The impact of the Enterprise Services restructure on CSIRO workplace health and safety has come into focus, with union representatives raising concerns that the organisation is failing to adequately assess the risks associated with hundreds of job cuts, particularly the psychosocial risks associated with increased workloads.
A recent poll of CSIRO Staff members revealed low confidence in the Enterprise Services (ES) assessment process; with more than two thirds of participants maintaining that Executive’s current approach will fail to accurately gauge necessary support levels for science and research.
However, growing uneasiness over the impact of ES job cuts on the workloads of remaining support staff and researchers has prompted Staff Association organisers to conduct a national series of workplace meetings and briefings to gauge health and safety concerns first-hand.
“It has been reported to the Staff Association that workers are not aware of CSIRO undertaking any kind of risk assessment to assess the risks associated with a significant reduction in (support) staff,” Staff Association Secretary Susan Tonks said.
“Workers have identified that the considerable reduction in staff will amplify psychosocial hazards already impacting staff, particularly around workloads, workflow and other associated job demands.”
“Direct and genuine consultation with staff and their representatives on these significant issues needs to take place as a priority,” Ms Tonks said.
“As CSIRO continues to progress and make further changes to ES work areas there will be further workload impacts on research programs support that will include essential support services capability for science delivery that will potentially no longer be available.”
“The impact goes not only to remaining ES staff but also frontline scientists whose workloads, already heavily impacted, will see further unmanageable workload increases.”
“The Staff Association has strong concerns regarding the high risk to psychological health and safety associated with excessive workload demands and any poor change management processes,” Ms Tonks said.
The apparent absence of an adequate risk assessment will do little to restore confidence in Executive’s approach to ES assessments.
A recent Staff Association poll – involving nearly six hundred (573) CSIRO workers – was prompted by concerns over the suitability of the focus group method where participants were asked to rapidly rank hundreds of ES functions, translating to less than one minute’s consideration per unit service.
More than two thirds of poll respondents (67.6%) believe the ES assessment process would fail to accurately gauge necessary support levels for Research Units.
Executive responded the Staff Association claiming that the ES restructure did incorporate a risk assessment, conducted at the ‘enterprise level.’
‘CSIRO’s ES Reform Working Group has developed a risk assessment at the enterprise level focused on psychosocial health and safety to address the potential risks associated with the ES Reform. This risk assessment captures all psychosocial risks as documented in regulatory guidance and identifies corresponding control mechanisms to reduce psychosocial health and safety risks to CSIRO workers so far as reasonably practicable.’
‘In addition to the Enterprise Risk Assessment, ES units are currently in the process of undertaking specific psychosocial risk assessments, to ensure specific risks that may arise within individual ES units are clearly identified and appropriately controlled, so far as reasonably practicable,’ the response read.
Union organisers and workplace delegates have engaged in a national series of workplace briefings to assess what plans are in place to mitigate workplace health and safety risks for both researchers and remaining ES staff.
Under the Workplace Health and Safety Act, employers are required to mitigate any potential health and safety impacts due to significant job losses.
CSIRO staff are encouraged to participate in our short workplace health and safety survey. Responses remain confidential and will help inform the union’s campaign to protect CSIRO jobs and working conditions.
Union representatives will meet with CSIRO Health, Safety and Environment to seek clarification and examples of ‘enterprise level’ and ‘specific enterprise unit’ risk assessments.
The Staff Association is also calling for the direct involvement and consultation of independent, workplace Health and Safety Representatives with risk assessment processes – for both the ES restructure and any other change management process – as necessary to ensure best practice workplace health and safety arrangements.
Members or CSIRO employees with specific concerns or feedback are encouraged to contact the union by emailing csstaff@cpsu.org.au, all contributions will be treated with complete confidence.
