Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Open Letter to the South Australian Premier Mike Rann


Dear Mister Premier and dear Mister Deputy Premier.

Mr Rann. Since the article in the weekend press concerning Kevin Foley and his personal troubles, you have gone to extraordinary lengths to attack and to criticise those who have displayed skepticism or simple incredulity about Kevin’s revelations.

Personally, and I am a very caring person, I could not give a rat’s ass about your moans & groans in this respect. Though, and if fair dinkum, I do feel for Kevin….been there, done that!

And this is why I do not give a rat's.

For years I suffered workplace bullying and victimisation within your public service, especially when I turned whistleblower and made allegations about corruption, bullying, and sexual misconduct within your Justice portfolio.

I wrote to you in 2004. I wrote to the Attorney-General in 2004. In fact, the list is short of those I did not write to.

I lost years of my life climbing the slippery ladders of your various investigatory bodies.

Ultimately, we wound up in court, where your Crown Law officers attempted to rip me to shreds, denial and defend at any cost. But eventually I took great delight in seeing and giving evidence to this year’s Parliamentary Inquiry into the Office of the Public Trustee.
Then it was great to hear that the 2-year-long investigation found one of the bad guys GUILTY. Vindication for my years of struggle, woe, and sacrifice. But then, he gets a sweetheart early retirement package........bloody criminal act!

During all those years I, not unlike many others, suffered terribly.

But where the hell where you? Where the hell was Atkinson? I wrote to you all. I pleaded for help. But.…nothing! You were my bloody boss and Big Kahuna of this state. YOU had a responsibilty to ensure I had a safe work environment.

Then, you turned your attentions to Workcover and slashed payments to injured workers, workers who sustained injury, particularly in YOUR workplace through no fault of their own.

And now you seek understanding of Kevin Foley’s problematic personal affairs and health? And more spectacularly, you are incredibly annoyed at the public probe into the backwash of you getting belted around the gob with a rolled-up magazine by a distraught ex-husband?

And then, to whack the ice on the cake, this morning on ABC891 you declared that it is not proper to comment on issues that are before the Court when asked about the alleged assault on you at the Wine Centre.

You know as well as I do that a simple Google will locate press articles that prove this statement to be somewhat questionable.

For my family and me you let us down, big time.

I have not worked since your people ‘forced’ me out by stealth 13 months ago. I am still crook, but why would you give a stuff.

And I notice that the bad guys are still gainfully employed within your public service and the only dead bodies I have encountered along the way were Whistleblowers.

You know, many months ago I made a promise that this wronged little Irish terrier will be snapping at your heels all the way through to the March 2010 election. Why? Because I want my piece of flesh mate! Your doing, not mine!! In this respect, your past has caught up with you.

5 comments:

MediaMikeRann said...

I just crapped myself in my pants, ever so slightly, as I was reading that!
Ummm... Is it too late to say...No hard feelings?

Anonymous said...

This is exactly on the money. This is exactly as it is in the South Australian public Service STILL. And Timid little managers still tippy toe around their BULLY colleagues for fear of waking the feared tigers who prowl around their workplaces looking for the next victim they want to play with and BULLY.
And all I see is CEOs who also tippy toe around the bully and make the victim try to prove they are being bullied. While the CEO continues to accept all the crap that the bully advances as reasons to justify their BULLYING behavior that continues.
The South Australian public service continues to DENY they BULLY.
And they continue to try to take apart each allegation molecule by molecule. Missing the whole point. Because BULLYING is a continual series of petty nasty pathetic acts designed to hurt the victim.
Pick any of the following and work out which ones you would call bullying. Then try enduring them every day you come to work.
And do not tell me to get another job. Have you seen how hard it is Mr Premier to get another job right now? Here is just a small sample (first hand) of what I call bullying in the South Australian public Service. Some of it is more than bullying, but when taken to the managers they want witnesses and evidence or else they support the BULLY.
Here is what I call bullying:
leave you off the distribution list of any notices/directives you should read
change the procedures for your job, but don't tell you
change your job and person speci (and don't tell you and don't tell the union0
Remove duties from you, but don't tell you, just allow you to see the work in that field dry up.
Spread malicious lies about you
Question your sanity - it is OK the person I was sent to (ordered to go to) pronounced me absolutely sane and said so in writing and said I had no need whatsoever for any form treatment from her and commended me on how I was dealing with the BULLY.
Stopped any mail coming to my desk, re routed it through a manager who then left the work on her desk for weeks before she gave it to me.
Withheld letters of commendation (from clients) from me - said letters only found later by the person who temporarily replaced her.
Alleged sexual assault at a meeting (trouble was the other people in that meeting said I was never rude to her and certainly never touched her at the said meeting), However she insisted I be shifted to another floor anyway. Management would not listen to the people who said i had done nothing bad what so ever and that it was her who was verbally abusing me at the meeting.
Closely supervised my work, even though she has no credentials in my area of expertise. She made suggestions that would have caused a bad outcome and would have made me look like an idiot if I had followed her suggestions.
She would call a staff meeting at short notice on a day she knew I had taken a flexi.
And at the above meeting she would comment unfavorably about me - and most people stayed silent, but two brave people told me. I suggested they lay low or she would start on them next.
Blamed me for a problem that was not caused by me and had nothing to do with me. Took me some time to prove this to management, and by then my reputation was tainted.

I could keep going - there are many more examples, but Mr Rann these are senior people who your officers appoint and who is keeping the SA public service free of bullies? No one Mr Rann. It is wicked.
Give Rob McKibbin a job of his choice in the Public Service, if he still wants to work in this minefield. You at least owe him that, and a public apology.
What do you use for backbone Mr Rann? I can't see that you have a backbone Mr Rann.

Anonymous said...

And now I hear they want to do a lot of changes to the PS. Give me strength. This will just allow bullies in charge of people to make things even worse for the people they bully. The PS staff do understand this. But do you, Mr Rann, understand that you will be assisting the bullies to score points and ruin lives if the power is vested in managers to makes these changes. It is the MANAGERS in the PS who are the problem. A more inadequate bunch of useless people you cannot imagine. Let the workers do their work and sack their managers who fuss around and BULLY their staff.

Anonymous said...

I agree with all the comments above. I have seen good people who work hard, do their jobs, know their stuff inside out. But once a bully gets stuck into them they can forget any chance of advancement. They can forget any thoughts of recognition for good work. They will be dead meat once the bully sets out to ruin their lives. It is not just Mike Rann. What about Mick Atkinson? Fix it Mr Premier and Mr Attorney General. If you let the Managers and the middle to lower middle managers fix it they will , as usual, selfishly fix the people they personally do not like. It has nothing to do with work output, knowledge, skill at what they so. Some highly motivated good employees are attacked daily by particular managers who are well known. And who are relentless in their abuse. But it's not worth doing a thing because they have all the power and the person they bully has no support, no power, no rights. The Bullies in the public service hold all the cards. And people are suffering bullying as a result. Everyone in a work group can name who the bullies are. But they will not dare because the public service bullies are so vicious and vindictive with long memories. And they do it, and enjoy doing it, because they can. Because Mr Atkinson and Mr Rann allow them to get away with bullying. Not good enough Mr Rann.

We thank you said...

Robbo. You are one funny fart! I work in the Attorney-General's Department and I am here to tell you that what you achieved combating workplace bullying was nothing short of a miracle. Many of us admire you for it, and it is a crime that you were forced to quit. I know you are doing it tough, but you stood up to the bastards and gave it to them. If I could give you a job, I would. All the best mate. We need more like you.