Almost 30 staff at the Australian National University’s humanities school have stopped work after an internal report warned of psychological hazards in their workplace related to the institution’s restructure.
The report was prepared by the health and safety representative (HSR) officer in ANU’s College of Arts and Social Sciences (Cass), who issued a cease-work order on Tuesday.
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The report detailed complaints by staff of aggression, bullying and harassment.
The order said there was a “serious and ongoing harm to health and safety” and advised workers affected by the restructure process, which has been named Renew ANU, to “remove themselves from the hazardous work environment”.
Not all Cass staff members would cease work under the order but it gives them the option to do so if they believe they are at psychosocial risk. As of Wednesday afternoon, 28 had reported their intention to cease work.
Those staff remain entitled to be paid as long as they “remain available for work” and “comply with any reasonable direction to undertake safe alternative work”, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said in an email to members.
About two dozen of 800 Cass staff members contributed to the HSR officer’s report, which strongly critiqued executive leadership during the restructure process. The participants of the report had logged incident reports within Cass or contacted HSRs with claims about psychosocial harm.
Concerns over staff safety led the HSR officer to send out a Provisional Improvement Notice (Pin) to the Cass dean, Prof Bronwyn Parry, and the cease-work order to staff.
A Pin requires the employer to rectify the contraventions within eight days.
In an email to staff on Wednesday afternoon, Parry said she acknowledged the psychosocial impacts of the restructure and met the HSR earlier in the day to listen to their “very serious and valid concerns”. She said she had agreed to several “concrete remediations”, including “improved services”.
On Monday Parry had a meeting with about 30 senior staff, including research school directors and heads of school, to discuss the future of the school’s change proposal after last week’s exit of the former vice-chancellor Prof Genevieve Bell.
The current proposal includes the proposed disestablishment of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, the Centre for European Studies, the Humanities Research Centre and the ANU School of Music.
The NTEU, students, the sector’s regulator and politicians have raised concerns about the culture at ANU.
Appearing before a Senate inquiry last month, Dr Liz Allen, a prominent academic, alleged through tears that she was “bullied into near suicide” while serving on ANU’s university council.
The HSR report warned ANU may have failed to meet legislative and policy obligations under a string of regulatory requirements, including the Work Health and Safety Act, its enterprise agreement and staff code of conduct.
It referred to reports of self-harm, suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, insomnia, burnout and chronic fatigue, warning “immediate intervention” was needed.
“Staff are experiencing serious harm … [they] have reported being berated, belittled, and subjected to intimidating behaviours by managers and supervisors,” the report said.
“There is currently no safe way to continue with Renew ANU activities without risking catastrophic consequences.”
The ACT division secretary of the NTEU, Dr Lachlan Clohesy, said the university had “longstanding cultural issues” that had been exacerbated by Renew ANU.
“There can be no greater concession that Renew ANU hasn’t worked out than the vice-chancellor who introduced it resigning,” he said.
This week, the interim vice-chancellor, Prof Rebekah Brown, wrote to staff confirming she would provide a “draft roadmap” for ANU’s future on Thursday.
The chief people officer at ANU, Kate Witenden, said the university was formally reviewing the cease-work order and took the safety of staff “extremely seriously”.
Parry said she was “deeply sympathetic” to staff who had experienced distress as a result of the restructure and would be in touch with the student community if the order had impacts on teaching and assessments.
• In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
