Thousands of cases of sexual harassment, bullying, assaults revealed by NSW Government workers

Thousands of public sector workers have blown the whistle with allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, threats and physical harm inside the NSW Government, as staff inside NSW Premier Chris Minns’ own department make allegations of misconduct.

Tens of thousands of public sector workers have blown the whistle with allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, threats and physical harm inside the NSW Government, as staff inside NSW Premier Chris Minns’ own department make allegations of misconduct.

The state government’s People Matters Survey, released on Melbourne Cup Day, revealed a massive 11,000 NSW government employees have alleged they were the victims of sexual harassment at work, while a shocking 22,000 say they experienced threats or physical harm.

More than 31,000 public sector workers made allegations they were “aware of misconduct” inside their own government department, with 20 per cent of staffers responding to the survey in NSW Premier Chris Minns’ own Premier and Cabinet Department alleging to have witnessed bullying in the workplace.

Meanwhile, 10 per cent of the 1347 staffers inside Premier and Cabinet also raised allegations of being aware of misconduct.

NSW Premier Chris Minns. Picture: NewsWire

Inside the NSW Education and TAFE portfolio, a total of 5932 teachers, support staff and department representatives revealed they experienced threats or physical harm, while a massive 8670 employees reported allegations of witnessing bullying, as a further 1825 “experienced sexual harassment”.

The allegations were even worse for the NSW Health Department, with 22,000 allegeding to have witnessed bullying at work, while 5,872 claim they were victims of sexual harassment.

A further 10,000 NSW Health doctors, nurses, support staff and department employees say they were victims of threats or physical harm.

The claims inside NSW Health come after The Telegraph revealed a skyrocketing “Code Black” crisis is gripping hospitals, with the number of assaults recorded on hospital grounds reaching record levels.

More than 1000 incidents of assault were recorded last year, according to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research as nurses revealed horror stories of verbal and physical attacks, sexual assault and their own hospitalisation.

The data revealed assaults reported on hospital grounds almost doubled in the last 10 years, going from 526 incidents in 2013 and 1036 reported last year.

NSWNMA representatives Justin del Prado, Lisa Phillips, Nick Howson and Debra-Marie Hallet at Westmead Hospital. Picture: Tom Parrish

The starting results of the government survey also revealed the states cops and paramedics were among the most stressed out public servants, with the study confirming high rates of burnout, mental exhaustion and low enthusiasm for the job.

While there has been an increase in the number of police officers who intend to stay in the job compared with last year, those still planning to leave blamed poor quality senior leadership while more than one in 10 claim they had experienced bullying.

As for workplace culture, 26 per cent of firefighters and 20 per cent of police responding to the survey claimed to be aware of misconduct at work.

Conducted between August and September, the results for the entire public sector showed the number of staff who would recommend their agency as a great place to work declined slightly.

However, the Minns government noted the survey was undertaken prior many public sector salary agreements coming into place.

Teacher satisfaction with pay following their salary increases rose 20 per cent to a total of 42 per cent.

NSW Liberal Party leader Mark Speakman. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

The release of the survey on Melbourne Cup Day was seized upon by NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, who accused the Minns government of dumping out the “garbage”.

“As the public enjoys the Melbourne Cup and Big Dance at Randwick, the Minns Labor Government is treating today as Garbage Day — hoping to quietly bury their failures,” he said.

“The latest PMES survey says 35 per cent of public servants are saying change isn’t managed well and nearly 40 per cent are feeling mentally exhausted.”

The greatest negative scores were predominantly within frontline agencies, although the NSW Mental Health Commission scored highly on burnout with 46 per cent of staff saying they felt burnt out.

The highest level of burnout was among paramedics at 56 per cent with 53 per cent saying they felt mentally exhausted by the job “on most days”.

A NSW Police officer. Photo: Tom Parrish

Almost half were struggling to maintain enthusiasm for the job and 37 per cent declared they did not feel they were as effective in the job as they used to be.

Burn out and mental exhaustion was also a key issue among police with 45 “burnt out” and 39 per cent declaring they were “struggling to maintain enthusiasm” for the job.

On recruitment, 42 per cent felt the organisation did not follow “a merit-based promotion process”.

Poor pay was a key issue among firefighters while more than 40 per cent of firefighters claimed senior executives did not listen to them nor act on the results of the survey.

More than one quarter of firefighters claimed to be aware of misconduct within the organisation with one in five declaring they had witnessed bullying.

Of those that planned to leave, a lack of career opportunities and the ability to earn more money elsewhere was named the reason.

Sally Dowling SC answers a question during NSW Senate Estimates. Parliament of NSW. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Over in the Crown Solicitor’s Office, Public Prosecutions director Sally Dowling still has her work cut out with more than one third of staff stating they felt “mentally exhausted on most days” and one quarter struggling to maintain enthusiasm for the job.

Pay was also an issue for 40 per cent of staff who did not believe they earned enough for the job they did.

A NSW government spokesperson said the survey found “ethics and values” continued to have the highest topic score for the public sector at 81 per cent, while more police and teachers showed their intention to stay.

“Departments are focussed on understanding the survey results and responding to ensure staff feel supported and enabled to perform their duties and serve the community, in a safe and welcoming workplace,” the spokesperson said.