Victoria Legal Aid lawyers have decried an internal policy order not to discuss “the conflict between Israel and Palestine” at work, with more than 100 VLA staff co-signing a letter to management.
Some employees at the firm — a Victorian state government organisation with a headcount of more than 1,000, whose work involves legal representation for disadvantaged communities — have responded strongly to the edict, calling for “an end of attempts to silence staff”. The staff pushing back have also claimed the ban on discussions of the conflict would pose “a real risk of interfering with the carrying out of core workplace duties”.
Ridiculous. I can only think of 2 scenarios which would have led to this. One, there was a conflict between some employees and they are want to avoid further conflicts. But there are already laws against discrimination and workplace bullying. Banning the topic outright is lazy. Or two, someone in management has strong opinions and can’t handle hearing an opposing view. Either way, management are being toddlers.
Also I’m no lawyer, but would this even be legally enforceable? Can an employer really ban topics of conversation at work?