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MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, is taking a stance against violence and harassment in the retail motor industry by establishing a web-based point of contact dedicated to the reporting and resolution of incidents. 

Martlé Keyter, MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Operations, says this is an extension on the work of the Industry Equality and Diversity Forum (IEDF), which has been established to combat the prevalence of gender-based violence and advance equality and diversity in the world of work. 

“A toxic workplace leads to reduced employee productivity. Victims of sexual harassment suffers emotional effects including anger, embarrassment, guilt, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating, headaches, fatigue or loss of motivation, stomach problems, eating disorders and alcoholism,” says Keyter.

MISA also included a list of workplace provisions for the elimination of workplace violence and harassment in the Union’s wage demands at MIBCO, the Motor Industry Bargaining Council. Wage negotiations will resume on 1 June 2022. 

Keyter says according to a recent report one in four women in South Africa will experience sexual harassment in the workplace at some stage during their working lifespan. This is a conservative estimation. 

A survey from United Nations Women conducted in the United Kingdom, found that 97% of 18 to 24-year-old women have been sexually harassed, yet 96% did not report the incidents.

“MISA witnessing a similar tendency in the retail motor industry where many instances of workplace violence and harassment is not reported and not addressed. MISA wants to change the trajectory by establishing a web-based point of contact,” says Keyter.

This benefit will not be limited to MISA’s 54 000 members only, but is intended to assist all employees in the retail motor industry. If you have any complaints or grievances of workplace violence and harassment in the industry, please send an email to endGBV@ms.org.za.

Issued on behalf of MISA by Sonja Carstens, Media, Liaison and Communication Specialist