Sexual harassment, bullying, a drinking culture and an excessive workload were some of the issues that made Hobsons Bay council a toxic workplace, a new report has found.
A listening and support process into council’s workplace culture was established at the beginning of this year following a series of complaints by employees to WorksSafe about safety issues at the council, resulting in the suspension of then chief executive Aaron van Egmond.
Mr van Egmond has since resigned.
The listening and support process, led by former Mitchell Shire chief executive Brett Luxford and former Court Services Victoria executive Jewil Fulton, released its final report on July 1 after hearing from 138 current council employees.
Based on their testimonies, Hobsons Bay council was deemed to have a “toxic” workplace culture in which employees felt unsafe and fearful.
One of the contributing factors was sexual harassment, including six incidents that were directly reported and several others reported by bystanders and witnesses.
Sexual comments and repeated requests for dates and drinks were among the examples cited, but none of the victims were prepared to make formal complaints and witnesses and bystanders felt fear or retribution if they spoke up, the report stated.
Instead they sought to protect victims by alerting them to the presence of the alleged harrasser and making sure they were never alone with them.
Systemic bullying was also observed, including the existence of a so-called ‘blacklist’ of employees that members of council’s leadership group wanted to force out of the organisation.
The consumption of alcohol, both onsite and offsite, was highlighted, with participants reporting feeling pressured to join in, while racist and derogatory language, a lack of cooperation between departments, excessive workloads causing employee burnout and out of date policies and procedures were among the other issues identified.
“This report highlights significant concerns about behaviour that are, quite simply, unacceptable in any organisation,” said Hobsons Bay Mayor Daria Kellander.
“I know that staff want to see real change, and we are committed to the ongoing change and healing process that is in place.”
The report made a series of recommendations, including that council immediately implement a ‘culture change program’ centred around employee empowerment, safety, and high performance and emphasise integrity and governance in hiring its new chief executive.
The report can be found at: https://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/listening-and-support-process-report.pdf
