ASIC accused of failing to end bullying
Confidential survey results obtained by BusinessDay show 14 per cent of staff in the small team responsible for monitoring equities and derivatives markets have been subjected to ongoing bullying or harassment in the past year, compared with 6 per cent across the whole of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
This was less than the 27 per cent who reported bullying in 2011, after which all staff were given three hours of training to "replace unproductive assumptions and behaviours with more constructive workplace actions".
But ASIC denies bullying is a continuing problem in the division, saying it has received just one unsubstantiated complaint in the past three years.
According to the 2012 survey, 23 per cent of staff within the financial market infrastructure (FMI) section were dissatisfied with their job even though most felt a sense of personal accomplishment.
The division of about 30 people has lower job satisfaction than the rest of ASIC, particularly with work and life balance and workloads.
An anonymous source said ASIC's internal complaint system was useless and the human resources team unsupportive, and that time-wasting and mistakes had led to instances where markets "operated without the appropriate regulatory oversight", although without negative consequences.
"The team is very small, there is nowhere to run. Retaliation is subtle and difficult to prove. Even conclusions to bullying complaints can be written in such a way as to not bind the agency. You will never get an apology," the source said.
But a spokesman said ASIC was "supremely confident the markets are being properly and efficiently monitored by a team of highly engaged and satisfied professionals".
The earlier complaint was "found to be without substance", and the worker was warned that more unsubstantiated complaints "could be viewed as vexatious behaviour".
The spokesman said overall the 2012 survey results "were very pleasing" and better than the rest of the federal public service.
"People reporting bullying and harassment in ASIC has dropped from 2010 and 2011 and is below the [Australian Public Sector] state of the service report," he said.
But the Community and Public Sector Union's deputy national president, Alistair Waters, said ASIC has had a culture of bullying and harassment in the past.
"But recently we have detected a marked change, thanks to ASIC and union delegates who have brought this kind of behaviour out into the open. We continue to monitor the situation there."
The FMI team monitors market operators, clearing and settlement facilities and trade repositories. In August 2010 it took over supervision of equity, derivatives and futures markets trading from the Australian Securities Exchange [ASX].
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The article reports a confidential BusinessDay survey showing 14% of staff in the small team that monitors equities and derivatives said they experienced ongoing bullying or harassment in the past year, compared with 6% across the whole of ASIC. That 14% was lower than the 27% who reported bullying in 2011.
According to an anonymous source in the article, time-wasting and mistakes have led to instances where markets operated without appropriate regulatory oversight, although the source said these had no negative consequences. ASIC denies a continuing problem and says markets are being properly monitored. The article highlights concerns but does not provide evidence of direct harm to investors.
ASIC denies bullying is a continuing problem in the division, saying it received just one unsubstantiated complaint in the past three years. A spokesman said ASIC is confident the markets are being properly and efficiently monitored and described the 2012 survey results as pleasing and better than the rest of the federal public service.
The article explains the financial market infrastructure (FMI) team monitors market operators, clearing and settlement facilities, and trade repositories. It is a small division of about 30 people and in August 2010 it took over supervision of equity, derivatives and futures market trading from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The 2012 survey found 23% of staff in the FMI section were dissatisfied with their job even though most felt a sense of personal accomplishment. The FMI division reported lower job satisfaction than the rest of ASIC, with particular concerns about work-life balance and heavy workloads.
The Community and Public Sector Union deputy national president, Alistair Waters, said ASIC has had a culture of bullying and harassment in the past. He added that recently there has been a marked change thanks to ASIC and union delegates bringing behaviour into the open, and the union continues to monitor the situation.
Views differ in the article. An anonymous source called ASIC’s internal complaint system useless and said human resources were unsupportive, while ASIC said an earlier complaint was found to be without substance and warned the worker about vexatious behaviour. ASIC also stated it has received only one unsubstantiated complaint in three years.
The article highlights staff complaints and concerns about workplace bullying and potential oversight lapses within a small ASIC team, but it also reports ASIC’s denial and confidence that markets are properly monitored. For investors, the piece signals scrutiny of the regulator’s internal culture while noting there was no evidence in the article of direct negative consequences for market participants.
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