Cuts to public service budgets are fuelling bullying within the federal bureaucracy, a union says.
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The Community and Public Sector Union says a handful of recent court cases involving the "bizarre medical claims" of some public servants are feeding the "myth of the bludging bureaucrat".
Yet its national secretary, Nadine Flood, says the rising number of public servants who say they were psychologically injured at work is linked to the government's economy drive.
"We have many cases on our books of members who cite bullying and harassment by managers to complete ever increasing workloads as the reason why many have hit the wall," Ms Flood said.
Earlier this year, the government's workplace health insurer, Comcare, announced a crackdown on compensation pay-outs to reduce fraud, dubious claims for mental injuries, payments for dodgy therapies and "doctor shopping".
The number of alleged psychological injuries in the bureaucracy has increased by 30 per cent in the past three years. Comcare says federal public servants are four times more likely to make a compensation claim for mental stress than employees in other workplaces.
However, Ms Flood said the increasing rate of mental injuries in the workplace was linked to spending cuts.
She cited the findings of Peter Hanks, QC, whose review of workers' compensation laws noted it was "reasonable to suggest that a principal explanation for the increased incidence of psychological injury claims can be found in the increasing demands placed on employees through such mechanisms as efficiency dividends, constant performance evaluation and the restructuring of employment arrangements".
Ms Flood, who will address a Sydney human resources conference on Monday, said the problem was particularly acute in the Department of Human Services, which includes frontline agencies such as Centrelink and Medicare.
The department had lost more than 4000 staff in three years due to budget cuts, and abusive behaviour from the public against its remaining workers was worsening, she said.
"It's an ugly combination, with pressure from both sides of the service desk squeezing vulnerable staff in the middle."
Several high profile court battles have tarnished the image of federal public servants in recent months.
One case, soon to be heard in the High Court, involves a bureaucrat seeking compensation after she was injured during "vigorous" sex in a motel room on a work trip.
Another public servant, who was underperforming in her job, asked for a payout after saying the one-on-one counselling sessions she received constituted bullying.
Last year, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal threw out a claim from a Taxation Office worker who was involved in a punch-up with a colleague over who owned a cup of coffee.
