He said he felt ‘degraded, humiliated and embarrassed’
A man is suing his former company for a prank that saw him “hung upside down like a piece of meat” whilst colleagues slapped him.
Illyas Elkharraz moved from Morocco to Australia in 2018 to pursue a career as a carpenter.
He got a job at Jaden Commercial Windows to pursue an apprenticeship but quit after three years due to bullying, including one incident at a Christmas party when he was hung upside down “like a cow”, prodded and slapped by his boss and colleagues.
Elkharraz told 9 News: “All I remember is getting duct-taped to a machine. My boss was slapping me around and having a laugh.
“I didn’t know it was going to go to that extent, I thought he was just going to pick me up.”
He claims the incident was just one part of a much wider range of bullying he experienced in his time at the company. He explained that he was sworn at “all the time” by his boss, Steve Yousif, who would get “very angry and upset” if he broke a panel of glass.
He said Yousif would “grab me by the neck and push me against the wall.”
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=5148299225198890
Illyas accused his former boss of being a “big bully” and “wasting three years” of his youth as he is still in the first year of his apprenticeship despite the fact he should have been qualified this year.
He claimed his boss prevented him from getting his apprenticeship by not allowing him to go to Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college sessions that were required as part of the qualification.
Elkharraz’s lawyer, Tony Carbone, stated: “If the thing that they tied around his legs were to have snapped or loosen and he hit his head on the ground, they are dealing with brain damage or quadriplegia.”
He said he was “bewildered” when he first saw the footage.
Illyas said that he is “getting psychological help” after being unable to return to work and “can’t sleep sometimes” due to flashbacks and nightmares he gets because of the bullying.
The governmental body that oversees workplace health and safety, WorkSafe Victoria, is currently investigating the incident.
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