Page 873 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 18 March 2015
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Dear Member,
For many years the Transport Workers’ Union (the TWU) has called for a Review into the Culture of the ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS).
Members call for a Review supported the evidence from previous analyses into Ambulance Culture confirming that the industry suffers serious management cultural problems resulting in high levels of unresolved conflict within a dysfunctional working environment.
As you will be aware for some time delegates have advised that the Cultural Review is approaching completion and that the TWU were looking forward to working with stakeholders in delivering the outcome of the Review.
The Minister for Emergency Services will tomorrow, Tuesday 17 March 2015, release the ‘Blueprint’ for the future of the ACTAS. The Report to be released is, sadly, not the Report the TWU has contributed to as a major stakeholder. Indeed, as co-author of the Terms of Reference and a member of the Governance Committee we can assure you the Report to be released tomorrow resembles in very few ways the ACT Ambulance Service Cultural Review: Institutionalising professionalism and professionalising an Institution.
The government could not even keep the title of the report. The letter goes on to say:
We understand the Report the TWU, and the overwhelming majority of members, contributed to; has been subjected to bureaucratic sanitisation at the request of the Minister.
The bureaucratisation of the process, we believe, represents a failure of participatory democracy. Indeed, when considering what must be the clear division of authority between the Executive and administrative authority, we are now being drawn to the abyss of manoeuvring of political non-responsibility and administration by diffusion.
Regrettably, we are now forced to refocus our efforts towards convincing the Minister of the need to release the original Report. Regardless of our success in persuading the Minister we will ensure members are provided with the original Report.
We will keep members up-to-date as the matter progresses.
That is a very neat summary from the TWU! You look at the report that the government has tabled, you try and find out what was wrong, what was the scope, what was the nature and what was the penetration of the problem, and you get none of that.
If we work our way to what has been released, even the title, Enhancing Professionalism—A Blueprint for Change raises a question. The question would be: change from what? The toxic management culture? That is not even mentioned in the report. From bullying? That is hardly mentioned in the report. Poor management? That is hardly mentioned in the report. Indeed, one would almost think from this that the actual ACT Ambulance Service is doing pretty much okay in comparison to some of the other services around the country and the world and there is little to be concerned about.
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