Australian Services Union claims ‘toxic’ culture at Moira Shire Council

A country council has denied allegations of a “toxic” workplace despite a damning response from staff in a recent survey.

Moira Shire Council has been accused of not addressing a “toxic” workplace culture.

A rural council has refuted claims of bullying and intimidation despite being slammed by the country’s local government union for having an “unsafe” workplace.

It comes after the Australian Services Union — which represents local government workers — called for significant change at Moira Shire Council after a survey of union members at the council revealed a “toxic” workplace.

According to the ASU survey — sent to about 40 union members at council — 73 per cent said their mental health impacted their work performance while 68 per cent said they experienced threats, violence or intimidation at work.

But Moira council has strongly denied any allegations of a toxic workplace.

Council chief executive Matthew Morgan said the picture portrayed by the ASU was in “stark contrast” to the results of internal surveys and the direct feedback from team members.

“This contradiction is so strong that we will be requesting a copy of the union’s survey to better understand how these claims were constructed,” he said.

“Council recognises that we are not perfect, and that building a community of trust and strength within our employee group takes time.

“However, we have never stepped away from the challenge of continuing to build a safe, connected, and engaged environment for our team members.

“That work is ongoing, and internal survey results show that we are making significant progress in thisregard, which is due largely to the collective efforts of all our staff.”

Moira Shire Council chief executive Mathew Morgan.

Mr Matthews said while council supported ASU advocating for its members, it did not support tactics designed to “deliberately misrepresent” or “undermine trust” in the workplace.

ASU Victoria and Tasmania branch secretary Tash Wark said the results exposed a toxic, unsafe workplace culture that leadership failed to fix.

“Sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation, and burnout are rife at Moira Shire Council,” she said.

“It is staggering that only five per cent of workers believe management takes their concerns seriously, and the vast majority say the situation is only getting worse.

“This shows a complete failure by management to protect workers.”

Australian Services Union Tasmanian branch secretary Tash Wark. Picture: Supplied

ASU demanded an independent review into workplace culture, transparent audit of complaints and processes at council.

Ms Wark said it was “disgraceful” people were leaving the council broken and burnt out.

“Workers have told us directly they feel traumatised, silenced, and abandoned.

“Enough is enough.”