Page 5923 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 8 December 2010
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and, as such, there should be laws in place that would provide for appropriate processes for public servants to raise systemic concerns while receiving protection. To quote her speech directly:
If there is something happening in your workplace that you know is not right, then you can do something about it and not be afraid of the consequences.
The Greens have treated this matter very cautiously and have wanted to see the systemic concerns able to be discussed publicly. That is why we supported an independent inquiry being conducted into the state of health services being delivered and governance arrangements in that area. The findings in the first report that was delivered mid this year were stark and there are a number of recommendations that we must follow up and ensure they have been implemented adequately.
For example, it has become clear that, although there are policies and procedures in place about bullying in ACT Health, these policies were not being well implemented and a number of staff were unaware of the proper channels they could use to make complaints and know that they were being heard. This is partly because, as stated in the original motion, there was a reticence by management to address disruptive and inappropriate behaviour by certain medical staff.
It was also concerning that staff were not having annual work performance assessments that cover their professional as well as medical performance. One would think that such assessments are the bricks and mortar to ensure a robust workplace and for this practice not to be occurring in a sector of the public service is surprising and is something that must be addressed and fixed.
Mr Hanson is trying today to make public the findings of an investigation into workplace conflict and allegations of bullying in the obstetrics unit. My concern is that if further details regarding the workplace conflict are made public we will be disregarding the privacy that the complainants wanted in the first place and expected, I would add, from the public interest disclosure process which they took part in.
We need to recognise that, when dealing with allegations of bullying, harassment and intimidation in the workplace, in order to not risk further psychological harm, we need to take the privacy requirements of the victims into account when deciding upon an appropriate process for resolving problems. In many instances the public disclosure allegations outside of the people immediately affected can cause severe repercussions in the workplace.
The appropriate manner for dealing with an allegation of bullying is to ask the victim what they wish to do to pursue their complaint and inform them of their rights and the rights of the person or persons they seek to make a complaint against. Where an individual chooses to make a formal complaint against a colleague or manager, a clear and accountable process should be pursued.
According to the guide to dealing with workplace bullying developed by WorkSafe ACT, bullying complaint procedures should be written in plain English and, if necessary, other languages, be fair and equitable, ensure the principles of natural justice are upheld and the alleged bully has an opportunity to respond to the
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