Latest news with #MuseumsVictoria
Sydney Morning Herald
20 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Museum boss ‘disappointed' at media leaks as union questions Titanic hires
The union representing Museums Victoria workers has demanded answers about hiring processes as the institution's chief executive expressed disappointment at leaks to The Age about links between new hires and senior personnel. The Age on Monday revealed that Museums Victoria had revised its hiring policies after anti-corruption agencies investigated whistleblower allegations it skirted public sector rules when it appointed staff who had personal connections with senior executives as part of a hiring surge during the Titanic exhibition. In response, the Community and Public Sector Union wrote to Museums Victoria on Monday, demanding it explain its hiring processes, and whether staff were disadvantaged by it. The union, which is negotiating a new pay deal, also demanded to see 'the criteria or processes used to identify, assess and appoint candidates' during the Titanic exhibition held at Melbourne Museum, and asked whether any of the positions filled at this time 'were later extended or converted to ongoing roles'. The appointments were part of a recruitment drive during the blockbuster Titanic exhibition, which ran from December 2023 to April 2024 and was the museum's most popular touring show since 2016. Loading The success of the exhibition prompted senior management to extend exhibition hours and argue that existing staff were too stretched – necessitating the urgent hiring of extra visitor engagement officers and retail assistants. The roles were not publicly advertised, and no formal interviews were conducted. One former employee said retail and visitor officer jobs at the museum were highly sought after and often attracted hundreds of applications. The hiring round recruited nine people in all – eight of whom had personal connections to senior staff, including some with links to the family of chief operating officer Sean Royal, who already had two daughters working at the museum.
The Age
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
Museum boss ‘disappointed' at media leaks as union questions Titanic hires
The union representing Museums Victoria workers has demanded answers about hiring processes as the institution's chief executive expressed disappointment at leaks to The Age about links between new hires and senior personnel. The Age on Monday revealed that Museums Victoria had revised its hiring policies after anti-corruption agencies investigated whistleblower allegations it skirted public sector rules when it appointed staff who had personal connections with senior executives as part of a hiring surge during the Titanic exhibition. In response, the Community and Public Sector Union wrote to Museums Victoria on Monday, demanding it explain its hiring processes, and whether staff were disadvantaged by it. The union, which is negotiating a new pay deal, also demanded to see 'the criteria or processes used to identify, assess and appoint candidates' during the Titanic exhibition held at Melbourne Museum, and asked whether any of the positions filled at this time 'were later extended or converted to ongoing roles'. The appointments were part of a recruitment drive during the blockbuster Titanic exhibition, which ran from December 2023 to April 2024 and was the museum's most popular touring show since 2016. Loading The success of the exhibition prompted senior management to extend exhibition hours and argue that existing staff were too stretched – necessitating the urgent hiring of extra visitor engagement officers and retail assistants. The roles were not publicly advertised, and no formal interviews were conducted. One former employee said retail and visitor officer jobs at the museum were highly sought after and often attracted hundreds of applications. The hiring round recruited nine people in all – eight of whom had personal connections to senior staff, including some with links to the family of chief operating officer Sean Royal, who already had two daughters working at the museum.
The Age
a day ago
- Business
- The Age
No job ads, no interviews: Museum's Titanic hiring spree triggers overhaul
Baragwanath found concerns around the hiring spree were legitimate, and came to an agreement with the museum that its internal policies be changed as a result of the complaints. While no disciplinary action was taken against staff, the ombudsman was satisfied that similar conduct was unlikely to be repeated after the policies were brought into line with public sector guidelines. In correspondence seen by The Age, Baragwanath wrote that Museums Victoria had, as a result of reports to her office, 'revised its recruitment and employment policy, and recruitment and selection procedure, to include steps to address conflicts in recruitment, conflict-mitigation strategies and record conflicts in a central register'. The museum in its response to the ombudsman, also obtained by The Age, agreed that, in hiring casuals for urgent staffing needs, 'some candidates had close associations with existing Museums Victoria staff, and disclosed this to the chief operating officer before the appointments were finalised'. The museum also admitted that its 'rapid response' hiring 'had risks ... and should have been managed by offering fixed-term roles'. Future hiring, the museum told the ombudsman, would be done differently. In other correspondence seen by The Age, a senior investigator for the ombudsman noted the museum had agreed to review recruitment policies 'to ensure they align with the Victorian Public Sector Commission's employment principles and standards, especially with regard to conflicts of interest'. The investigator also said museum staff involved in hiring must now undergo mandatory recruitment training, and that the museum had engaged an external agency to conduct a cultural review. Some museum workers, though, say one change Museums Victoria has made since the ombudsman's investigation – a conflict-of-interest policy introduced this month – is more lenient on public servants within the institution than the policy that had preceded it. The new policy specifically notes that 'in some [conflict-of-interest] instances, no action will be taken'. Asked if the hiring practices during the Titanic exhibition met public sector standards, a Museums Victoria spokeswoman declined to comment on individual staff but said the institution 'is committed to the highest standards of integrity' and had 'full confidence in our people'. She did not directly respond to questions about whether the 'talent bank' remained in use, saying only that the system was consistent with public service policies, and that its wider processes were in line with Victorian Public Sector Employment principles and standards. An email from Royal, obtained by The Age, urged staff to refer friends, family and volunteers to the talent bank with an eye to future recruitment and suggested staff then refer their contacts 'directly' to a specific museum email address. But a subsequent email exchange provided to The Age shows an applicant inquiring, to the specific email address circulated by management, about a visitor engagement officer position during the Titanic exhibition. The museum's People and Culture division responds to the applicant that 'our job opportunities are listed on the Museums Victoria website', with no reference to a 'talent bank'. Ultimately, the ombudsman halted its scrutiny of Museums Victoria after deciding it had 'taken sufficient action' to prevent 'further investigative action by our office'. The Museums Victoria spokeswoman declined to comment on specific hiring decisions during the Titanic show, but confirmed that 'additional visitor engagement staff were employed after the exhibition had opened to ensure a positive visitor experience'. She said the institution could not comment on confidential or personal information, or ombudsman investigations. The claims have come to light as the museum shrinks its visitor engagement officer workforce – a move that has enraged these staff, prompting a public protest this month, in front of the museum on the VIP opening night of a Lego Star Wars exhibition. The museum's proposed restructure would see many visitor engagement officer roles made redundant and tasks such as overseeing gallery spaces and assisting visitors taken over by security guards. The changes would affect staff at Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. Loading 'They're killing off their greatest asset in cutting visitor engagement services,' said Karen Batt, state secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, which represents museum staff. 'No great museum the world over would do this. There's another motive at play here.' Batt argued the plan would diminish the visitor experience by displacing museum-employed staff and pave the way for an expanded role for MSS Security, the private contractor already providing security across the museum's three sites. A Museums Victoria spokeswoman said consultation with staff about the changes was ongoing.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
No job ads, no interviews: Museum's Titanic hiring spree triggers overhaul
Baragwanath found concerns around the hiring spree were legitimate, and came to an agreement with the museum that its internal policies be changed as a result of the complaints. While no disciplinary action was taken against staff, the ombudsman was satisfied that similar conduct was unlikely to be repeated after the policies were brought into line with public sector guidelines. In correspondence seen by The Age, Baragwanath wrote that Museums Victoria had, as a result of reports to her office, 'revised its recruitment and employment policy, and recruitment and selection procedure, to include steps to address conflicts in recruitment, conflict-mitigation strategies and record conflicts in a central register'. The museum in its response to the ombudsman, also obtained by The Age, agreed that, in hiring casuals for urgent staffing needs, 'some candidates had close associations with existing Museums Victoria staff, and disclosed this to the chief operating officer before the appointments were finalised'. The museum also admitted that its 'rapid response' hiring 'had risks ... and should have been managed by offering fixed-term roles'. Future hiring, the museum told the ombudsman, would be done differently. In other correspondence seen by The Age, a senior investigator for the ombudsman noted the museum had agreed to review recruitment policies 'to ensure they align with the Victorian Public Sector Commission's employment principles and standards, especially with regard to conflicts of interest'. The investigator also said museum staff involved in hiring must now undergo mandatory recruitment training, and that the museum had engaged an external agency to conduct a cultural review. Some museum workers, though, say one change Museums Victoria has made since the ombudsman's investigation – a conflict-of-interest policy introduced this month – is more lenient on public servants within the institution than the policy that had preceded it. The new policy specifically notes that 'in some [conflict-of-interest] instances, no action will be taken'. Asked if the hiring practices during the Titanic exhibition met public sector standards, a Museums Victoria spokeswoman declined to comment on individual staff but said the institution 'is committed to the highest standards of integrity' and had 'full confidence in our people'. She did not directly respond to questions about whether the 'talent bank' remained in use, saying only that the system was consistent with public service policies, and that its wider processes were in line with Victorian Public Sector Employment principles and standards. An email from Royal, obtained by The Age, urged staff to refer friends, family and volunteers to the talent bank with an eye to future recruitment and suggested staff then refer their contacts 'directly' to a specific museum email address. But a subsequent email exchange provided to The Age shows an applicant inquiring, to the specific email address circulated by management, about a visitor engagement officer position during the Titanic exhibition. The museum's People and Culture division responds to the applicant that 'our job opportunities are listed on the Museums Victoria website', with no reference to a 'talent bank'. Ultimately, the ombudsman halted its scrutiny of Museums Victoria after deciding it had 'taken sufficient action' to prevent 'further investigative action by our office'. The Museums Victoria spokeswoman declined to comment on specific hiring decisions during the Titanic show, but confirmed that 'additional visitor engagement staff were employed after the exhibition had opened to ensure a positive visitor experience'. She said the institution could not comment on confidential or personal information, or ombudsman investigations. The claims have come to light as the museum shrinks its visitor engagement officer workforce – a move that has enraged these staff, prompting a public protest this month, in front of the museum on the VIP opening night of a Lego Star Wars exhibition. The museum's proposed restructure would see many visitor engagement officer roles made redundant and tasks such as overseeing gallery spaces and assisting visitors taken over by security guards. The changes would affect staff at Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. Loading 'They're killing off their greatest asset in cutting visitor engagement services,' said Karen Batt, state secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, which represents museum staff. 'No great museum the world over would do this. There's another motive at play here.' Batt argued the plan would diminish the visitor experience by displacing museum-employed staff and pave the way for an expanded role for MSS Security, the private contractor already providing security across the museum's three sites. A Museums Victoria spokeswoman said consultation with staff about the changes was ongoing.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
A drawer full of heads and 30 million bricks: inside the secret warehouse where Lego masterpieces are built
Sitting at tables around the warehouse or standing around models are the Lego builders painstakingly placing bricks, after consulting computer models that show the 'rough shape' of where the bricks go. One group of six are working side by side on a giant model of a beanie, which they are creating for a motor neurone disease charity event. Another Lego builder is working on a model of a dinosaur destined for a Lego store in New Delhi in India. No photographs are allowed that include any of the Lego builds under construction because of strict confidentiality agreements. Overhead cameras film each Lego build on time-lapse, with the footage to be released once the build is finished, and small exhaust pipes hang from each work station to extract the fumes from all the glue. While building Lego might be literally child's play, McNaught and his team take it very seriously. 'Everybody knows how to put two Lego bricks together, that's an easy thing to do,' he says. 'We teach a certain method and style of Lego building.' McNaught says Lego is not designed to be made into giant structures, so there is a lot of skill and technique in the 'artistry of Lego' which needs to be taught. He uses a method called 'north, south, east, west', which means that you alternate direction when building layers of bricks, which helps with strength and stability. 'There's also a technique we use called SNOT, which stands for studs not on top. We turn bricks in different directions, which give us shearing strength,' he says. 'There's a whole heap of things like that. On average, it takes a person about two years before they're proficient in those techniques. Call it an apprenticeship, if you will.' The Lego builders work at adjustable tables to protect their backs, and McNaught says the main occupational hazard is calluses from the hard plastic blocks. 'We have really good calluses on our fingers,' he says. 'If you look at anyone who's a builder, you can see exactly whether they're left-handed or right-handed or both-handed, because of the calluses.' McNaught is one of only 21 certified Lego professionals in the world, which gives him permission to use the Lego brand and to contract to Lego. But this title does not give McNaught any discount on the crates of Lego he purchases. 'We wish,' he laughs. 'We pay a fortune for Lego. We're the No.2 or 3 consumer of Lego in the world.' Loading McNaught estimates he has 30 million Lego bricks in his warehouse, with the Star Wars Lego exhibition alone using more than 8 million bricks and taking McNaught and his team more than 25,000 hours to build. The exhibition opened on Star Wars Day, May 4, and runs until the end of January; 35,627 tickets have already been sold. Tim Rolfe, director of exhibitions and experiences at Museums Victoria, said the exhibition was on track to be a bestseller.
