“Children wielding machetes” – Union calls on Department of Education to relocate teaching staff in Umbakumba immediately
MEDIA RELEASE – for immediate release 12 noon 9 August 2021
The AEU NT has today called on the Department of Education to immediately relocate all teaching staff stationed in the community of Umbakumba on Groote Eylandt to ensure their safety.
This follows escalating violence in the community in recent months, with teaching staff repeatedly the victim of break-ins, often during the middle of the night, by intruders wielding machetes and axes. They have damaged school buildings and vehicles, often leaving behind large weapons. The offenders are as young as 11 in some cases.
Weapons left behind at recent break-in and attempted break-in to employees’ housing
The union contacted the Department six days ago on behalf of members who requested to be relocated to the mining town Alyangula, 65 kilometres away. The Department has not responded to the union’s correspondence and has given no indication it will agree to relocating employees on anything other than a short-term basis. Departmental officers claim there is insufficient housing stock available, however the union understands there are empty dwellings in Alyangula which could be rented for employees.
Weapons confiscated from a student at Umbakumba School
“The ongoing threat to employee safety in their homes and in their workplace is causing significant psychological harm to the teaching staff working at Umbakumba,” said AEU NT Branch President Jarvis Ryan.
“They have made it clear to the union and the Department that they are committed to their work and turning every day and doing the best they can for the students – but they are unwilling to continue to be expected to live in a community where their safety at night cannot be guaranteed and they cannot even be assured of a good night’s sleep.
“Despite Umbakumba notionally having a police station, it is often not staffed and police often do not respond to calls for help after hours as they are close to an hour away and have limited staffing capacity. Police and most other public servants are not accommodated in Umbakumba – they have houses in Alyangula.”
“The union believes the Department is failing in its duties as an employer under the Work Health and Safety Act to provide a safe working environment for its employees. In a remote community such as Umbakumba, this responsibility extends to housing provided by the employer.”
Mr Ryan said numerous WHS incident reports had been lodged and the union would now be referring the matter to NT WorkSafe for investigation.
“More broadly, what we are seeing in Umbakumba is evidence of a failing strategy by the NT Government. Groote Eylandt is supposed to be the jewel in the crown of Michael Gunner’s Local Decision Making (LDM) policy, however two of the three communities on the island are so dysfunctional it is not safe for public servants to live there.”
Mr Ryan said that although recent incidents were particularly concerning, the pattern of violent behaviour and unrest in the community was not new, and that the Department and Government’s failure to address it had contributed to a revolving door of principals and teaching staff in recent years, with several going on workers’ compensation after being victims of occupational violence. In the most serious case, a female teacher was so seriously injured she may never work again.
“This school is churning through multiple principals per year because it is not a safe working environment. And the Department is not listening to its staff and making the necessary changes to address the problems.”
Mr Ryan called on the Chief Executive and the Minister for Education to show leadership and concern for the wellbeing of employees by immediately agreeing to relocate employees until such time as it is deemed safe to live in the community.
“Many years ago, it was determined that it was not safe for teaching staff to reside in Angurugu and they were relocated to Alyangula. Umbakumba is now in the same category.
“Failure to act on this matter is an abdication of leadership and the employer’s responsibility to protect the wellbeing of its employees. Government officials may not be able to fix community dysfunction overnight, but they can do far more to look after hard-working teaching staff who are putting themselves in harm’s way to try to provide an education for children,” Mr Ryan concluded.
For media enquiries contact Branch President Jarvis Ryan or Secretary Adam Lampe on on (08) 8948 5399.