PBN
25th Jul 2011, 01:22
AN air-traffic controller who has brought a sex discrimination lawsuit against her former employer has been sacked before the case goes to trial.
Lawyers for Kirsty Fletcher will go to the Federal Court next week demanding what they claim is "a considerable volume of pornography" she was allegedly exposed to.
Ms Fletcher and fellow air-traffic controller Jacki Macdonald brought a joint action a year ago against Airservices Australia, claiming more than $1 million each and alleging they endured years of workplace bullying, discrimination and abuse. Ms Macdonald recently reached a confidential settlement, but Ms Fletcher is pursuing the matter in the Federal Court and is determined to lift the lid on what she says are unsafe work practices in some of the nation's air-traffic control rooms. "I have seen controllers sitting at the consoles separating planes in tears, as a result of the way (some) managers talk to them, or treat them," she told The Australian. "The stress and the pressure that is on everyone there is massive. I still find it hard to understand that they don't want to address it."
AN air-traffic controller who has brought a sex discrimination lawsuit against her former employer has been sacked before the case goes to trial.
Lawyers for Kirsty Fletcher will go to the Federal Court next week demanding what they claim is "a considerable volume of pornography" she was allegedly exposed to.
Ms Fletcher, who alleges she was bullied and physically threatened by a manager and denied training opportunities when she was pregnant with her second child, was on long-term sick leave when she was sacked.
In a statement to The Australian, Airservices said it had terminated Ms Fletcher "due to an irretrievable breakdown in the employment relationship".
"Over the past 15 months, Airservices has made a number of attempts, without success, to assist Ms Fletcher to return to work (through offers of retraining and redeployment)," it said. "It has also made several unsuccessful attempts to resolve Ms Fletcher's claims through mediation processes. Unfortunately, Ms Fletcher has not been willing to engage in these processes."
Lawyers for Kirsty Fletcher will go to the Federal Court next week demanding what they claim is "a considerable volume of pornography" she was allegedly exposed to.
Ms Fletcher and fellow air-traffic controller Jacki Macdonald brought a joint action a year ago against Airservices Australia, claiming more than $1 million each and alleging they endured years of workplace bullying, discrimination and abuse. Ms Macdonald recently reached a confidential settlement, but Ms Fletcher is pursuing the matter in the Federal Court and is determined to lift the lid on what she says are unsafe work practices in some of the nation's air-traffic control rooms. "I have seen controllers sitting at the consoles separating planes in tears, as a result of the way (some) managers talk to them, or treat them," she told The Australian. "The stress and the pressure that is on everyone there is massive. I still find it hard to understand that they don't want to address it."
AN air-traffic controller who has brought a sex discrimination lawsuit against her former employer has been sacked before the case goes to trial.
Lawyers for Kirsty Fletcher will go to the Federal Court next week demanding what they claim is "a considerable volume of pornography" she was allegedly exposed to.
Ms Fletcher, who alleges she was bullied and physically threatened by a manager and denied training opportunities when she was pregnant with her second child, was on long-term sick leave when she was sacked.
In a statement to The Australian, Airservices said it had terminated Ms Fletcher "due to an irretrievable breakdown in the employment relationship".
"Over the past 15 months, Airservices has made a number of attempts, without success, to assist Ms Fletcher to return to work (through offers of retraining and redeployment)," it said. "It has also made several unsuccessful attempts to resolve Ms Fletcher's claims through mediation processes. Unfortunately, Ms Fletcher has not been willing to engage in these processes."