Freedom to Care Return to INDEX
For public accountability and ethics in the workplace
the UK's first whistleblower support group (1991)
Large organisations often fail us
In the last ten years we have seen enormous social failures of large organizations, whether government or private - such as official lies to justify war, environmental damage, failures to protect children in official homes, fatal transport disasters, large scale financial scandals (such as the pensions mis-selling), health-threatening industrial production of food, and widespread bullying and stress at work, and medical incompetence and cover-up. In each case those in power were not properly accountable for their decision-making. Many of the decent professionals and civil servants involved are often too afraid to speak up, do not listen to their conscience or are victimized for doing so.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
Freedom to Care...
promotes our
right to accountable behaviour from large organisations, whether public
or private.
asserts that
officials and private sector executives and managers have a duty to
explain their actions and omissions in so far as they significantly affect
our quality of life.
asserts that
employees, professionals and all workers have a right to freedom of
speech in the workplace (i.e. a presumption in favour of freedom of speech,
not an absolute right).
Accountability is for all of us, not just regulators:
The official bodies that we might expect to keep them in order (such as industrial, commercial and professional regulators) do not always do the job. While some do make a difference others fail to maintain public accountability effectively. Who regulates the regulators? The answer is that WE ALL DO. Freedom to Care is trying to bring people together to play a part in create a culture of accountability - one in which everyone assumes that the weightier a person's role in society the greater their obligation to give an account of their acts and omissions. Freedom to Care does not have unreasonable expectations. It expects:
regulators
to do their job properly
employees
to be respected as ‘citizens at work’
the legal
system to work in a fair and accessible way to protect and empower citizens
FtC's main ideas are in Geoff Hunt’s Whistleblowing in the Health Service, 1995 and Whistleblowing in the Social Services, 1998, both published by Arnold, London.
ACTIVITIES
Freedom to Care endeavours to...
support employees
who speak up with a serious public concern
lobby regulatory
bodies when they appear to be failing
campaign for legislative
and regulatory reform
arrange support
groups
promote the
idea of public accountability in every way it can
publish a
Newsletter The Whistle for members, and makes available occasional
reports
WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING? Since FtC was launched at the House of Commons, London in 1992 it has, for example, involved itself in the debate over 'Mad Cow Disease' and the failure of the government agencies and regulatory bodies to protect the public; collected evidence of unethical tampering with health records, especially when patient complaints are being made; supported the whistleblowing of (now deceased) biochemist Dr Chris Chapman; pressed for the implementation of the Law Commission’s recommendations on ‘corporate killing’; exposed the unethical behaviour of a pensions and insurance company Colonial Mutual, and framed our own six point plan to bring to bring ethics and accountability into the UK financial services industry (which we personally put before the UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury); promoted an ILO amendment to protect whistleblowers; investigated the regulation of National Power's burning of Orimulsion and Petcoke at two power stations causing pollution by particulates which worsen asthma and may cause cancers; examined the weaknesses of the UK public interest disclosure act, and suggested alternatives which rest on human rights and the anti-discrimination legislation model; supported a whistleblowing local government auditor, and much more. There is more information about these activities on this site.
FOR A MEMBERSHIP FORM CLICK HERE: Membership Form
Return to INDEX Email: freedomtocare@aol.com