Saturday, August 20, 2011

They won't control me again: Former air traffic controller in a legal battle with her former employer Airservices Australia.

KIRSTY Fletcher still has a way to go. A protracted legal battle looms and there's every indication that a journey that has already taken some nasty turns could get a whole lot nastier.

But rather than shake her resolve, the air traffic controller, who was sacked by Airservices Australia (ASA) after lodging a sex discrimination lawsuit in the Federal Court, is more determined than ever to lift the lid on what she describes as a boys' club.

A club she claims considers it acceptable to view pornographic material in the workplace when the safety of thousands of air travellers is in their hands.

It's a journey that has already had a devastating effect on her health and well-being, a journey that began with the mother of two seeking an apology, but the stakes have increased since then.

Now she doubts that any apology that comes her way will be meaningful.

She won't settle, Ms Fletcher says, until the company sees its culture for what she claims it is and addresses it.

And she has vowed not to accept a settlement that may impose a confidentiality clause.

ASA says it does not agree with many of the claims. ASA spokesman Matt Wardell said it did not agree that any problem was widespread and also disagreed that Ms Fletcher's complaints had not been taken seriously.

He said the individual allegedly responsible for bullying had left the company, but he could not say why.

Regardless of the facts of the matter, which no doubt will surface in the trial, you have to admire the strength of character that Ms Fletcher, 38, is displaying.

Remember that ASA is a government agency and the sole employer of air traffic controllers in this country. Once they sack you, there is nowhere else to go. So when Ms Fletcher stands up to them and declares, "They don't get to control me ever again", it's difficult to question her commitment.

Remember, this is a woman who is a third-generation air traffic controller and who is married to an air traffic controller.

In the letter of termination, ASA said it was a result of an irretrievable breakdown in the employment relationship.

"I loved what I did, it becomes your whole life, it becomes your identity," Ms Fletcher told me.

"I'm grieving because I have lost part of my identity.

"It sounds so stupid to grieve over a job, but it was part of my history and what made my father proud.

"Additionally, what I have lost is everything I believed in, in regards to morals and ethics and the way people would act.

"I struggle with that still."

INSTEAD, after what she alleges were years of workplace bullying, abuse and discrimination, she made a formal complaint, because in her words, the line had been crossed.

"They had taken so much away from me, I just felt my integrity was not for sale and they weren't going to get that," she said.

She made a detailed complaint and said this was not acted upon for 18 months.

Ms Fletcher also complained about a serious safety breach by a male air traffic controller - that she was blamed for.

"I thought I could tough out the bullying because I was going on maternity leave," Ms Fletcher said.

"I thought my own ability would be able to overcome the pressure he (a former ASA manager) was putting on me, but at this point it had nothing to do with my ability. I was really concerned it was putting aircraft in danger."

Though she worries the legal fight could bankrupt her family, the mother of two young daughters said she was standing up on principle.

"I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do this," Ms Fletcher said.

Her lawyer, Josh Bornstein, a principal at Maurice Blackburn, said her case was unusual in that Ms Fletcher had been a reasonably well paid white-collar, articulate, smart, high-performing, high-achieving employee and her career had been destroyed.

"The other unusual aspect of this was watching the visceral grief she had expressed over a long period of time at the loss of a career she loved. It has been intense and it is still there now. The grief is volcanic," Mr Bornstein said.

He said this case was not just about an aberrant individual, but about an unhealthy workplace culture.

Mr Bornstein said his client suffered post-traumatic stress disorder because she feared an assault when she was heavily pregnant.

She would eventually go on long-term sick leave and was on sick leave when she was sacked.

Ms Fletcher said she put her complaints in writing and later found out a female manager had claimed Ms Fletcher had withdrawn the complaint.

"When we got the results of the investigation, I discovered that the female manager, who my instincts told me was a really nice person, had made a false report," she said.

"I couldn't comprehend that a person would do that, that my instincts were wrong. I base a lot of what I do on instinct, so losing my instincts for a while there made me very uneasy in the world."

Ms Fletcher alleges a boys' club mentality at ASA's Air Traffic Control Melbourne Operations Centre (MOC). Initially, this was a joint action with another female air traffic controller, Jackie Macdonald. Ms Macdonald has since reached a confidential settlement.

In her statement of claim, Ms Fletcher says sexually explicit or pornographic images were viewed by an ASA manager on ASA computers at MOC. She will also claim that she was denied necessary training because she was pregnant. And she will allege relentless bullying by a male manager who threatened the consequences would be severe if she tried to mess with his career.

Mr Bornstein claimed the former ASA manager was told about the allegations of discrimination and he went berserk and threatened Ms Fletcher.

Ms Fletcher said she was petrified. He was out of control and he was taken out of the room, she alleges.

"He was told to leave me alone, but not officially and not by any managers and there was no disciplinary action or counselling," Ms Fletcher said.

She said after that he always seemed to be the manager when she was on and that brought on panic attacks.

OTHER incidents followed. Ms Fletcher said she spoke up because she was concerned the situation had spiralled out of control and was putting aircraft in danger. The manager who made her working life a misery might have since left, but she fears the culture still remains.

She said her priority was to fix the workplace for the people who were still there, for the people who fly in planes and for the people who will be there in the future.

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