Gawler Council chief executive Henry Inat rejects staff bullying accusations
“Worthless, neglected, disrespected, degraded, intimidated” – that’s the way staff at Gawler Council described how their boss made them feel. He suggests it may be a union conspiracy.
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Staff at Gawler Council have levelled accusations of bullying at chief executive Henry Inat as many consider leaving their jobs, a union says.
The allegations have been laid out in a survey conducted by the Australian Services Union and obtained by The Advertiser.
Mr Inat rejected the findings of the survey, suggesting they could have been written by people outside the council.
It comes as protracted pay negotiations hit another wall, with staff expected to reject Mr Inat’s latest offer of a backdated 2 per cent pay rise with a pay freeze for workers next financial year and the introduction of a stand-down clause that would allow him to send people home.
Meanwhile, a performance review of Mr Inat has continued after he asked for a five-year contract extension, 1.4 per cent pay rise and a private 4WD.
Most of the 59 responses to the survey – commissioned by the ASU in light of the enterprise bargaining process – are highly critical of Mr Inat.
It asked how Mr Inat’s approach to pay negotiations made staff feel.
Staff anonymously said they felt “worthless”, “neglected”, “disrespected”, “degraded”, “intimidated” and “pushed up against a wall” by Mr Inat.
Multiple staff said they felt bullied by Mr Inat. One worker said Mr Inat was “assertive, aggressive, arrogant (and) defiant”.
“This must be stopped,” they wrote.
Another said Mr Inat had shown a “complete lack of respect” for his employees.
“Morale is at an all-time low due to the years of dirty tricks that have been played on staff during these (pay) negotiations,” the staff member wrote.
One worker said they needed to update their resume and another said they “don’t want to work here any more”.
Gawler Council has 137 employees.
Mr Inat said he and his leaders valued staff and had “strong and supportive relationships at all levels of our council”.
“Our new employment agreement has to deal with a new landscape in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, to save jobs and support a local community doing it tough,” Mr Inat said.
“This so-called survey is union ploy with zero credibility.
“Nobody can say who accessed the survey link or if they even work at council. It does not reflect the reality of our council and the hard work so many people do every day that is highly valued by myself and the Gawler community.”
He said the council did not tolerate bullying and had “clear safe work policies and avenues for employees to report and resolve concerns.”
Member for Light Tony Piccolo said the results of the survey were “damning and disappointing, but sadly not surprising”.
“Staff appear to be bordering on complete disillusionment with council,” Mr Piccolo said.
“The staff feel abandoned and humiliated by the council’s stand to fight their enterprise agreement, while heralding a new early contract for the CEO as a victory for good management.
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“This survey raises the very serious question as to whether the council can meet its legal obligations, or is it time for the minister to step in?”
ASU secretary Abbie Spencer said staff had been “ground down” by Mr Inat during pay negotiations.
“The CEO can rebuild the trust and confidence of staff by putting forward a fair deal so workers can move forward and keep delivering the services residents expect,” Ms Spencer said.
“The current situation is untenable and we are standing by workers at Gawler every step of the way.”