Introduction
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) supports trade integration that contributes to
sustainable economies where workers are employed in decent and secure jobs. Intensified
competition and unfettered capital mobility may lead to economic growth but it can also exacerbate
inequality, social exclusion and environmental degradation. It is essential that the space for domestic
policy making is maintained so the negative impacts of trade liberalisation and unequal economic
growth can be anticipated and addressed. Domestic policy must also play a role in supporting a more
equitable distribution of the benefits of trade liberalisation and growth more broadly. The role of
government and democratic decision-making in introducing legislation and overseeing policy in the
interest of workers and communities is central to this.
The Community and Public Sector Union has lodged an industrial dispute with the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet over its new social media policy.
The policy punishes workers who post critical comments about the government on social media and forces colleagues to report co-workers for such activity.
The Department’s failure to consult staff and unions over the changes is a clear breach of its enterprise agreement, the union says.
CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said: “Encouraging people to dob in a workmate is a new and nasty feature and one that we think is entirely unnecessary to police the use of social media by public servants. Forcing people to spy on their colleagues is incredibly divisive and will only sow the seeds of mistrust in the workforce,” Ms Flood added.
The CPSU was involved in initial consultations over the new policy, which is based largely on 2012 Public Service Commission guidelines, however the ‘dob in a mate’ clause was not in the draft shown to the union.
Ms Flood said: “We have had many members contact us to express their anger and frustration at what can only be described as a draconian policy. Furthermore we’d question whether there’s any evidence it is justified. What is the problem this policy is trying to fix? This is the Australian Public Service we are talking about not a police state.”
“We believe public sector workers should have the same rights as other Australians to engage in online debate, particularly when it’s in their own time and they don’t identify themselves as a government worker. This policy could mean that a public servant could be in breach of the rules if they attended a political rally and their picture is then shared on social media. That is not fair.” In the past the CPSU has been critical of the APSC policy because it over-reaches in seeking to limit what public servants do online privately, particularly where they are not identified as public servants.
However, Ms Flood added: “At the same time people need to be mindful of not being identified as public servants in comment critical of the Government of the day and of their responsibility as public servants as set out in the APS code of Conduct. We have said before that this is an evolving space and employers and Governments need to provide better, clearer guidelines. This policy does nothing to improve that.”