Casey Council tells staff not to wear lanyards in public amid safety concerns
Casey Council has instructed employees not to wear their work lanyards in public amid reports of workers being abused while out to lunch. It comes as councillor corruption allegations continue at the IBAC inquiry.
South East
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Casey Council has sent an email to staff asking them to not wear their lanyards in public due to safety concerns amid the ongoing corruption scandal.
A council worker, who asked not to be named, told the Cranbourne Leader employeesreceived an email last week from the executive leadership team instructing them not to wear their council ID when out on “private business” as there had been “negative responses” from the public.
The employee said she and colleagues were “outraged”, saying they shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush as councillors during the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission hearings.
“We received the email and thought – are you kidding me? Workers who contribute to the community have nothing to do with the hearings,” she said.
“We’ve been told workers are being abused while they’re out to lunch and that’s just not on.”
Municipal Association of Victoria president Cr Coral Ross agreed.
“We condemn any acts of violence or harassment levied against individuals simply for doing their job,” Cr Ross said.
The MAV says it supports actions taken by councils to ensure the safety of their staff.
A Casey Council spokeswoman said staff wellbeing and safety in the workplace was a priority for the council at all times.
“All City of Casey staff and councillors have access to an independent employee assistance provider which has and continues to be regularly communicated to all staff throughout any given year,” the spokeswoman said.
“This provides staff and councillors with independent, phone or face-to-face support as needed. Staff are required to wear their staff identification at all times while undertaking their professional duties.”
The spokeswoman said when staff were out and about in their private lives, such as during their lunch breaks, they were not required to wear their staff identification so they can go about their personal business without having to deal with council-related matters. This applies at all times.
IBAC is probing allegations of planning-related corruption at Casey Council.
The hearings last week heard former mayor Sam Aziz, accused of pocketing $900,000 from property developers, allegedly bolted to Egypt amid claims he wheeled in a suitcase full of cash during one transaction.
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The hearings also heard former mayor Geoff Ablett was alleged to have received $330,000 in years of payments from developers, purportedly to tend racehorses they co-owned.
And multi-millionaire developer John Woodman and Cr Ablett discussed the idea of “a few heavy guys” beating up a rival councillor, secret phone recordings also revealed.