The ASU has called for urgent intervention to address systemic failures in employee wellbeing, safety and leadership after a Commission of Enquiry revealed “an appalling workplace culture”.
But the council’s chief executive, Matthew Morgan said the results of a survey were in stark contrast to their own staff surveys and feedback from employees.
“Moira Shire Council supports the ASU’s right to advocate for its members; we also share a common interest in ensuring the wellbeing of our workforce,” Mr Morgan said.
“We do not support, however, advocacy tactics which are clearly designed to deliberately misrepresent our workplace or undermine trust.”
The ASU presented the survey as “a damning picture of a council in crisis”.
“Sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation, and burnout are rife at Moira Shire Council,” branch secretary Tash Wark said.
“It is staggering that only 5 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.
“When issues are raised, there’s a culture of secrecy, cover-up, and neglect that is unacceptable.”
Mr Morgan said the contradiction was so strong that the council would be requesting a copy of the union’s survey to better understand how the claims were constructed.
“Council recognises that we are not perfect, and that building a community of trust and strength within our employee group takes time,” he said.
“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 this regard, which is due largely to the collective efforts of all our staff.”
The ASU has formally written to Moira Shire Council leadership demanding urgent, independent action.
The letter cited “harrowing” accounts from staff describing burnout, intimidation, and deep mental health impacts.
It said dozens of employees had resigned in recent months, citing bullying, unsafe workloads, and poor leadership, and described how some employees had been driven to the brink of mental health crises, with allegations of dismissive and harmful treatment by council management during return-to-work processes.
“Council’s tokenistic wellbeing programs, including mandatory ‘House’ games, have left staff feeling patronised and not supported; employees fear reporting hazards or complaints due to the risk of retribution,” the union claimed.
The union is demanding that the council immediately cease the ‘House’ games, release WorkSafe’s psychosocial wellbeing survey findings, which it claims have been withheld for more than a year, and meet with ASU officials and delegates within two weeks.
“The workforce is in crisis; leadership can’t claim ignorance,” Ms Wark said.
“They’ve been warned repeatedly, and these survey results are just the latest proof; the time for spin and neglect is over.
“Moira Shire Council must act now to protect its workforce.”
Survey results
• 78 per cent of respondents say their situation is getting worse or much worse
• 73 per cent say their mental health has impacted their work performance
• 68 per cent have experienced threats, violence, or intimidation at work
• 73 per cent do not believe management would take their concerns seriously
• 68 per cent feel exhausted or at risk of burnout
• 5 per cent were satisfied with how management handled reports of threats
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