BRUSSELS (Brussels Morning) – Following the revelations of BX1 on the anonymous and collective complaint of 48 workers of the Filigranes bookstore for moral and sexual harassment, the founder, Marc Filipson announces this Sunday evening, to take a step aside.
On Friday, it was revealed that 48 Filigranes workers had filed a complaint with the Securex psychosocial unit for moral and sexual harassment. Marc Filipson, the creator and managing director of the bookstore on Avenue des Arts, was directly implicated.
Following the file, relayed by many media, on Saturday, the board of directors of Filigranes had responded by press release to explain to what extent Marc Filipson had been struck by the testimonies.
In a letter sent to his employees and customers, the boss of Filigranes announces that he is stepping aside and a mea culpa. “My surprise of the last few days was not feigned. I didn’t realise that my attitude could cause so much suffering for some people, and I’m absolutely sorry for that. To all of you collaborators, customers, friends of Filigranes whom I may have offended or hurt, I would like to present my sincere apologies today. But I measure that it will not be enough to restore confidence.”
Recruitment of a director
Marc Filipson announced that in the coming days, he plans a meeting between the board of directors and the members of staff to “hear their complaints as well as possible”. He would also like to continue the procedure initiated with Securex as well as the risk analysis with one objective: to establish better practices and more respect in the management of human resources.
“Without waiting, accompanied by the Filigranes Board of Directors, I am committing to a real effort of governance and management. In the interest of everyone and of the company that I created more than 30 years ago, today I am taking a step aside by launching the recruitment of a director. Finally, on a more personal note, in the next few days I will begin psychotherapeutic work aimed at getting rid of my bad habits. Excess of familiarity, anger, and so on. I understood that I had a job to do.”
Image via bx1
