Bruxelles-Propreté has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the suicide of an employee who had been harassed by one of his superiors, Belga News Agency reports. The waste management agency has also been ordered to pay a €36,000 fine.
Didier Fournier committed suicide in 2016 after having worked at Bruxelles-Propreté since 1992. He and his colleague Said Tariki had been harassed by their boss whose abuse often veered towards racism.
Employees at the company had been reporting the harassment internally, which fell on deaf ears according to Wednesday's court ruling. Didier Fournier then filed a first police complaint in 2014, with labour auditors demanding that Bruxelles-Propreté impose measures to protect the well-being of its employees.
In 2016 however, Fournier alleged that he had been the victim of a physical assault at the hands of a colleague. A witness claimed not to have seen the incident occur, which led Bruxelles-Propreté to fire Fournier. In the coming days, he would be found dead.
Related News
- Increase in inappropriate behaviour in Belgian workplaces, says study
- Brussels waste management service condemns rising attacks on staff
- Parliament of Wallonia suspends disgraced clerk for another six months
Seven years on, Brussels' criminal court has found the regional agency culpable for Fournier's death, stating that "the hierarchy's complacency" had encouraged the harassment he endured. The court ruled that his death "directly followed a letter he received from his employer to come and explain himself" over the alleged assault.
"Nothing was done to listen and help (the harassed employees) in a concrete way," the court's judge explained, then ruling that the company was guilty on both charges of involuntary manslaughter and harassment. Bruxelles-Propreté was also ordered to pay a €36,000 fine.
Fournier's superior was also found guilty of all the charges against him, namely harassment, workplace violence and manslaughter. The court handed him a suspended three-year prison sentence.
