men det har ikke været
muligt at få yderligere indblik i selve forhandlingsprocessen; Havde de danske forhandlere alternative
positioner at falde tilbage på? Havde den danske delegation en forventning til reaktionerne i den danske
fiskerisektor? Var forhandlerne indstillet på at lukke jomfruhummerfiskeriet i Kattegat (proportionalitet)? Det
får vi muligvis aldrig indsigt i.