Review into alleged culture of bullying and discrimination at Lyttelton Port
Christchurch's Lyttelton Port has launched an independent review of its workplace culture following allegations of bullying, discrimination, harassment, and nepotism. The company is asking past and present port staff to come forward if they have allegations or other evidence of inappropriate conduct. This includes any who have reached a settlement with the port and signed a confidentiality agreement. Do you know more? Email reporters@press.co.nz They will be able to talk confidentially with an independent reviewer, appointed by the port, Auckland-based barrister Maria Dew QC. READ MORE: * Lyttelton industrial dispute comes to an end with settlement * Strike action looms at Lyttelton Port after court win for trade union A description of the review on the Lyttelton Port Company's (LPC) website says it will cover allegations relating to bullying, racial and sexual discrimination, harassment, and unfair selection of family members for roles, looking at January 2017 to June 2020. It will assess the ports workplace culture and make recommendations for change. The terms of reference said the review was ordered by LPC chief executive Roger Gray after concerns from several sources including internal observations, discussions with employees, feedback in an employee survey, and allegations made by current and former employees in a Newshub article in May. Gray said he had been consulting with staff and unions to get to know the team since he started in the chief executive role in February. What has become very clear to me from the feedback and questions that I have had is that there are cultural issues at LPC and we need a culture transformation. Serious allegations relating to a culture of bullying and harassment at LPC have also been published ... I consider these claims, if true, to be completely unacceptable. While his first six months in the job had been disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis , Gray said it was clear a full independent review needed to be carried out into the companys culture. There will be a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and harassment at LPC. We have a policy and procedures, and I expect when matters are raised they are properly handled. LPC would make no further comment until the final report was completed, he said. Dews report is to be finished by the end of September if possible. According to her website , Dew specialises in employment law and has run investigations into serious misconduct allegations for the likes of the State Services Commission, the Labour Party, the Ministry of Justice and the Waikato and Auckland district health boards. The port is also investigating a separate specific complaint from the family of a former employee who died. That complaint is being looked into by another independent investigator. Past or current employees wanting to provide information for the review can confidentially email lpc@mariadew.co.nz between July 24 and August 7 to arrange an interview.