LISBON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Portugal has registered 17 companies that committed moral harassment this year, newspaper Diario de Noticias reported on Wednesday.
One of the companies had to pay over 172,000 euros (179,000 U.S. dollars) to an employee who suffered moral harassment, following a decision by the appeal court of Guimaraes in north Portugal, according to the local newspaper.
Director of the Division of Coordination of Inspective Activity, Paula Vieira, said that while proving the cases was difficult, there had been a rise in convictions.
"In 20 cases (of moral harassment) in the past two years, 12 of them ended in conviction, which represents a rate of 60 percent of convictions," she told Diario de Noticias.
According to the newspaper, concern with moral harassment in the workplace is on the country's political agenda, and will be discussed at the Portuguese parliament in January.
