March 10, 2011Dear Sir,The letter in yesterday’s Royal Gazette entitled “Dealing with Civil Service” has prompted me to share my thoughts. Share The Pain from Pembroke made a general statement in the last paragraph and I interpreted it to mean that all Civil Servants contributed in some way to the financial mess we are in. The letter writer is certainly entitled to his/her opinion, however, it is unfair to blame all Civil Servants for wrong decisions that are made at a higher level.Civil Servants are officers who are bound by the Official Secrets Act of the United Kingdom and there’s no Whistleblower Legislation in place to protect them if they were to highlight any irregularities. The Conditions of Employment and Code of Conduct for officers of the Civil Service clearly states that, “Officers should never seek to frustrate or influence the policies, decisions or actions of Ministers by the unauthorised, improper or premature disclosure of any information to which they have had access. Nor should officers seek to frustrate the policies, decisions or actions of the Government by declining to take, or abstaining from, action which flows from decisions of Ministers. Where an officer feels unable to carry out the action required and a resolution to the matter cannot be achieved, the officer should either carry out the instruction, or resign from the Civil Service and observe his or her duty and obligation to maintain confidentiality.”The above statement has resulted in an abuse of power and I am familiar with a matter in which the officer was threatened with punishment if the individual failed to follow the instructions of the senior managers, and when an official complaint was filed, the individual was referred to The Employee Assistance Programme for thinking negatively (but honestly) about those senior managers. When individuals find themselves embroiled in situations like this and don’t even receive the support of the Union which is supposed to represent them, the only other option to them is the expensive legal representation.The Bermuda Public Services Union has to decide who it will represent when a lower ranking Civil Servant files a grievance against a senior manager. There is evidence to support my statement that the BPSU often sides with the senior managers. This is problematic for Civil Servants especially considering that the BPSU is the sole bargaining agent in respect of officers of the Civil Service. My suggestion is that the BPSU can continue representing senior management and the remaining Civil Servants should consider finding alternative representation, whether by forming a new Union or joining up with one of their choice.If Government Ministers are responsible for the work of his or her Ministry and are answerable for all its acts and omissions and must bear the consequences for any defect of administration, then why are Civil Servants often blamed? Shouldn’t accountability start at the top?Since Paula Cox now assumes the position of Premier of Bermuda and is no longer the ‘cog in the wheel’, she obviously recognises that the buck stops with her. (At least that’s what the Bermuda Sun (Feb 18, 2011) headline reads – “Cox: The buck stops with me”).No doubt, now is the time for all to see ‘leadership by example’ as opposed to ‘leadership by design’.JENNIFER CAINESDevonshire