Meiner was punished for being a whistleblower – NRK Vestland

A former nutrition advisor at Voss herad has sued the municipality in the Bergen District Court.

The background: a report on whether to build a kitchen in a municipal hospital.

She believes she has been subjected to “mass expulsion and retaliation” after submitting a technical report for political consideration.

Depending on the mood, she should have been notified of several gongs.

– She has been on sick leave for several periods as a result of the treatment she has been subjected to after these critical statements, says lawyer Birthe Eriksen.

Voss herad denies the debts and believes it is a personal matter and not a notification case.

Asked to change professional opinion

It started with the woman in the spring of 2018 being named in the municipality of Voss. The job consisted of delivering a professional estimate of the costs associated with the construction and operation of municipal kitchens in hospitals.

The following year, the consultant presented a report stating that building a kitchen would be very expensive.

Then the problems began, depending on the mood. The report was presented to a group of elected representatives in the municipality. They should not have liked her conclusions, and after this she should have come under pressure from her own bosses to change the content of the report.

The counselor refused to change the professional recordings and dealt with what she perceived as reprehensible issues with tenants and shop stewards in various parts of the administration. Because he felt this did not work, he finally took the matter up in the municipality’s control committee.

– She thinks it is perfectly fine if politicians have a different attitude than her recommendation, but it is detrimental to integrity if she is forced to comply and answer for an outcome that she believes is not justifiable, says Eriksen.

Notice of abuse of power

The woman believes she has been notified of several conditions, depending on her mood:

“Abuse of power, violation of Local Government Law § 13-1, violation of various provisions of the Work Environment Law, violation of Voss herad ethical guidelines and of the basic principle of the herad management model / violation of duty of employer activity upon receipt of notifications. “

Following the warning, he is said to have encountered a “pattern of negative treatment, ignorance, rejection, punishment and ultimately expulsion,” depending on the mood. This must also have persisted when she was reported ill.

Additionally, their job duties changed.

The adviser believes that politicians interfere too much with what the administration delivers when preparing reports.

– When you try to convey the consequences of politicians playing the administration, they ignore it, etc. It is very serious that they are not able to hide the roles between them, says Eriksen.

He experienced it as a “war zone”

The plaintiff “experienced her workplace as a ‘war zone’ from which she had to escape,” the attorney writes in the mood. The case is also said to have gone beyond the woman’s colleagues.

Today, the counselor has money for work settlement and has moved closer to Bergen to live with his parents, manage financially after the loss of income, and be able to fund the lawsuit.

– The case is incredibly sad for the complainants, for the entire municipality and the inhabitants, that it is not possible to have an open dialogue on difficult and critical issues that the legislature intended to be possible, says Eriksen.

You will discover the «culture of fear»

The lawyer in my case shows that there is a “culture of fear” in Voss herad.

– What we have witnessed is deafening passivity. It appears to be a culture with little openness and great fear of making critical statements, says Eriksen.

– What evidence do you have that there is a culture of fear in Voss herad?

– This is something we must return to. We have witnesses in the case. 10-15 people at Voss have contacted me and expressed lightness and joy that someone is finally trying to control the pain that many experience at Voss, says Eriksen.

Now take the case to court because they have no dialogue with the other party.

– There is no indication that they want to clear up the case and take responsibility for an employee who is ill for the whole situation, says Eriksen.

The municipality rejects all debt

Voss herad rejects all debts, says lawyer Frode Lauareid.

– There is no basis for this claim. The municipality will ask for acquittal, he tells NRK.

The municipality has until November 13 to respond to the mood. The lawyer denies that it is a service case.

– She is employed in Voss herad and the municipality follows her as an employee. That is the municipality’s perspective on the matter, he says.

– Do they reject both that it is notification and that it is treated badly?

– Yes. There is no basis for that. The municipality has not made any mistakes in following it up, at least not mistakes that have legal consequences.

The lawyer will not delve into the extent to which political parties pressured the plaintiff to change his professional statement, or any other details in the mood.

– I do not want to carry out preliminary inquiries in the media, out of respect for the judicial system, says Lauareid.

Reject the culture of fear

In addition, he denies that there is a culture of fear in the municipality.

– We have not seen any evidence that there must be a culture of fear in Voss herad, says the lawyer.

Mayor Hans-Erik Ringkjøb (Labor Party) confirms to NRK that politicians have been informed about the case. Point out that they don’t cling to it when they see it as a personal matter.

He himself has not been on the political working committee that saw the adviser’s report, but says that for a short time since he is a doctor, the municipality has wanted to start a hospital kitchen.

This summer, the Heradsstyret received a new report from the councilor and decided in August to build two hospital kitchens.