CULTURE WITHOUT CONSULTATION
AIRSERVICES REVIEWS SAFE PLACE WITHOUT CONSULTING ITS UNIONS
Airservices CEO Jason Harfield advised employees on 19 October that an external consulting group (Callida Consulting) had completed a Post Implementation Review of Safe Place.
14 recommendations were made.
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- The group now reports directly to the CEO. This recommendation was to address the perception about the independence of Safe Place.
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- All future recruitment should mandate the requirement for management and staff to have specialist skills and qualifications with bullying, sexual harassment and trauma and victim led complaints.
- Training for advocates to promote Safe Place.
- Develop guidance on the frameworks and processes associated with the management of historic issues.
- Develop charter to ensue clarity of understanding of outcomes and operations of safe place.
- Prescriptive guidance on end to end support required for complainants.
- Define and document a reporting framework.
- Education and awareness program to assist capability for managers receiving reports of bullying asexual harassment disclosures.
- Prescriptive guidance on the end to end investigation process and supporting governance elements.
- Define threshold for cases to be referred to an external service provider.
- Develop an assurance framework to monitor governance and operation.
- User friendly and accessible guidance to ensure staff have clear expectations engaging Safe Place.
- Consider working with the AFP to establish a collaborative working group of agencies with a safe place function.
There was no consultation with Civil Air or any other Airservices union during or after this review. Civil Air has made repeated representations to Airservices through their Chief People and Culture Officer, Lucinda Gemmell, regarding the operation of Safe Place. Civil Air is disappointed that Airservices have chosen to neglect involving unions in the process, given the importance of the issue at hand.
Our concerns included the lack of welfare support for people involved, the length of time for investigations, lack of particulars, lack of information to witnesses regarding anonymity and potential use of statements in courts and tribunals.
Jason Harfield was asked whether the full PIR would be made available. He said this would not be appropriate.
A new Head of Safe Place was appointed in the second half of 2021, Anna Sarelas. Civil Air has provided Ms Sarelas with our past submissions to Airservices and awaits action with this change.
Published: 03 December 2021
Media Inquiries:
Peter McGuane, Executive Secretary, Civil Air
T: 03 9647 9100