Antoinette Lattouf has taken a swipe at the ABC after the broadcaster called on Aussies to come forward if their boss had policed their political expression.
The national broadcaster shared a message on its Instagram story on Saturday asking Australians to come forward confidentially with their experiences.
“Has your boss tried to control your political speech – at work or out of hours,” the ABC wrote.
‘We’d like to hear from you (confidentially) about a story we’re working on.’
Lattouf shared a screenshot of the story with the caption: “Ummm… **cough nervously**.”
It comes after Lattouf was dumped by the broadcaster over her coverage of the Gaza war, just three days into her week-long stint as a substitute on Radio Sydney’s morning show.
The 40-year-old was suspended on December 20, within minutes of her Wednesday show ending, after she reposted a Human Rights Watch video about the use of famine as a tool of war in Gaza.
The former fill-in radio presenter launched legal action against the ABC at the Fair Work Commission, claiming the decision was political based on her position on Palestine and her Lebanese heritage.
Antoinette Lattouf has taken a swipe at the ABC after the broadcaster called on Aussies to come forward if their boss had policed their political expression
The national broadcaster shared a message on its Instagram story on Saturday asking Australians to come forward confidentially with their experiences
Lattouf’s legal team has argued that the ABC breached disciplinary policies in the enterprise agreement by firing the journalist.
The ABC claimed she breached the organisation’s social media policy around impartiality and that she was not actually dismissed because she was paid for the full week.
The Fair Work Commission ruled in June that Lattouf had indeed been dismissed by the national broadcaster, with the case set to go to federal court next year.
The ABC has since rejected Lattouf’s settlement request, which includes a public apology, reinstatement as a fill-in radio host and $85,000.
The national broadcaster has defended itself against the unfair dismissal claim and is said to have made a secret counter offer.
In August, ABC’s national trade union committee said the broadcaster’s staff was disappointed that management had rejected Lattouf’s settlement offer.
The union members claimed the offer was “modest” and called on chairman Kim Williams and the board to intervene if ABC management pursued the matter.
“Arguing that Ms. Lattouf was not fired, and then rejecting a modest settlement offer, does not strike us as model litigious conduct,” the House committee told The Age.
The Fair Work Commission ruled in June that Lattouf had indeed been dismissed by the national broadcaster, with the case due to be taken to federal court next year (photo: Lattouf with lawyers in January)
The committee argued that continuing the defense “would risk increasing costs, which will reduce operational and personnel budgets.”
Members, ahead of the February 27 Federal Court hearing, urged the ABC to settle for the former radio fill-in “rather than continue to incur these costs and fight a staff member who has done nothing wrong’.
ABC’s House Committee also blasted management for failing to disclose legal fees and hiring major U.S. law firm Seyfarth Shaw to handle the dispute.
The ABC’s total legal costs in the case against Lattouf are still unknown, despite director David Anderson raising questions in advance during Senate estimates in May.
It is understood the government is processing the query regarding ABC’s legal expenses to date and will provide a response as soon as it is available.