Workers in Canberra's public hospitals are facing bullying, nepotism and racism despite last year's independent review into workplace culture, the Community and Public Sector Union says.
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The union says managers are still harassing staff and more immediate and short term changes are needed to stamp out such behaviour.
An independent review into ACT public health services last year found troubling levels of bullying, harassment and inappropriate recruitment practices, with the government committing to all review recommendations.
The union's deputy national president Brooke Muscat-Bentley said there were still significant issues in Canberra Health Services that needed to be addressed.
"We unfortunately still see managers behaving poorly, with bullying, harassment, reports of nepotism and even racism coming to us from our members.
"Our members want to see transparent recruitment and an end to a culture where people literally stand over them," she said.
"The new Health Minister has hit the ground running and is doing good work getting out and hearing from workers, and the high level, strategic work being done on culture will deliver into the future."
"It's good to see reform beginning at the top and we are pleased to be part of this process.
"However this will take some time to filter down, and a fix is needed now to deal with the managers who are intimidating and harassing staff, who are using recruitment processes that aren't fair or transparent, and perpetuating a culture of work health and safety risks and a culture of bullying".
The union represents a wide range of health workers including administration staff, allied health and some pharmacists.
The issue was raised at ACT Labor's annual conference last week. Union organiser Brenton Higgins said members had been told to work in silence, stood over by management and well qualified candidates overlooked in favour of mates.
Other unions have expressed "cautious optimism" about the changes in Canberra Health Services in recent months, with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation saying it had seen improved behaviour from some managers in that time.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said a lot of work had been done both by Canberra Health Services and ACT Health Directorate since the report was released in March.
"We have acknowledged that changing the culture in an environment as large and complex as the ACT health system will take time, and we know there is more to be done over the coming weeks, months and years," she said.
"But it is also important that staff see changes being made, and I have been discussing with both the Canberra Health Services CEO and the Director-General of the Health Directorate how we can better inform staff of the actions underway and what this means for them.
"We are absolutely committed to ensuring staff feel safe and supported in the very important work they do, and part of this is about creating an environment where staff feel empowered to speak up when they see something wrong.
"Both Michael De'Ath and Bernadette McDonald are making themselves available to staff to hear directly from them about how they are experiencing their work and what could be done better."
"I've also met with the CPSU and other unions to discuss issues across the portfolio, and will continue to meet regularly with staff and their representatives as we work to address the review's recommendations."
ACT politics and health reporter Contact me with tips, story ideas, or just to have a chat, at daniella.white@canberratimes.com.au
ACT politics and health reporter Contact me with tips, story ideas, or just to have a chat, at daniella.white@canberratimes.com.au
