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State Library cracks down on staff wearing ‘political’ items
By Meg Watson
State Library of Victoria employees have been warned against wearing any materials that “support or promote a particular political viewpoint”, including items featuring the Aboriginal flag, following a widespread staff revolt over the library’s treatment of pro-Palestine writers.
The directive was sent to staff as part of a broader dress code at the end of June. It was reinforced last week with a team member telling front-of-house staff they could no longer wear pins or badges featuring watermelon (a symbol associated with the pro-Palestine movement) or the Palestinian flag.
It’s also resulted in some confusion around other symbols, causing staff distress during NAIDOC Week. One library employee, speaking anonymously to protect their job, said some people had been asked to remove the Aboriginal flag from their lanyards as they were not formally approved by the library. Another said they understood that “Always Was, Always Will Be” pins, also associated with the Indigenous sovereignty campaigns, could stay. Badges associated with the LGBTQ community can still be worn as long as they were issued by the library.
Staff at the State Library of Victoria have been warned against wearing ‘political’ symbols including the Palestinian flag.Credit: AAPIMAGE
The dress code – which has been seen by this masthead – also initially cautioned staff against wearing “revealing clothing (e.g. very short skirts or shorts),” but that clause was removed in a later version.
In response to questions from this masthead a spokesperson for the State Library of Victoria said, “Library team members are encouraged to wear badges or pins on their lanyards that support diversity and inclusion, including badges with the Aboriginal flag”. They also said the approved guidelines do not refer to revealing clothing.
The library did not, however, explain why pro-Palestinian apparel was deemed inappropriate.
Tensions have been high at the State Library since the abrupt postponement of a series of teen writing workshops in March. More than 100 library staff wrote a letter to chief executive Paul Duldig expressing anger at what they felt was “discrimination” and “censorship”, suggesting the events had been scrapped because four of the six writers hosting them had publicly opposed Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The library denies the writers’ events were cancelled because of their political views, instead saying it was due to a reassessment of “child and cultural safety” protocols. However, staff have previously told this masthead about a meeting in which Duldig said one writer’s posts about Gaza did, in fact, prompt the postponement.
Since then, some of Australia’s most celebrated authors including Patrick White award winner Tony Birch, Michelle de Kretser and Grace Yee have boycotted the library. Dozens of staff members also put their names to an open letter written by the terminated writers calling for clarification and transparency.
One library employee said morale continues to be at an “all-time low” with staff being asked to remove content perceived as political from the work intranet and their personal Facebook pages, and some employees taking stress leave.
As the library is a public institution, employees have limited freedom to express political opinion with their behaviour bound by the Victorian Public Service Code of Conduct.
These guidelines, which are mentioned explicitly in the workplace’s dress code and were cited by a library spokesperson when questioned on the above issues, demand employees demonstrate “impartiality”. Employees at other public libraries and state arts institutions, including Arts Centre Melbourne, have also been sent the Code of Conduct in recent months in response to some staff wearing similar pro-Palestine apparel, however enforcement varies between workplaces.
Victorian Public Sector Commissioner Brigid Monagle did not answer specific questions about whether wearing pro-Palestine iconography was in contravention to the code of conduct, but did say the values outlined “require employees engage with their colleagues in a respectful way”.
In guidance published last year in the leadup to the Voice referendum, the VPSC said public sector staff were permitted to wear Aboriginal flag pins to “demonstrate support for First Nations staff”. Mongale did not specify whether it was still considered permissible to wear these flags.
One State Library staff member expressed frustration at the implication that wearing pins with watermelons was harmful in some way, and felt that the library was being selective about what they’re impartial towards. They said that last year the State Library took a strong stand supporting a controversial drag storytime event. Chief executive Paul Duldig said at the time, the censure of such events had a “chilling effect” on democracy and intellectual freedom.
“The library is not entirely apolitical when it comes to certain matters of justice,” the staff member said.
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correction
An earlier version of this article stated Patrick White had boycotted the State Library. It should have read “Patrick White award winner Tony Birch”. This has been updated.