‘I was so disgusted and felt so violated’
Women staff accuse boss of sexual harassment
WOMEN staff at the local branch of a multinational petrol-pump company have accused their boss of being a sex pest.
The three women — who have since left the Alberton company, Tokheim — accuse MD Chris Kirstein of sexual harassment, with two saying he tried to get them to have sex with him.
Kirstein has denied the accusations.
Two of the women claim that when they spurned his advances he initiated action against them for alleged poor performance.
The most senior of the women, Dani January, who was a key account executive, said in an exit interview submitted to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration earlier this month that Kirstein, 48, had propositioned her for sex.
Sales employee Chantal van der Westhuizen laid a complaint internally and also with police after Kirstein allegedly repeatedly asked her to go out with him. She said the harassment included him touching her inappropriately while giving her a lift home from the company Christmas party in December.
The receptionist, who does not want to be identified, said Kirstein constantly pestered her to go out with him, asked her if she had a boyfriend, and said she should not tell anyone when they went out on the date.
The Sunday Times sent questions about the allegations to Kirstein, but they were referred to Anne-Sophie Puchaud, legal director of Tokheim Group SAS in France.
Puchaud rejected the allegations as being part of an attempt to blackmail the company.
She said the harassment complaint lodged with the company by Van der Westhuizen was “investigated in a hearing convened by Tokheim and presided over by Ms Charlene Skipp of Global Business Solutions”.
She said Van der Westhuizen’s criminal complaint had been dismissed by the public prosecutor as there was insufficient evidence. This was confirmed by the police investigating officer.
“Our attorneys have already had to write to Ms Van der Westhuizen to demand that she refrain from publishing untrue, defamatory and demeaning statements about Mr Kirstein, and we will not hesitate to take steps against her.”
The Sunday Times understands that Van der Westhuizen was suspended on full pay while Tokheim investigated her complaint.
Tokheim’s human resources consultant, Brett Holland, found that there were grounds for a hearing, but the process was curtailed when all parties agreed she would be paid four months salary to resign.
Puchaud would not say what the agreement and the payment was for.
“Your involvement in this is the result of actions from disgruntled employees trying to blackmail our company. The file is empty and we have no intention to make any further comment,” she said.
Tokheim describes itself as “one of the world’s largest providers of fuel retailing solutions”. Its products include petrol pumps and the software to run them. Kirstein has been MD in South Africa for five years.
January, who lodged a claim of constructive dismissal against Kirstein with the CCMA, said in her exit statement that she had resigned after being subjected to sexism, racism and harassment. She also claimed that Kirstein believed that she had told Van der Westhuizen to lay a criminal case against him.
CCMA spokeswoman Lusanda Myoli confirmed receipt of the complaint and said the matter was scheduled for a conciliation and arbitration hearing next month.
January said: “Personally I think he [Kirstein] is a sex pest, he has no respect for women . . . I cannot count the amount of times over the years he kept asking me to go for drinks, he says: ‘Let’s go have dinner and a good time.’
“Every time he would say his wife mustn’t find out . . . I told him to please stop as I felt uncomfortable and he said nobody would know.
“He took me to the company apartment in Bedfordview . . . At the apartment he asked if I would kiss him, to which I responded: ‘Absolutely not’ . . . he is my boss and I was not interested.”
According to the document, Kirstein took January to the bedroom, saying he wanted to show her something. He allegedly opened a drawer containing condoms. She asked to leave.
“I was so disgusted and felt so violated, I felt sick to my stomach,” said January, who is still listed on the company’s website as part of Kirstein’s “leadership team”.
Van der Westhuizen said in her police statement, filed on February 2: “Since August 2016 [Kirstein] asked me three times that I must go out with him for drinks which I didn’t do because he is the boss of the company.”
On December 12 he gave her a lift home after the staff Christmas party.
“While driving in his vehicle . . . Chris put his hand on my leg and asked me if he must get a room for us. I was very shocked and told him that I am not that type of girl,” she said.
Van der Westhuizen said that when she returned to work in January, Kirstein complained about her performance. She then filed a sexual harassment complaint with human resources.
Van der Westhuizen told the Sunday Times that she had signed an agreement with Tokheim which barred her from commenting further.
The receptionist told the Sunday Times she had received positive comments about her work and believed that following her three-month probation period she would get a permanent job. But after turning down Kirstein’s advances, she was told she was no longer needed.
“He said that when he does take me out I should keep it under wraps . . . I was shocked because it was my second week,” she said.
Chris put his hand on my leg and asked me if he must get a room for us