Whistle blowing , whistle blowers and acts

Whistleblowing““Our lives begin to end the Our lives begin to end the

day we become day we become silent about things that silent about things that

matter." matter." -Martin Luther King, Jr.-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sandipan Chokroborty

Aritra Chaterjee

Arijit Mukherjee

Avirup Ghosh

Name of team members

Definition of Whistle-Blowing

One who reveals wrong-doing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority.

One who discloses information about misconduct in their workplace that they feel violates the law or endangers the welfare of others.

One who speaks out, typically to expose corruption or dangers to the public or environment.

PURPOSES

To draw attention to unethical, inappropriate conduct which has or may have detrimental effects either for the institution or for those affected by its functions.

It extends to situations where an individual believes that an activity is harmful while others involved are not aware of it or reject the perception that is involved

TYPES OF WHISTLEBLOWING

i.Internal :- it is blowing the whistle inside the organization. For example designated officer, workers or bosses in the same organization.ii.External :-blowing the whistle to law enforcement agencies or to teams worried with the matters for example Lawyers, Mass media, law enforcement.

On what should one blow the whistle?

ILLEGAL OR UNLAWFUL CONDUCT

Un procedural conductUn procedural conduct..

Unethical conduct.Unethical conduct.

MistreatmentMistreatment

DiscriminationDiscrimination

Mental Or Sexual AbuseMental Or Sexual Abuse

Disadvantages of Whistle-blowing Diminishes Trust in

the Workplace

Can Negatively Affect Your Career

Can Destroy the Company

Risk to Personal Safety

Stages of a Whistle Blowing Incident

Stage One – Is There a Potential Whistle Blowing Scenario ?Stage Two – Seriousness TestStage Three – Reality CheckStage Four – Becoming Aware of the Big PictureStage Five – Forcing Management Recognition of the ProblemStage Six – Taking the Problem to Upper ManagementStage Seven – Going Outside the OrganizationStage Eight – Living with The Results

7 Common Mistakes

Trusting too much

Not having enough evidence

Using the wrong style

Not waiting for the right opportunity

Not building support

Playing the opponent’s game

Not knowing when to stop

Focal Areas for a person before whistle Blowing?

1. Is the situation of sufficient moral importance to justify

whistle-blowing?

2. Do you have all the facts and do you properly

understand their significance?

3. Have all internal channels and steps short of whistle-

blowing been exhausted?

4. What is the best way to blow the whistle?

5. What is my responsibility in view of my role within the

organization?

6. What are the chances for success?15

Whistleblowing Protection Act,India

In 2003, the Law Commission of India recommended the adoption of the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Act, 2002.

The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010 was renamed as The Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, 2011 by the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.

The Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, 2011 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 28 December 2011.

In U.K, the public interest Disclosure Act 1998 provide a framework of Whistleblowers.

Austria

Belgium

BrazilBrazil

United StatesUnited States

Australia

ChinaChina

Denmark

France

Germany

Hong Kong

Hungary

IndiaIndia

Italy Japan

Mexico

Netherlands

Singapore

South Africa

Sweden

Thailand

UAE

UnitedKingdom

Little or no protection Some protection through general laws Express protection

SaudiArabia

Qatar

Malaysia

Indonesia

South Korea

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Whistleblower Protection Ratings Across the Globe

Committees recommending Whistle Blowing as an element of Corporate Governance

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Committee Year

Confederation of Indian Industry code on corporate governance

1998

Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee 1999

Naresh Chandra Committee 2002

N. R Narayana Murthy 2003

NHS Chief ‘stopped fro

m speaking on

patient safety

Health service manager Gary Walker is the

first former NHS employee to break the so-

called “super gag”. 14 February 2013

BBC News

Ryanair has sacked a senior pilot and is preparing legal action against him over “defamatory” comments he made about the airline’s safety policy in a Channel 4 documentary.

15 August 2013 The Telegraph

Olympus whistleblower Michael Woodford speaks out

Michael Woodford, who blew the whistle on an accounting scandal

at Olympus, appeared at its shareholders' meeting and demanded to

know why he was fired as chief executive.

.

20 April 2012The Independent

Whistleblowing Headlines..Case Studies

18 January 2013The Guardian

Ryanair sacks pilot over Channel 4 Dispatches Programme

Gas market whistleblower sacked after accusing firms of price fixing

Seth Freedman, the whistleblower at the centre of energy market manipulation allegations, has been sacked by his price reporting agency, ICIS Heren.

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The Satyendra Dubey Fate …(2003)

The National Highways Authority

of India (NHAI) engineer

Satyendra Dubey was killed after

he wrote a letter to the office of

then PM A B Vajpayee detailing

corruption in the construction of

highways.

History Repeated in the Manjunath Shanmugham Incident (2005)

Manjunath Shanmugham, an

IIM graduate and a sales

manager of the IOC, was

murdered on Nov 19, 2005 for

exposing the racket of

adulteration of petrol and the

mafia behind it.

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Tuskigee Syphilis Experiment – Case Study

Peter Buxtun (sometimes referred to as Peter Buxton; born 1937 in Prague]) is a former employee of the United States Public Health Service who became known as the whistleblower responsible for ending the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.

Chart

1. Daniel Ellsberg: A former U.S. military analyst Leaked pentagon papers during Vietnam war in

1971 Later in 1998 said “The public is lied to every day by

the President, by his spokespeople, by his officers. If you can't handle the thought that the President lies to the public for all kinds of reasons, you couldn't stay in the government at that level.”

Awards :-----”Right Livelihood Award in 2006”

2. Mark Felt (Deep Throat) : Former FBI agent Leaked information about Watergate

scandal to “Washington post” …..

journalists----Bob Woodward and

Carl Bernstein.. Us president Richard Nixon resigned in 1974. Denied his role then… In 2005 revealed “I am the guy they called “Deep Throat.”

• 3. Bradley Manning : Former US military Uploaded a trove of military and • diplomatic information, including • over 500,000 army reports and • classified combat videos, to WikiLeaks Recording of US apache helicopter open fire to

civilians • in youtube. Charged for aiding enemy ……… 20 years of imprisonment…

Leaked information from NSA(National • security agency) in 2013… Former system administrator under CIA• (Central intelligence agency) Charged with two counts of violating the • Espionage act ,theft of government

property Punishable for 30 years of prison Stayed in Moscow airport transit zone for

39 days Russia gave 3 year residency permit…..

“An internet gathering”No leaderKnown as anonsMainly oppose internet censorship and

control target the govermentsProtests through hacking and slogans

Case Study: Karen Silkwood

She was a Chemical technician at  Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site.

She blew whistle upon the  issues of health and safety of the workers at the plant.

Karen Silkwood

In the summer of 1974, she testified to the Atomic Energy Commission about her concerns.She discovered what she believed to be numerous violations of health regulations, including exposure of workers to contamination, faulty respiratory equipment and improper storage of samples.

Karen Silkwood’s Mysterious

DeathOn November 5, 1974, Silkwood performed a routine self-check and found that her body contained almost 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination.

Silkwood's body was found in her car, which had run off the road and struck a culvert. The car contained none of the documents she held in the union meeting at the Hub cafe. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kerr-McGee closed its nuclear-fuel plants in 1975. The Department of Energy (DOE) reported the Cimarron plant as decontaminated and decommissioned in 1994.

Case Study: Jeffrey Wigand

Jeffrey S. Wigand worked on the development of reduced-harm cigarettes. Wigand became nationally known as a whistleblower on February 4, 1996 when he appeared on the CBS news program 60 Minutesand stated that Brown & Williamson had intentionally manipulated its tobacco blend to increase the amount of nicotine in cigarette smoke.

Jeffrey Wigand

On November 29, 1995 he gave deposition testimony in a case brought by the state of Mississippi against tobacco companies in which he stated that tobacco companies manipulated nicotine content, suppressed efforts to develop safer cigarettes and lied about the addictive properties of nicotine. 

Jeffrey Wigand

 His exposure of tobacco industry lies led directly to stronger government curbs on the behavior of the tobacco industry.

 Wigand also founded a nonprofit called Smoke-free Kids to educate children about the dangers of smoking. 

Case Study: Cheryl Eckard

In 2002, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC sent one of its quality-assurance managers, Cheryl Eckard, to Puerto Rico to help clean up a mess at one of its biggest manufacturing plants. U.S. authorities had just cited the plant for several violations, including making a contaminated ointment used to treat skin infections on children.

The plant had received complaints that drugs of different types and strengths were being mixed up in the same bottle, and plant managers had made no attempt to issue a recall or correct the cause of the mix-ups, according to a lawsuit Ms. Eckard later filed in federal court in Boston.

Cheryl Eckard received $96 million as claim settlement .

The plant was closed thereafter.

Thought Process Of a Whistleblower

Keep quiet?

Go Outside?

Raise internally?

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A concern about

malpractice

How to Dissolve The Dilemma?

Effects of Whistle-Blowing

• Forced to leave organization/demotion

• Credibility ruined• Family, health, and/or

life in jeopardy• Outrage and

divisiveness of people directly or indirectly involved

• Physical or psychological isolation

• Organization experiences loss of money, restitution, productivity, and positive reputations.

• Incarceration

Live With The Results

Make yourself prepared.Think early to deal with

the changed circumstances.Keep on going the positive

thinking.Take care of your self.

HOW TO BLOW WHISTLE

Do it anonymously• let the evidence speak for itself and protect yourself if

possible

Do it in a group• charges have more weight and won’t seem like a

personal vendetta.

Present just the evidence• leave interpretation of facts to others.

Work through internal channels• start with your immediate supervisor or follow the

standard reporting procedure

Work through external channels• go public (biggest risk)

Why Whistle Blowing is Important?

“Too see wrong and not to expose it ,is to become a silent partner to its continuance”.

-Dr. John Raymond Baker

Whistle Blowing - The missing links

Ineffective mechanism

Failure to Impart Proper confidence

Lack of Independent ombudsmen

Non maintainability of whistle blower confidentiality

Ineffective Security of whistle blower

Improper Inquiry and investigation procedure

Inappropriate punishment

The Fear of Isolation

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How to encourage Whistle Blowing

Management addressing to

organization to provide confidence

Ensuring confidentiality of Whistle

Blower by Providing anonymous

Telephone facility for

communication or e-mail ID.

Providing Security of the whistle

blower.

Management positive participation.

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Conclusion

A whistle blowing incident is probably the most emotionally difficult thing you can experience as a professionalNot every incident that should result in whistle blowing does, sometimes the whistle is “swallowed” rather than blownIn some cases, there are federal and state laws meant to provide protection for the whistle blowersIf you find yourself in a possible whistle-blowing incident, you should exhaust all internal alternatives for addressing the problem and accumulate all documentation possible. If blowing the whistle becomes the only alternative, then you should anticipate a job change and you should get good legal representation