The news about the suspended/dismissed staff members has been a real shock to many at FRO, notwithstanding the selfish talks from management and its allies within the staff that these members violated the OPS policies and deserve to be disciplined.
We have attempted to reach some of the affected members to see what the real allegations were and to also check on how they are doing, but we were unsuccessful.
By way of this posting, we wish them all good luck.
We have discussed the issue with other colleagues, including some Union reps. Many still don’t understand how these members have been singled out.
Here are the minutes of our discussions at FRO:
So far, the unconfirmed number of affected members is 8 (6 from the 4th floor, 1 from the 6th and 1 from the 7th.)
The unconfirmed allegations range from missing money from clients accounts to running business from the workplace (Conflict of Interest).
We don’t know how all this is investigated and who decides at FRO when it comes to discipline, but according to many we spoke with, it is Nancy Liston. When she calls for meetings to announce dismissal or suspension of staff, she does not act as FRO mouthpiece, she is actually the one who decides.
Everyone wants fairness in dealing with policy breaches. It is unacceptable that others have always violated the government policy and get away with it. We discussed some sickening examples:
ROBERT ROTONDO is a well known full time REMAX Real Estate agent. For years, he has used the government property and equipment to make money, and maybe a lot of money, on top of his “well deserved” government paycheques.
Why isn’t he investigated and disciplined?
ROBERT ROTONDO hired his friend Sonia and other female buddies. Later the same year, when he was appointed by his friend Nancy Liston to lead the ESO competition, he promoted the same Sonia form Rep to Officer. This is abuse of government trust and budget.
Why isn’t he investigated and disciplined?
ROBERT ROTONDO intervened to promote his other friend GRETA from legal secretary to ESR position a few months ago. Staff at the legal dept was sickened by this. We had confirmation of this from 3 members.
A few weeks before she retired, the DM finally decided to confirm wrongdoings in the competition process at FRO.
Why isn’t he investigated and disciplined?
OTHER SERVICE MANAGERS, including JOSEPHINE, SYLVIA and others conduct personal business from their offices. They spend most of their times using the Office equipment to surf and chat with friends and families while kids and families are starving.
Why aren’t they investigated and disciplined?
MANAGERS’ FRIENDS are allowed time off the phone, vacations, sick days and extended breaks, all off record (YES, ALL OFF RECORD).
Why aren’t these practices investigated?
SOME STAFF MEMBERS are officially registered with other companies as reps, agents or professionals. Others run their own companies from wok. Their managers are well aware of this and have benefit from these services.
Why aren’t they investigated and disciplined?
FRO MANAGEMENT is the root of all the above shit because it allows it to happen. As such, FRO MANAGEMENT should be the first to be dismissed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am afraid Nancy would never investigate these allegations. This could shed lights on other violations and you know what?....She would end up with an endless string of Office abuse! Where is she gonna get the time and resources to address all this?
ReplyDeleteWhoever knew about all this, whether Nancy or others and never did anything to stop it, must be implicated as well.
ReplyDeleteDirectors and managers usually have their favorite staff that they protect and who knows for what reason? I suspect there are bigger deals at FRO than the stupid free coffee in the morning which someone once spoke about. I mean you cannot continue to hire your friends despite complaints without having some sort of protection from senior management! You cannot knowingly commit whatever other infraction without the same protection. And I’ll tell what…you cannot have senior management protection for free.
I spend 8 hours a day at FRO and there is so much talk around, within my team, in other floors and during smokes breaks. A lot of this talk is also nonsense but the volume shows concerns. Some are amazed, some scared, others all they want is to get a different job and leave. This is not a workplace anymore!
Yes FRO management has allowed this to happen. I mean management is by definition responsible for what happens in any office. But see in our case and despite the tense atmosphere that followed the suspension and dismissal of some staff, FRO management did not do anything to clarify the situation. We have the right to know for Christ sake! We don’t even know what the issue is. We don’t know who’s been investigated and who’s not. Everything is unconfirmed and unofficial. Missing money, private business!!! We cannot just sit here and wait for Nancy to call another team and announces some discipline action has been taken against X for unknown reasons. A friend of mine said the recent discipline actions maybe ways to cover something really big that’s happening at FRO. We work in this place and we have the right to know. I feel we’re like hostages here. Why doesn’t the ADM hold a town hall and answer our questions.
Is Robert Rotondo the only manager at FRO? Some managers have never been mentioned in this blog. How come?
ReplyDeleteNancy may have all the instruments she needs for a fair investigation if that’s what she really wants. An external team of auditors must be hired to go through staff records including managers’ without discrimination. Investigations handled by any FRO manager or Director will be just as unfair and subjective as job competitions.
ReplyDeleteNobody will be let go in government because one single person wakes up with the desire of cleaning up the office. It is unfortunate what has happened to these folks, not only for them but also their families. However, there should be strong reasons behind all this and as opposed to what was stated in a previous post; we have no right to know as we do have confidentiality rights. The disciplinary actions have been enforced even in management level, so we all are vulnerable if we have done something we shouldn’t have.
ReplyDeleteYou spend 8 hours a day at FRO. So do your phone shift, your user log and go home! You may also wanna take some vacation until it’s all over. You sound very tired my friend.
ReplyDeleteThe disciplinary actions have been enforced even in management level???!!!! Hard to believe! FRO is one of the lowest Offices in terms of credibility, service and ethics and that’s because of its management. I can easily say that probably 95% of staff dislikes their managers or are uncomfortable to work with them. Some 99% wants to get a different job. I myself would get the hell out of this place if I get a job offer somewhere else. My manager is a real bitch. My team is happy when she’s away. We work better and are more productive. I agree with all the posts in this blog regarding managers’ violations of the OPS policy. I was once in Robert’s team. I know the guy. I saw him printing out non FRO related documents. I saw also other managers do the same but I think they must have some connection at the IT department, someone who keeps their records clean. So rub your eyes my friend and see who’s vulnerable.
ReplyDeletedo you really think nancy does the investigation herself and decides who’s gotta go all alone? She is only the director of one single branch @ FRO not the prime minister of canada!
ReplyDeleteTo Anonym July 11,
ReplyDeleteRobert Rotondo is not the only manager at FRO and let me tell you this: This blog has nothing personal against Robert or any manager. We are not focused on managers, rather on issues that affect agents in the workplace. These issues are mostly created by the selfish management we happen to have. Yet, we also post comments which praise managers regardless whether we agree with them or not.
Comments about Robert are posted as they’re received and just so you know, we have rejected quite a few because we believed they were personal attacks against him and we want this blog to remain a platform for constructive debates, not a combat zone.
We have received complaints and comments from anonymous staff in teams close to Robert’s and we believe they know better what’s going on up there than any moderator. It’s not our job to investigate comments but what we heard and received about Robert is criticism that makes sense.
“MINUTES” reflects the exact words that staff had used (and still do) during discussions on the recent aggressive discipline actions at FRO. It reflects the real mood in our work place. FRO staff have the right to question if Robert a FRO manager or a Real Estate agent and why he should enjoy immunity while others are singled out and aggressively disciplined.
The disciplined staff are all under Nancy dept. So Nancy must be the one who decides. Anyways, glad she’s not the PM of Canada. Look at the mess at FRO and how she’s handling it. I agree with previous post that this is a show to cover the big fish. The question remains why she’s not investigating other managers and staff, because if this is all about Conflict of Interest, then we sure have so many involved at FRO.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, I can’t believe that in the office some staff celebrate and talk nasty about the guys who’ve been disciplined. This is wickedness and lack of respect.
I am still wondering where the hell is OPSEU and if the local president many of us voted for is aware of this at all. Maybe someone needs to brief her if she’s not or call her if she’s on vacation. Our colleagues have always paid dues so they deserve to be properly represented. If the president cannot do her job and speak up for our colleagues who need help, then someone else with better experience, a strong sense of solidarity and guts, preferably from FRO, should take over immediately.
ReplyDeleteOPSEU should not sit and watch its members being disciplined by this management that only acts to cover its mistakes and wrongdoings and it does so by punishing its staff.
Last year, a member was dismissed. Nothing happened and now she’s gone! They said that she was responsible for huge amounts of money that was stolen from clients’ accounts. What a joke! If the allegation was true, then my question is how the heck can money be missing without management knowledge or even involvement? This is to me a set up. When a manager complains about an agent, the Director lets the agent go and none of us has the right to ask questions because of “Confidentiality”. BS! This autocratic way must be addressed by OPSEU, the government and the public. It’s only by cleaning up the management that FRO program will have credibility and the public will be served properly.
Those at FRO who make unnecessary comments about any disciplined staff must stop. You could be next in line, you never know. So if you can’t show solidarity, then at least shut up!
ReplyDeleteIsn’t ironic that after ruining managers and stuff reputation and posting full names on this blog, it is demanded not to comment about disciplined staff???? Solidarity? Privacy? Ha! You gotta be kiddin’! why now and not before?
ReplyDeleteWhy is everybody surprised for the suspensions? Didn’t everybody want an investigation? We are getting what we asked for.
Some of these folks that were suspended were not really angels and some others were involved in dirty mud for being naive and trusting the wrong person.
There are no set-ups here to fire anybody, that happens in movies a lot but in real life it won’t happen at fro level. Suspension in government is a long process and a large number of people are involved, INCLUDING THE UNION. So if these people are gone is for a reason and everybody can be next depending on what the investigation is all about. Stuff like checking e-mails, sending jokes, etc are not supposed to be done at work but everybody does it, so the office would be empty by now if that was the target of the investigation. Bigger things are happening and people are getting punished for that.
I only work for the paycheck. I go, I do my thing, I go home to my real life that is what really matters
Breaches of OPS policies by managers have been time and again stated in this blog. It’s about time to understand that you’re beating a dead horse. The Director probably knew about these violations before this blog was created but she has her own puppies to protect. So let’s close this chapter and talk about something else.
ReplyDeleteThe only manager who’s been disciplined belongs to a different kind… if you see what I mean!
I only work for my paycheque!! I go, I do my thing, I go home to my real life….
ReplyDeleteListen to the real angel!
Rub your eyes so you can see well. FRO is the real place for set ups, corruption and incompetence. I think most of us want investigations but we want fair investigations that will include those who have ruined the Office reputation, those who hire their friends and relatives with the support of senior management. We want investigations that include Directors who hire incompetent managers and those who run private businesses from the government desks. I have applied 3 times for the same job, I have always had excellent interviews. Did I get the job? No, of course not, because the idiots who interviewed me had already a list of successful candidates before even the competitions started.
The former DM, Lucille, the one who sent a memo saying that she was looking forward to traveling and taking care of her family, never did anything to stop corruption at FRO. I missed 3 opportunities to get a job because she never did anything to ensure fair practices at FRO. Yes, taking care of her family... It’s all about families and relatives in this ministry. She confirmed with her ADM that they were breaches in competitions but she did nothing. Why should she anyways? She was retiring in few weeks. What a legacy!
No my dear angel, FRO and the whole MCSS is a joke. I hope another government will take care of this because with this leadership, we’re going nowhere.
Leave the Union alone. The Union is the only body that protects us from management evil, but it cannot go beyond the limits set by the law. I’m sure its Executive is doing the best they can and we need to support them. Our support will make them strong and when they’re strong, we can face better management abuse. By the way, I believe the current Local President is the leader we need. I hope she can arrange for some town hall meeting to address the current issue of discipline.
ReplyDeleteLucille, the ADM and the whole bunch of idiots at FRO are paid to care about Ontario families first, not theirs.
ReplyDeleteFRO management should be on the guiness book of world records for breaches, unfair competitions, human rights violations, you name it. Majority of OPS grievances are from FRO. What ever happened to the $40m and computers that went missing under management watch? There is at least one manager getting all expenses paid for and a care from tax payers money? Something fishy or what. I hope the union president call for townhall meeting soon.
ReplyDeleteHello Union president. Are you there?
ReplyDeleteSome complaints about rejected comments:
ReplyDeleteWe only reject comments which include confidential info about clients or when they’re too aggressive.
It’s possible that some of your comments may not have been submitted properly. Please make sure you get the confirmation after you submit.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Please resubmit.
In August 2008, an email was sent to all staff about how we celebrate ourselves at FRO. The first part of it says:
ReplyDeleteX is more than just a manager in the Client Services Branch. He is the co-chair of the FRO Fundraising Committee, the main liaison for the United Way Campaign, and the FRO representative on the MCSS Organizational Engagement Committee. His generous spirit and enthusiasm make him the perfect candidate for these roles. Always in great spirits you can be sure to be greeted with a smile and hearty laugh. His staff consider him a great mentor and supporter. They feel that he embodies what FRO represents:
F- Family oriented and friendly.
X is loyal to the clients that FRO serves, and makes every effort to bring about the best result for them. He makes sure to say hello to staff every day and makes his presence known. He is supportive and approachable.
R – Respectful.
X promotes a caring environment and sense of belonging on the team. His sense of humour takes the edge off of the difficult days and keeps negativity at bay. His door is always open and he is always ready to listen.
O- Outstanding work ethic.
X is able to problem solve and negotiate effectively. He exercises tact, diplomacy, discretion, and make sound judgments and recommendations.
I find all the above so true about X.
FRO is so ungrateful.
Brenda, you are the Local President because most of us voted for you. Now, how may more victims of fraudulent competitions must fall and how many more get disciplined and how much more dictatorship are we gonna get from people like Nancy and other unqualified managers before you do something about it? If you can’t even call for a town hall, then what you good for?
ReplyDeleteI think we need a separate Local for FRO. We need a fresh president with guts who understand the dirty politics of the government.
What's this about a FRO manager who got a car for personal use with all expenses being paid by FRO using tax payers money???
ReplyDeleteTHE DIRECTOR IS A LIAR AND UNTRUSTWORTHY. She told union staff at a meeting in May that the suspended members was due to an investigation. At another meeting in June she denied what she said when she was asked about the suspension. There's evil behind her smiling face. She's so unfair. SHE'S VIOLATED MANY HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOUR ISSUES. IT'S TIME FOR OUR UNION TO CONFRONT HER AND OTHERS WITH THESE ISSUES.
ReplyDeleteSomebody is trying to turn our attention away from the real issue by attacking our Local. This is about FRO management, NOT the Local Executive. We should remain united so we can face this management that does not want to change its perception of how work should be done.
ReplyDeleteTo help our disciplined colleagues, we should foster better communication with the Union and see what we can work together to get them back to work. I don’t think anyone of us knows exactly what the real issue regarding discipline is. What we know though, is that our FRO management has always acted in the most unethical way one can ever think of. This management is ready to set up anyone, anytime just to hide its own mistakes or to intimidate others. So, the chances that our colleagues are innocent remain very high.
I don’t think the Local Executive is just watching things streaming out without doing anything. So let’s support them. Splitting the Local is not gonna help at all.
Moderators should not post comments that cause us to divide. You’ve done quite a good job so far, but please read between the lines before you publish anything.