Jack Hudson

THE Australian Services Union has slammed the findings from the investigation into Gawler Council chief executive Henry Inat, stating it is ‘disappointed but not surprised by the outcome of the investigation’.

Mr Inat was cleared of any bullying misconduct last week by commercial law firm Piper Alderman following claims made in an ASU survey earlier this year.

ASU secretary of the SA and NT branch Abbie Spencer said some union members had declined to speak for “fear of retribution”.

“Union members told the ASU that current employees declined to speak up for fear of retribution,” she said.

“They didn’t want to be targeted. They didn’t want to lose their jobs.

“The only people who expressed a strong desire to speak with the investigator were former employees who didn’t have the same legitimate concerns about their job security.

“Unfortunately, they were blocked from participating in the investigation.

“The ASU was contacted by several former employees who claimed to have been bullied out of the Town of Gawler, but the scope of this investigation didn’t consider their experiences.

“We referred former employees to the investigator, but it seems they were ignored or excluded by non-disclosure terms of termination settlements.

“The ASU will continue to support members in a workplace that has a long way to go in developing a safe and supportive workplace culture.

“If things don’t improve dramatically, you will see an even bigger churn of staff leaving.”

Acting chief executive on the matter Ryan Viney said the comments made by the ASU were “disappointing”.

“The Australian Services Union were informed of the process upfront and ultimately encouraged their members to participate in the process based on the confidentiality measures provided to staff,” he said.

“Staff that did participate in the investigation had the benefit of a confidential process conducted by an independent third party investigator, which was designed to provide complete anonymity for staff in order to maximum participation where possible.”

The ASU had also called on Mr Inat to ‘break the impasse on bargaining negotiations by offering its members the same pay rise he has approved for council’s outdoor staff’.

“The Australian Services Union seems to be ill-informed on negotiations with the Australian Workers Union, as outdoor staff have already agreed to a zero per cent pay rise for the 20/21 financial year acknowledging the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic,” Mr Inat said.

“This is the same pay adjustment presented to “indoor staff” for the 20/21 financial year, both indoor and outdoor staff previously received a pay rise of two per cent in the 19/20 financial year.

“A committee of new indoor staff representatives has been established, and constructive discussions are progressing in this regard.”