ABC Online: Tasmania: Thursday,
May 26, 2016.
The State
Government is under-reporting stress leave at Biosecurity Tasmania, the
Community and Public Sector Union says.
A Right to Information
document showed six cases of stress leave since April 2014 but the union said
the real figure was much higher.
When the
controversial fox eradication program was wound up in 2014 staff were absorbed
by Biosecurity Tasmania, which was created at the same time, and given a raft
of other responsibilities.
No live fox
was ever found despite $50 million of taxpayer funds being spent over a more
than 10-year period.
Police are
currently assessing a complaint made by independent Upper House MP Ivan Dean
about allegations of fabrication of evidence within the program.
The union has
already claimed there was low staff morale at Biosecurity Tasmania and are now
alleging stress leave has been covered up.
The RTI
document said: "There have been six staff from Biosecurity Tasmania who
have taken stress leave in that period."
"Four of
the leave periods were for one day only. Two were for 58.8 hours and 59.95
hours respectively."
But the
union's general state secretary, Tom Lynch, said those figures did not include
some cases of stress leave.
"I'm
talking about multiple cases of colleagues who are off on stress leave for very
long periods of time and I am talking months," he said.
In a
statement, Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff said claims of interference
in the Right to Information process were false.
Stress case
linked to Deputy Premier
One case the
union said had been excluded was directly linked to Mr Rockliff.
The employee
has been on workers compensation for stress-related injuries for six months.
"We do
understand that this person was involved directly in investigating the
Minister's report of a fox sighting, despite the fact that the Minister thought
the taskforce was chasing imaginary foxes," Mr Lynch said.
"The
department has accepted the workers compensation claim, so they have
acknowledged the stress and they have acknowledged that they have contributed
to that person's injury.
"If you
are committed to a job and proud of the work you do and somebody undermines it
in the way that the Minister did, that has an impact on people."
The ABC has
not spoken to the employee.
It is a
breach of the State Service Act for public servants to speak to the media
without authorisation.
The union
said an apology requested from Mr Rockliff was not forthcoming.
Mr Rockliff
said the Government did not comment on anonymous allegations.
He said the
Department of Primary Industries has commissioned an audit of Biosecurity
Tasmania's restructure.
In the past,
Mr Rockliff rejected the claims of low morale, saying the Government had
increased spending on biosecurity.
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