Whistleblowing: An
Alternative to Silence
Zuzana Dančíková, Bratislava, 13.3.2014
My Wife Was Against It, But I Decided To
Speak Up
Ján Mičovský, Senior PR Officer, Directorate General of
Forests of the Slovak Republic
• Sent open letter to 1500 coworkers, pointing to suspicious
company practices, that „everyone knew about“
(unprofitable property deals, contracts)
• Planned government „loan“ of more than €60 million
suspended, Director General & Minister lost jobs
• 2 colleagues fired, 1 transferred, Mr. Mičovský resigned in
protest
What is Whistleblowing?
The disclosure of information
about a perceived wrongdoing
in an organization, or the risk
thereof, to individuals or
entities believed to be able to
effect action.
Who is a Whistleblower?
Imagine. You are an official at a Ministry, working
with EU structural funds.
You find out that your superiors influence the
allocation of funds based on a extortion of
bribes from the recipients and you have the
evidence to prove this. What do you do?
1.
2.
Carry on
Quit your job
3.
Blow the whistle
Slovaks (Not) Blowing the Whistle
Over the past 12 months, have
you experienced corruption?
Yes
Yes
21%
No
Don't know
Don't know
1%
96%
0%
No answer
4%
0%
1%
No
74%
No answer
Did you report it to anyone or
not?
50%
100%
3%
0%
50%
Source: Eurobarometer 397, 2014
100%
Slovaks (Not) Blowing the Whistle
Which are the most important reasons for not
reporting?
Difficult to prove anything
Pointless, no punishment
Could get into trouble
No protection for those who report
Everyone knows, nobody reports
Not worth the effort
No one wants to betray anyone
Do not know where to report
45%
39%
36%
35%
32%
17%
14%
14%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Source: Eurobarometer 397, 2014
(Not) Protecting Slovak Whistleblowers
Advanced protection
Partial protection
None or very limited
protection
Luxembourg, Romania,
Slovenia, UK
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus,
Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia,
France, Germany,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Malta,
Netherlands, Poland,
Sweden
Bulgaria, Finland,
Greece, Lithuania,
Portugal, Slovakia, Spain
Source: Whistleblowing in Europe, TI-S
(Not) Protecting Slovak Whistleblowers
1. No stand-alone law, fragmented legislation, no definition
2. No offical information or guidance
3. Little & delayed protection, compensation, no punishment for
retributions
4. No set rules for internal investigation
5. No designated whistleblower complaints authority
6. No reward & liability for not filing criminal charges
Let’s Protect Our Whistleblowers!
1. Single act to protect whistleblowers: broad definition of
whistleblowing & whistleblowers
2. Rules for independent internal investigation
3. Rewarding whistleblowers
4. Revision of liability for reporting criminal act
5. Protection, compensation & punishment for retribution
6. Whistleblower complaints authority
7. Awareness raising & guidance for whistleblowers
Alternative: Civil Society
Q&A
Zuzana Dancikova, [email protected]