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Mayor Simon Tschann confirms to VOL.AT that a woman was sexually harassed at the city Christmas party.
A senior employee of the city of Bludenz is said to have sexually harassed a colleague at the Christmas party. The man grabbed the woman’s bottom. According to VOL.AT information, parts of the incident were also noticed by eyewitnesses.
Simon Tschann: “We reacted immediately”
Mayor Simon Tschann confirms the incident to VOL.AT. “As a city, we reacted immediately, sent the manager on vacation until further notice and worked through the incident in detail. One thing is clear: I will not tolerate such behavior and there must be consequences! We have the consequences with our in-house lawyers, the staff representative and a advised by an external lawyer and then pronounced together with the Deputy Mayor (Eva Peter from the Mario Leiter team, editor’s note).” The city official was immediately sent on vacation after reporting the incident. According to ORF, the woman refrains from an ad. In the VOL.AT interview, Mayor Simon Tschann states: “From now on, the manager is no longer part of the first management level. In addition, a warning was issued. If something similar happens again, immediate dismissal will follow.”
Eva Peter demands harsher consequences
Vice Mayor Eva Peter, however, demands harsher consequences for the city employee and accuses Tschann of misrepresentation: “The shocking case of sexual harassment by a senior employee of the city of Bludenz during the city Christmas party affects us all very much. An immediate dismissal by the mayor would have been the only correct decision. The misrepresentation by the mayor that the employee concerned was deprived of managerial responsibility is incomprehensible. This is wrong, because it is planned that the employee concerned will remain the head of department and will therefore fall very softly. It’s not about protecting the perpetrator, but about protecting the victim,” says Eva Peter.
SPÖ will apply for termination
“It is also wrong that the mayor will not terminate the employee,” the deputy mayor clarifies. It is up to the City Council to cancel. The SPÖ will apply for this termination. “Sexual harassment can never be tolerated. It is alarming and unacceptable when such an incident is played down and – in the sense of the perpetrator – remains almost unpunished. How is this employee supposed to continue to head a department in the town hall and send the signal to the entire organization every morning when entering the town hall that a bit of groping is okay anyway?” Eva Peter concludes that criminal offenses against sexual integrity and self-determination for her are absolutely unacceptable.
Update: Tschann on Eva Peter’s statements
“I’m a bit surprised by the statements of the deputy mayors, because they were involved in the decision and also confirmed it with their signature on the warning,” says Simon Tschann in the VOL.AT interview. The mayor of Bludenz wants to leave it at that and not comment further on Peter’s statements. He is concerned with the employees and not with “political small change”.
