Almost one in two CFS staff bullied or harrassed, survey reveals

Almost one in two CFS employees have been bullied or harassed in the workplace over the past 12 months, a staff survey has revealed.

• CFS chief officer Greg Nettleton sacked — as fire danger season extended

Almost one in two CFS employees say they have been bullied or harassed in the workplace over the past 12 months, a staff survey has revealed.

The Government-organised survey, which has been seen by The Advertiser, was designed to establish where improvements within the organisation could be made.

It showed 45 per cent of respondents had been subject to bullying or harassment over the previous year.

The survey, of which 22 per cent of the organisation’s 161 staff participated, also revealed that 60 per cent of staff had witnessed bullying or harassment in the workplace over the same period.

The most prevalent type of bullying or harassment was inappropriate and unfair application of work policies or rules (27 per cent), followed by verbal abuse (21 per cent).

A total of 39 per cent of respondents said this bullying or harassment came from a current manager, while 22 per cent said it came from someone more senior than them and 13 per cent said it came from a previous manager.

Of those who said they had been bullied or harassed, 57 per cent said it caused them to take sick leave.

A CFS insider, who spoke to The Advertiser on the condition of anonymity, said bullying and harassment was rife within the organisation.

“There have been lots of instances of yelling at staff, belittling staff, ostracising individuals (and) making unfounded accusations,” they said.

“They put down a lot, they slander (staff) a lot and say these awful things about them.

“It’s just a really bad culture.”

It was a damning internal CFS survey.

The whistleblower said staff were “struggling” to cope with the treatment they endured and some had even left the CFS because of it.

They said the agency’s Community Engagement team was now under investigation in response to multiple complaints of bullying.

“I just think they need to have a bit of a look at themselves and just be aware of their behaviour,” they said.

CFS Deputy Chief Officer Andrew Stark said three staff from that section of the agency had left over the past 12 months.

Mr Stark also confirmed an independent firm had been engaged to investigate the Community Engagement team.

“The nature of this is confidential and any findings will be considered when CFS receives the report,” he said.

Emergency Services Minister Corey Wingard said the survey was designed to find areas in Government departments where there was room for improvement.

“The Marshall Government is committed to being open and transparent and working with departments which identify issues within its operations,” he said.

Opposition emergency services spokesman Lee Odenwalder said: “We shouldn’t tolerate any type of harassment or bullying in any type of workplace and we just hope the minister is working with senior management to address this issue urgently”.