The commission cited HWU branch finance manager Kerry Georgiev, branch committee of management member Nick Katsis, branch assistant secretary David Eden, branch senior vice president Lee Atkinson, and branch president Rhonda Barclay as the other respondents of the legal action. They are accused of failing to comply with financial policies and procedures governing payments.
The Fair Work Commission said it would ask the court to make the Asmars compensate the HWU, and ban them from holding office in a registered organisation for five years. It also wants all seven respondents to pay penalties.
The commission also alleges that HWU finance manager Georgiev accessed the accounts of the other senior officers and used their unique banking token codes to process the payments from the branch’s bank accounts.
“The alleged conduct, which occurred between 2016 and 2021, significantly impacted the branch’s finances and the ability of the branch to serve the best interests of its members,” the commission said in a statement.
Health Services Union national secretary Lloyd Williams said the national executive wanted Asmar stood down immediately and called on the HWU branch to deal with it urgently.
“The broader Health Services Union is horrified by [the allegations] that have been laid by the Fair Work Commission against Diana Asmar and six other individuals from the Health Workers Union,” Williams said.
“Our union has no tolerance for misuse of members’ funds, and it’s important to specify that this is isolated to the Victoria Health Workers Union branch. The union’s national executive has consistently sought to stand Diana Asmar aside while this investigation has been underway,”
Williams said the HSU’s legal representatives would spend the next few days examining the best way to restore integrity to the branch.
On Friday, The Age and the AFR reported a senior official at the Health Workers Union called for the organisation to stand Asmar down, claiming the branch was dysfunctional, that memberships may be inflated, staff have been underpaid and scores of pay deals have not been finalised.
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