Former Cricket Australia employee claims she was sacked after posting tweets about abortion reform

Angela Williamson, (pictured) a former Cricket Australia employee has claimed she was fired over a series of tweets campaigning for abortion reform

A former Cricket Australia employee has claimed she was fired over a series of tweets campaigning for abortion reform.

Angela Williamson claims she was terminated from her position as public policy and government relations manager in June over concerns she had insulted the Tasmanian government.

The ensuing legal battle includes further claims that a senior member of the Tasmanian government revealed the woman’s own pregnancy termination to Cricket Tasmania.

After the state’s sole abortion provider closed in February, Ms Williamson was forced to travel to Melbourne for a pregnancy termination.

The 39-year-old mother-of-three felt compelled to share her story over social media to fight for reproductive health and the rights of Tasmanian women to have access to abortion. 

The mother-of-three claims she was terminated from her position as public policy and government relations manager over concerns she had insulted the Tasmanian government (Pictured: Tasmania Tigers players)

The mother-of-three claims she was terminated from her position as public policy and government relations manager over concerns she had insulted the Tasmanian government (Pictured: Tasmania Tigers players)

In January, she took to Twitter declaring the situation of obtaining an abortion in Tasmania as a ‘disgrace’ and criticised the Tasmanian Parliament’s rejection to re-establish services by providing abortions in public hospitals as ‘most irresponsible … gutless and reckless’.

‘For speaking up, I lost my job with Cricket Australia,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald. 

‘I was told the tweet had damaged my relationship with government.

‘I was in shock trying to understand the situation I’d found myself in, and how publicly expressing my political opinion in a tweet had led to this situation at work. I’m still in shock.’

Ms Williamson said she didn’t deserve to lose her job for attempting to bring about change in a state where the system in place for legal abortions was ‘broken’. 

Cricket Tasmania reportedly contacted the Tasmanian government last month to apologise for the tweets when a senior member of government allegedly disclosed Ms Williamson’s pregnancy termination to her employer.

Demonstrators against safe buffer-zones around NSW abortion clinics outside the NSW State Parliament building in Sydney, Thursday, May 24, 2018

Demonstrators against safe buffer-zones around NSW abortion clinics outside the NSW State Parliament building in Sydney, Thursday, May 24, 2018

'Cricket Australia respects an individual's right to their opinion. However, it expects that employees will refrain from making offensive comments that contravene the organisation's policies,' a spokesman said

‘Cricket Australia respects an individual’s right to their opinion. However, it expects that employees will refrain from making offensive comments that contravene the organisation’s policies,’ a spokesman said

In a statement, the Tasmanian government declined to comment on the allegation, saying it was a matter for Cricket Tasmania and denied disclosing the woman’s private information.   

In her June 29 termination letter, Cricket Australia said they no longer had confidence in her ability to work as a government relations manager.

‘Cricket Australia respects an individual’s right to their opinion. However, it expects that employees will refrain from making offensive comments that contravene the organisation’s policies,’ a spokesman said. 

A legal claim has been lodged with Fair Work Australia and Ms Williamson has engaged employment law firm Maurice Blackburn.

Personal views Ms Williamson had about reproductive health services ‘have nothing to do with Cricket Australia or Cricket Tasmania, they have nothing to do with the work that she was performing’ Kamahl Faroque of Maurice Blackburn said.  

Mr Faroque said political opinion was a protected attribute under the Fair Work Act. 

 

 



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