Officewide revolt at Sydney Water as damning letter details pay crisis behind closed doors: Software debacle sparks suicide threats as four key execs are named
Staff at Sydney Water, the government-owned utility serving Sydney, have accused senior executives of mishandling a botched payroll software rollout that has left workers underpaid or unpaid for two months, prompting a union to demand the executives be stood down without pay. The Australian Services Union says the disruption has forced low-paid staff to choose between rent and childcare, and has reported several threatened suicide attempts and instances of self-harm linked to the crisis, underscoring the severe human cost of the IT failure.
The problems stem from Sydney Water's roll-out of the Dayforce workforce management system on 1 July, part of a nearly $40million transformation project delivered with consultancy Deloitte, replacing a 40-year-old payroll system across the utility's 4,885 staff. All four pay cycles since launch have been bungled, sparking four separate legal actions and a planned protected industrial action ballot, while a union letter names managing director Darren Cleary, chairperson Niall Blair, and two other executives, alleging warnings about the software were dismissed as "fearmongering" and that some managers sought to "deny and disguise" the truth; NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson said she was "incredibly disappointed" with the utility.
- Sydney Water's new Dayforce payroll system has underpaid staff for two months.
- Union demands executives be stood down without pay amid the crisis.
- Reports of threatened suicides; legal action and strike ballot under way.
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Sydney Water is the government-owned utility that supplies water and wastewater services across Sydney. It employs nearly 4,900 people, whose wages are processed through a payroll system that records hours, leave and pay.
In July, the utility replaced its decades-old payroll system with Dayforce, as part of a wider technology project involving consultancy Deloitte. Payroll problems can leave staff without the money they rely on for rent, childcare and other costs, and can lead to disputes between workers, unions and employers.
The Australian Services Union represents many Sydney Water staff and has raised concerns about the rollout with the utility. The utility’s leaders are responsible for overseeing its operations, while the NSW government owns Sydney Water and the state’s water minister speaks for the government on its performance.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The union’s account, if substantiated, suggests a serious failure of leadership and accountability: repeated payroll errors have left workers without money they rely on, despite warnings that may have allowed the rollout’s risks to be addressed sooner. Standing the named executives down could signal that public utilities must answer promptly when major projects cause substantial harm to staff.
The case against
A payroll system replacement affecting nearly 5,000 staff is a complex undertaking, and responsibility for the failures may be shared across executives, project teams, contractors and implementation decisions made over time. Before imposing unpaid stand-downs on individuals, a fair process should establish who knew what, when they knew it and what they could reasonably have done; immediate scrutiny and worker support need not prejudge that inquiry.