One of the things that can be marginally considered a bonus where I work is that one has to work jolly hard to get fired. Possibly because no-one has received a raise in at least five years (except for the 2% cost of living increase, which is a pittance) and the fact that we get paid shittily, my employer is pretty tolerant when it comes to time off for doctor's appointments, illness or just needing to leave early and come in late. The Queen of Excuses for Goofing Off is Yvette, who will leave work because she thinks she *might* be coming down with something. And when she is there, she spends a good portion of her day on the phone. Or surfing the net looking at wedding dresses.
But when it comes down to being actually dismissed, it hardly ever happens. I mean, someone once told one of the other billers that she was a "fucking cunt" to her face in front of witnesses and didn't lose their job over it. In fact, the last people to be fired from my particular branch actually embezzled from the company. Their niece still works in dispatch.
So imagine my surprize when I discovered that Sylvester lost her job yesterday afternoon. I missed it (thankfully, I'm no fan of drama and there's been plenty of that lately) due to a doctor's appointment, but the official reason given was that her performance had deteriorated. That excuse stank of dead fish to me, and Princess Anne finally said that it had something to do with some other stuff that wouldn't look good on Sylverster's record. Remember when I told you all about how she made a play for one of the male dispatchers? Well, it seems that she would go back to his desk and massage his shoulders and pat his head (?) and just generally made him uncomfortable, to the point where he complained to Jacques.
And I guess Jacques took care of it.
Sylvester should have been more discreet, and it is good to know that my employer does have some standards. But I will also say that they are double standards. There is certainly no room in the office for sexual harrassment, but there is also the ongoing spectacle of Jacques himself bowing and saying "Ah-so" virtually every time he sees me. And Mulan sits on the other side of the wall from me, so seeing or hearing him is only a matter of time. And I have received emails from Springsteen's husband that are frankly racist and would be very embarrassing should they ever be found by Mulan or some of our Islamic drivers.
But these people are in a position of authority and responsibility, and firing them--or even disciplining them, I imagine--is beyond the pale, even if people felt they could complain and be heard.
So while Sylvester really has only herself to blame, I venture to say that she shouldn't be the only one looking for a new job.
And that really sucks.
But when it comes down to being actually dismissed, it hardly ever happens. I mean, someone once told one of the other billers that she was a "fucking cunt" to her face in front of witnesses and didn't lose their job over it. In fact, the last people to be fired from my particular branch actually embezzled from the company. Their niece still works in dispatch.
So imagine my surprize when I discovered that Sylvester lost her job yesterday afternoon. I missed it (thankfully, I'm no fan of drama and there's been plenty of that lately) due to a doctor's appointment, but the official reason given was that her performance had deteriorated. That excuse stank of dead fish to me, and Princess Anne finally said that it had something to do with some other stuff that wouldn't look good on Sylverster's record. Remember when I told you all about how she made a play for one of the male dispatchers? Well, it seems that she would go back to his desk and massage his shoulders and pat his head (?) and just generally made him uncomfortable, to the point where he complained to Jacques.
And I guess Jacques took care of it.
Sylvester should have been more discreet, and it is good to know that my employer does have some standards. But I will also say that they are double standards. There is certainly no room in the office for sexual harrassment, but there is also the ongoing spectacle of Jacques himself bowing and saying "Ah-so" virtually every time he sees me. And Mulan sits on the other side of the wall from me, so seeing or hearing him is only a matter of time. And I have received emails from Springsteen's husband that are frankly racist and would be very embarrassing should they ever be found by Mulan or some of our Islamic drivers.
But these people are in a position of authority and responsibility, and firing them--or even disciplining them, I imagine--is beyond the pale, even if people felt they could complain and be heard.
So while Sylvester really has only herself to blame, I venture to say that she shouldn't be the only one looking for a new job.
And that really sucks.
1 comment:
Sad to say, the double standard always bites the people at the bottom of the feeding chain. Unless something big happens, and the media get hold of it. Then we see a Spitzer class mess, and they deserve every bit of it.
What do you think the odds are of the new RCMP commissioner actually getting to the bottom of the sexism complaints? A decimal number, you say? You optimist, you.
the word verification is patin. Thought you'd want to know.
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