February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The report recommends that mediators be trained to deal with sectarian incidents across the province.
Cross-community relations have improved, the report noted, but that “harassment officers” would be able to step between two conflicting sides and mediate.
Northern Ireland’s habit of “slagging” and black humor needed to be addressed as well, the report said.
The report’s author said that both Catholics and Protestants had said that they believed employers could do more to combat sectarianism.
“This sentiment was shared by both religious groups and was not restricted to the minority section of the workforce,” Professor Owen Hargie said.
But coauthor Dr. David Dickson said good progress had been made in improving relationships between Catholic and Protestant workers.
“We found that there was a general feeling of the cross-community situation at work having improved,” he said.