KiwiRail’s board of management is looking into claims that a number of senior staff members are leaving due to a clash of leadership.
KiwiRail acting chair Sue McCormack says the board is inviting senior managers who have recently resigned to take part in exit interviews with an external investigator.
It follows a report in the NBR last month quoting anonymous sources alleging key executive staff were leaving due to the leadership style of chief executive Greg Miller.
It’s reported up to six senior executive members have handed in their resignations since Miller took over the reins of the state-owned enterprise in May 2019.
1News has also spoken to 16 current and former KiwiRail staff who make allegations of bullying and sexism by senior leaders at the organisation.
McCormack says KiwiRail’s board and management is “focussed on providing a great place of work for all our people, and we take that obligation seriously”.
The exit interviews will “ensure any employee concerns are heard appropriately rather than via anonymous allegations in the media”, she says.
“To ensure independence, these will be undertaken externally. The board and group chief executive Greg Miller fully support this confidential process and will not pre-judge its outcome.
“All members of the board and executive are personally committed to diversity and inclusion and ensuring all employees feel safe, supported and valued in the workplace.
“I expect the board and executive to model those same values, as KiwiRail’s team of 4300 works together to create a more resilient, reliable and sustainable rail network for New Zealand,” McCormack says.
It has been reported that chief operating officer and deputy chief executive Todd Moyle has resigned and will leave at the end of the year. Other recent resignations include human resources general manager Andrew Norton and chief corporate affairs officer Usman Pervaiz.
