Message to members regarding Shawn Tan

You may have heard some media coverage over the last few days about an issue the union is currently dealing with over one of our employees, Shawn Tan. Apart from responding to some media queries on the issue, the union has been constrained in what it can say publicly, and it still is constrained. The reason for this is obvious. Shawn faces allegations from the union as his employer. Those allegations are under investigation. Shawn is entitled to have the allegations put fully and properly to him, to have a chance to provide his responses and explanations and any other information, to do so with the benefit of representation and to have his responses properly considered before the union draws any conclusions and makes any decisions. Ironically, these are the very rights we are campaigning on for all workers at the moment. The union would be acting in breach of its obligations to Shawn as an employee if it entered into a public discussion of the situation at this point. Shawn is currently suspended from his employment on full pay. He remains an employee and is entitled to the dignity of being treated as such while we deal with the issues over his employment.

Because of the fierce public attacks on the union by some people over the last few days, we felt it important for you to be informed about the issue to the best extent possible. The background to the matters is as follows.

Shawn is an organiser in the union’s call centre and has been since March this year. He has been selected as a candidate for the ACT party, both on the Party’s list and for the electorate of Mt Roskill. An issue has arisen because it is a requirement of the union’s staff collective agreement, and it would be a requirement even if it were not in the employment agreement, that any staff member wishing to seek public office needs to have the union’s permission, a decision made by the union’s national executive. That requirement is known to Mr Tan. He has not sought the union’s permission at any time. In his public statements Mr Tan is contesting whether he was reminded of this requirement in July. Other issues concerning Shawn’s employment have emerged since he was suspended and they are also now being addressed.

All information relevant to these issues held by the union has been disclosed to Shawn’s representatives and a meeting is scheduled for Monday to start the process of hearing his responses. Shawn’s representatives have also requested mediation which we have agreed to and we are awaiting confirmation of a date for this.

The need to seek permission to undertake candidacy for public office is obvious. A person campaigning for public office needs time off work, and whether this is paid or unpaid, this needs to be accommodated by the union by redeploying others or requiring others to pick up the extra workload. There is no inherent right to be released by your employer to do out-of-work activities that have a bearing on your employment. This year, the union has received two other applications by staff to seek public office. One was as a Labour candidate for an electorate seat in the general election and the other was as a Labour candidate for a local body by-election. In the first case, approval was given on the basis the staff member used annual leave for any campaigning in work time. In the second case approval was not given because of the pressure of work on the union and we were not prepared to release the staff member for the time needed.

The subject of Mr Tan’s employment issues with the EPMU was disclosed to the media by Mr Tan and ACT party officials last week and they have predictably sought to portray it as political. We are committed to abiding by our legal and moral obligations to Mr Tan to treat him properly in terms of due process. It should be noted that these are the sorts of requirements on employers the ACT Party has consistently and vigorously campaigned against. We also have obligations to you as EPMU members to uphold the values and principles of the union which are to defend and progress workers’ rights and interests in all spheres.

 

Andrew Little
National Secretary
Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union