Duty of care
SERIOUS allegations of councillors and staff being bullied have been raised publicly at the Shire of Toodyay.
It was claimed at a council meeting last month that staff resignations and sick leave have caused shire productivity to suffer.
It was also alleged that people were reluctant to raise matters of public concern for fear of being bullied.
All employers are required by law to prevent bullying in the workplace.
The law is less clear if the alleged bullying stems from outside the organisation.
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Elected members will always be subject to public criticism and personal abuse – that goes with the job.
But what about attacks on workers that include bullying, abuse and denigration, as was alleged at last month’s council meeting?
Does an employer have a duty of care to protect its workers from being exposed to incoming letters and emails that cause them to feel too ill to report for duty or continue working?
Three veteran councillors, including a former shire president, claim this has been happening repeatedly at the Shire of Toodyay over a long period of time.
Local government is a small community, and word soon gets around about how different councils manage their affairs.
Our shire has already suffered the public notoriety of a State Government inquiry that uncovered chronic dysfunction under a former council and previous CEO.
His replacement’s decision last month to withdraw her request for a new contract after recent shire elections suggests the job of finding another suitably qualified candidate may be difficult.
Not seeing a need to do anything about it suggests the new council doesn’t care.
Goodbye
This edition of The Toodyay Herald will be my last as editor.
I leave after 10 years knowing that I have had the immense good fortune to meet so many wonderful people from all walks of life, and the pleasure of living and working in what must surely be one of the best rural communities in Australia.
It has been a rollercoaster ride over the years, including a thwarted editorial coup, a shire advertising ban and angry public attacks on my professional credibility.
But Herald circulation has risen 60 per cent in the past decade and, as they say in the newspaper business, if half the readers like what you do and the other half hate it, then you must be doing a good job.
I’d like to think so.
Along the way I have made many good friends and – inevitably – a few enemies.
None of it was personal.
I was just trying to do my job properly and I carry no grudges – life’s too short for that.
Goodbye everyone, and good luck.
Michael Sinclair-Jones
Retiring Editor
