The
outcome to an investigation of a complaint raised by a worker in the Tasmanian
State Service about their treatment and allegations of sexual harassment has
been publicly released before the complainant was told.
Labor
Leader Rebecca White said the complaint had been ongoing for 18 months and
despite repeatedly asking for an update on the outcome of the investigation no
decision had been conveyed to the complainant until it was broadcast publicly
at a Budget Estimates hearing.
“What
happened today was unacceptable. It is incredibly disrespectful to the woman
who has raised these very serious complaints to find out in such a public way
that they have been dismissed,” Ms White said.
“As
the head of the state service in Tasmania, Premier Peter Gutwein should at the
very least apologise to this woman for the way that her matter has been
handled.”
Ms
White said today’s events speak to broader problems across the state service.
“Every
state service employee should be able to go to work and be safe and if they
have a complaint they need to have confidence their concern will be
investigated in a timely way and resolved appropriately.
“What’s
most distressing about this is not only that this person has been treated in
this manner, but obviously the department had concluded the report, they knew
the outcome, and yet they still hadn’t told her of the decision.
“The
agony of waiting so long to hear a decision in this case has created additional
stress and anxiety that could have been avoided.
“It is important we set a culture in the state service that is best practice so people are safe at work and that the government strive to prevent instances of harassment and misconduct from happening in the workplace in the first place.”
Rebecca White MP
Labor Leader
