A survey of ballet dancers at the prestigious Paris Opera has revealed widespread complaints of bullying and sexual harassment, as well as separate management concerns over the leadership of dance director Aurelie Dupont. Director of Paris Opera and former star dancer Aurelie Dupont was backed by Paris Opera chief Stephane Lissner, who said she was "excellent". (Photo: AFP/Francois Guillot) In the anonymous survey seen by AFP, 90 per cent said they did not believe the company was being well managed and 77 per cent said they had suffered bullying or witnessed a colleague being bullied. Some 26 per cent of the 132 dancers questioned said they had been sexually harassed at work or witnessed a colleague suffering sexual harassment. Paris Opera chief Stephane Lissner expressed surprise that the unprecedented survey, carried out by an internal body that represents the dancers, had been leaked to the press. He said there was "zero tolerance" for sexual harassment and urged dancers … [Read more...] about Paris Opera dancers complain of bullying and harassment
Harassment bullying
Uber fires 20 employees after harassment probe
Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Tuesday it fired 20 employees and was improving management training following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims at the ride-hailing company. Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other employee concerns. The law firm has been working in parallel with a broader investigation by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder into company culture and practices. Perkins Coie investigated 215 staff complaints going back as far as 2012, Uber said, taking action in 58 cases and no action on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing. Of the 215 claims, Uber said 54 were related to discrimination, 47 related to sexual harassment, 45 to unprofessional behavior, 33 to bullying and 36 to other types of claims. It said the majority of the claims came from employees based at Uber's San Francisco … [Read more...] about Uber fires 20 employees after harassment probe
Daughter of Robin Williams returns to social media after online harassment
The daughter of the late Robin Williams has returned to Twitter after she quit the social media website over online harassment she suffered following the suicide death of the Oscar winning actor. The daughter of the late Robin Williams has returned to Twitter after she quit the social media website over online harassment she suffered following the suicide death of the Oscar winning actor. Zelda Williams, 25, an actress who is one of the comedian's three children, posted the words "thank you" on Twitter on Monday and linked it to a quote from actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein that appeared to take aim at online bullying. "Never be bullied into silence," the quote said. "Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." Zelda Williams announced she was going to quit using Twitter on Aug. 12, the day after her father's body was discovered at his San Francisco Bay-area house. She made the decision after at least two Twitter users … [Read more...] about Daughter of Robin Williams returns to social media after online harassment
Customs takes actions after reports on officers’ harassment at HCMC airport
Passengers have their luggage scanned at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre Vietnam Customs has asked its Ho Chi Minh City office for an explanation about a newspaper’s stories that its officers at Tan Son Nhat Airport bullied people into paying bribes to clear goods, an official said. Nguyen Van Lich, who is in charge of the agency’s anti-corruption hotline, was quoted by Tuoi Tre as saying that, following the newspaper’s reports about several alleged victims’ accounts, guilty officers would get the sack. A Vietnamese-American identified only as B.L. was quoted as saying that when he was checking in for a flight to Japan last Tuesday, a customs officer asked him for the receipt for a karaoke machine he was carrying so that they could collect tax of 10 percent of its value. He said the locally-made machine was a gift from his relatives, adding that he had made many trips to Vietnam but it was the first time he had encountered such a … [Read more...] about Customs takes actions after reports on officers’ harassment at HCMC airport
Chinese ships harass, rob Vietnamese fishing boats near Paracel Islands
Chinese ships repeatedly attacked and robbed Vietnamese fishermen near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the East Sea, the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea, in the last 10 days, local media reported. At 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the fishing boat coded QNg 95431 hailing from the central province of Quang Ngai was chased after by a Chinese boat coded 4044 off the Paracel Islands, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported. Minutes later, the Chinese boat crashed into the Vietnamese boat. The Chinese crew reportedly attacked the Vietnamese fishermen and took away all the properties onboard. Nguyen Van Tan, the 58-year-old captain of the boat, informed a local fishing association of the attack, adding that one of the fishers was severely injured. Tan said he was turning the boat home to treat the injured crew member. Since then all contact with the boat has been lost. The same day, two other fishing boats from the province also reported that they were harassed by Chinese … [Read more...] about Chinese ships harass, rob Vietnamese fishing boats near Paracel Islands