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A former employee of the Criminal Justice department in Wester Hailes-we believe it is Murrayburn Gate-has been in contact with George our associate who is working on work place bullying. He told George that it was common knowledge throughout Criminal Justice that serious workplace bullying was taking place at the infamous Muirhouse Social Work Centre.

He told us that as as employee he was to frightened to speak out but realised he should have. He told as also that it was quite regular that he would hear horror stories concerning the treatment of staff in Muirhouse and that everybody knew who the bully was. He told us the Union was aware of the problem but nobody had come forward during the time he was employed in Wester Hailes.

He said that staff where constanly frightened that allegations would be made against them and they would be used as scapegoats,and this was as a weapon to keep them quite. Talking to his then colleagues they where all aware of this and tried to keep their heads down. Although there was great sympathy for those that where suffering in Muirhouse,all where delighted they where not working there.

The potential for allegations against staff by clients was all to real but the thought of being bullied as well left Muirhouse isolated with nobody wanting to go near the place. He told us that criminal justice managers would have to be daft and blind to not see and know what was going on there. George asked if he and other colleagues knew who the victims of bullying were and was given the reply yes everybody did.

This is yet another inditement of what we already know and have passed on. It seems that more staff where aware of what was going on in Muirhouse than we previously thought but where frightened to come forward. He also told us that the staff turnover in the community service team in Muirhouse was far greater than anywhere else,and no wonder. He told us he now feels badly about not coming forward when he had the chance and at least telling what he knew.

We are glad this former employee came to us with his story it only confirms most of what we already knew. As workplace bullying becomes more widely known about and understood there will be less and less hiding places for these sick thugs who abuse their positions,to make other’s lives a misery. The cowardly act of bullying hides a complex of issues that the bully constanly fights and takes out on others. This is not an excuse or reason for workplace bullying as this cancer has got to be cut out before it gets a grip and destroys many others.

Pilton Sucks has gone nationwide in it’s quest to outlaw workplace bullying and we will not let up. George who has researched and dug deep into this subject has told us that what happened in Muirhouse and the serial bullying that went on there is by any stretch of the imagination bad and requires serious action to deal with it,otherwise the bully will go to ground and come at it from a different angle,such is the nature of a serial bully.

The former employee is glad he left but  feels he and others should have done more to help their colleagues in Muirhouse,instead of muttering between themselves and relieved they did not have to work with this thug. If, he said more had spoken out then the problem may have been dealt with,but then again his experience of management was one of buck passing and covering their own asses,and leaving front line staff to the mercy of thugs like the one in Muirhouse. 

For all those that are trying to go about their business,forget using Leith Walk. Once again the yellow jacketed road workers are ruling the highways and reveling in causing frustration to road users. Edinburgh once again is proudly wearing the crown of the roadworks capital of Europe. Couple that with the lovies of the festival and we have the city at a standstill,yet again.

Holes here and there barriers up everywhere diversions a plenty and frustrated motorists are once again in the firing line. Not only are they the targets of over zealous traffic wardens and traffic police which we seem to have plenty of,but they have to contend with the stop start driving which comes with the territory. As the war goes on against the motorist there seems to be no shortage of police to make sure they are caught for something or other. Pilton Sucks wishes that the same vigour was put into policing the streets where the real crime takes place.

But no let’s target the  motorist  make their lives a misery,let’s punish them for having the cheek to want to use the roads which they pay through the nose for. Cameras speed bumps potholes and roadworks with the wardens and police waiting in the wings to finish them off life is a bundle of joy for the Edinburgh motorist.

Never mind though we have the over priced  and generally not wanted trams to look  forward to,another Labour legacy an expensive one. So why not make driving a criminal offence and put the over taxed over stressed motorist in jail, make them suffer even more. Our jails are full of people that our social work types demand are set free,so we can put motorists in their place and give them hard labour for having the cheek to use the roads which they over pay to use.

The television now has adverts telling us what will happen to our cars if we don’t tow the line. We are told in a dark satanic theme that your cars will be crushed if you are a minute late in road taxing them or your mot runs out while you are asleep. Your cars will be empounded and destroyed,who ever devised that advert should seek help they have a troubled mind,and are at liberty.

For those that have travelled abroad in Europe,you will know that roadworks are a scarce thing and the motorist has a road work free driving life,we can only look on in envy. More police on the street preventing crime,an over used moan but relevant never the less. IQ tests for traffic wardens who must be employed by the amount of brain cells they have. The motorist keeps all these creeps in work who do the city’s bidding and hammer the motorist at every opportunity. They can hide where no-one else could,must be some sort of training course for it. The ability to hide behind a lamp post or crawl out of a sewer is a necessary qualification for the job. Yet if you are unfortunatly a victim of crime don’t phone Drylaw police station,they won’t get to you for a week or so,to busy processing these naughty motorists,tut tut,so the more motorists we get the less we will see the streets policed so the petty criminal is better getting the bus or using a bike peddle bike of course.as they are unlikely to be detected as more and more police concentrate on dealing with the real criminals in society the dreaded motorist.

Pilton Sucks has had reports of huge lorries racing down Crewe Road North,when there is an access road they can use. Why is that not stopped. that is real danger as these morons are in danger of causing an accident which could result in someone losing their life. Now there’s a thing our vigilant Drylaw police could deal with. The roundabout at the bottom of pennywell road is constantly damaged by we are told idiots racing round it at ridiculous speeds. So there is a need for proper road policing not indiscriminate attacks on motorists. 

We ask who plans these attacks on the motorist. Is Edinburghs roads so bad that they need constant repair,would it not be better to repair them properly in the first place instead of repairing them on the cheap. Why do we need so many traffic police when we need more police on the street. Do we need so many wardens to hammer the motorist,why don’t the wardens ticket the roadworks which seem to be constantly with us with no sign of completion. Are there financial penaltys for these contracters who seem to delight in causing the road user pain.

It’s just plain insanity we need the roads free so they can be used. Congestion causes pollution as cars idle in jams spewing out poisons. Who pays for that damage we all do of course. Is there nobody out there who has the malum to think further than the end of their nose. Do these city big wigs who get paid these over inflated saleries not realise that planning is necessary before roadworks and so-called improvments take place.

It seems not but as we are constantly told we need to pay big salaries to get the right people. If that’s the case where did this city go wrong. So as those who get ready to drive to work or even attempt to try, take these simple tips. Avoid the school run avoid the roadworks,avoid the wardens creeping up behind you camera in hand and on their silly hats. And if at all possible make sure you change your underwear,you never know when the police will pull you over and strip search you for having a duff brake light.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  

So friends and readers Labour has a new leader waiting in the wings to be crowned. The nations favourite mother Wendy Alexander is poised to slide in without any opposition to lead Labour in their quest to renew reform and try and re-invent Labour into an electable and credible party. As Jackie boy leaves the hot seat for sunnier climes Labour in Scotland have at last been found out. 

No ideas, no policies of any note and trying hard to look united when it is clear to all who just cast a quick glance in their direction that this lot have completely lost any sense of reality and the real issues facing the Scottish electorate. Alex Salmond has been given a free hand to govern Scotland witout as much as a wimper of opposition. We all know the Torries are a waste of space without a clue what to do and the Limp dicks are just floundering on the rocks hoping to get thrown a life belt at any given opportunity.

Labours only real hope is to throw open it’s rusty doors to bring in fresh thinking and ideas,real people not some armchair academics who will produce figures and statistics on what is required and then slink off telling everybody how brilliant they where.

For Labour ever to have credibilty again in Scotland they have to get their hands dirty and develop policies which have a positive effect on peoples lives. This won’t happen in the hallowed halls of Holy-Rood or the melting pot of the debating chamber,but out there in the real world where people are struggling to make ends meet,where business who after all employ the bulk of the population are crumbling under the weight of  crap which Labour introduced.

Forget trying to be players on the world stage and get in touch with those that need help,the very people that could help to re-elect Labour. The idea that the Guardian readers have all the answers is plainly rubbish, what happened as we have asked many times before to all the new people that Labour promised to get into their ranks,a new generation of politicians with an open agenda not the party hacks tied to party dogma frightened of being de-selected if they murmer opinions of their own.

So will the dynamic Wendy change anything or just tinker round the edges,likely the latter as the so called left will be looking to jump on everything that remotely looks like meaningful change,in the thought they might be sidelined or shown the door. All those that have drummed up the interest to listen to winsome Wendy will know she is a better cure for insomnia than cricket,so her desire to show how clever she is will be the first thing that has to go otherwise she will send the electorate to sleep allowing prince charming himself Alex Salmond to come along and kiss the electorate waking them up to the fact that nothing has changed and Labour has remained the same party stuck in some sort of time warp unable or unwilling to meet the demands of people whose attiude to politics is usually -they are all the f—–g same.

Labour have enjoyed the loyalty of the electorate for generations and became complacent in that fact thinking that the punters would never elect anybody else. They got that one wrong big time ,and as locally are blaming everybody but themselves. Many have said locally that the wrong Labour candidate got elected to represent the Forth Ward. Pilton Sucks knowes they are spot on but would it have made any difference if the reverse had happened? Unlikely as it’s the action along side the change in faces that’s needed. Labour have lost power all over the country,our Wendy has a big job just trying to reverse that little setback,she won’t do it with the same old tired faces trying to hang on to their seats and keep their noses in the trough. It almost requires a revolution in thinking and attitudes, not while some of these has beens are still around clinging to what is left of their vanishing base. The Forth ward has the opportunity to breath freshy air into it’s lungs,if successful then the rest of the country should follow suit,but that would make Labour unelectable,almost a catch twenty two position.

Such a dilema for the new leader,she has to make radical changes and boot out the old guard who have contributed to Labour’s demise and will not go without a fight,a fight they cannot win as the reality of opposition kicks in. What we don’t need is Ms. Alexander wearing the halo of yet another off spring of a religous background,spare us the god fearing mentality and intellectual genius and kick this tired old party into life.

The alternative if nothing changes but words and platitudes,is potentially perpetual opposition moaning  on the side lines reminding us of what Labour might have been if they had only done this and that. Meanwhile Jackie boy will send you all a postcard first class of course wishing you weren’t here.

Friends and readers. We are hearing positive reports about the newly formed North Edinburgh Trust,formaly the Pilton Partnership. One or two community activists have been talking in the community and it appears that this could be the start of something good and fruitful. We at the moment know little of the set up of the new trust so we to hope for good news coming from this organisation.

For the present we feel the community should give this organisation it’s backing and support. Pilton Sucks is unsure of the make up of this group and who will or is elected to the board. That would seem to be the one slight grey area as the community activists we spoke to were not altogether sure themselves. Never the less that aside this could be the fresh start the community needs,and we must all hope that the old pals club is not involved,otherwise it will be a touch of here we go again.

We understand elections where held for the members of the board,but according to one community activist from the West Granton/Pilton Community Council they had no such election,so we are left scratching our heads as to who will be doing what. But that minor democratic detail aside,let’s hope that this new organisation is representative of the wider community and not in the pocket of one or two benificaries who may feel they have ownership of the whole thing. 

We hear a whisper friends and readers unconfirmed of course that a sum of £175.000 has been paid out in consultancy fees to a prominent member of the community. If anybody has any info on this whisper,get in contact.  

Well friends and readers,it seems the dark cloud hovering over PEP refuses to go away. For those that read the latest copy of the NEN it would appear to be a staff group that is sick to the back teeth of what is happening with this organisation. Bang goes the theory that it was a disgruntled loner that was according to one or two old pal club members, spreading muck and lies.

We are also told through the community grapevine that two members of the management committee who had asked some awkward questions, raised a couple of their own concerns and had to remind the manager who was actually in charge of the project have resigned as members of the management committee. The term sewn up comes to mind.

We are told that the majority of staff has no confidence in the management of PEP.

As always, anyone who wishes to comment on this or any other issue in this community can use our ,or Edinburgh sucks comments box. Your anonymity will be protected.   

Friends and readers. We have been contacted by a new reader who tells us he to was a victim of the Muirhouse bully. He was only there for a short time but was subjected to similar abuse as the other victims. He has now left the Social Care department and is working elsewhere.

He got in contact with us via a third party and has forwarded his complaint to the union. We don’t expect the department to do anything about this complaint but it shows us that the behaviour of this thug has not stopped. This put’s the head count of victims to 5 and it is now time for sterner action.

He tells us he is leaving the country in November and is not returning,but would wish to be part of any action taken against the bully. We did not know of this victims plight and have passed his statement on to our associate George who is working on this matter. This is truely incredible,yet another victim and still no action taken.

Given this new information which has taken us by suprise we have been proved right in highlighting what has been going on at this centre in Muirhouse. Without question there is a serial bully on the loose in this community with no one prepared to do anything about it except it seems the victims. We have told you about the serious dangers on the health of victims caused by workplace bullying,and what happens when nothing is done to stop bullying.

We have also been informed in the last few days of yet another piece of evidence,which we have not seen which has been forwarded to the appropriate person in the department but as yet once again nothing has been done. While the victims are punished for coming forward the perpetrator is free to carry on bullying and intimidating and is given a green light to do so.

Pilton Sucks believes and is convinced that a cover up is in operation even more so now that yet another victim has surfaced and is prepared to speak out. Victims of workplace bullying face an uphill task but must have strength and courage to fight a system that protects the thug but punishes the victims.

We are well aware given our research on this matter that hurdles are deliberatly put in the victims way to prevent them from complaining about bullying and many will find this too much to bear and give up. But if just one carrys on this sends a clear message to the bully and other victims that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated and will be punished. It is a long hard road and we do not begin to understand the plight of the victims but we are right behind them in their quest for the truth and justice.

Edinburgh City Council as an employer has a duty to make sure it’s staff have a safe working enviournment,certainly not in Muirhouse they have’nt,and because of this have now opened themselves up for potential litigation. We hope that some if not all of this thug’s victims will take action and put a stop to his antics. As a serial bully he will slip up and eventually this will come to the notice of his lazy superiors,but how many more victims will have to suffer before this happens.

Friends and readers,as home owners or those still in a position to afford one are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their head above water what does our glorious Government say about this,why nothing of course. It is now practically impossible to buy a house unless  you have some hidden wealth somewhere.

What our finger up the asses politicians do not understand or choose to ignore,is that without the first time buyers there is no housing market. People are now losing their houses in increasing numbers because they simply cannot afford the payments with the increased taxes on top. Oh yes we hear how rich this country is but the majority of people do not share the wealth just help to create it.

Labour who are after all the government of the day have sold their souls to the company and corporate greed and have and are now sitting back and watching many of our citizens suffer. What good is a booming economy if the people cannot afford to live within it. Jobs are a plenty we are told, yes but many are low waged unskilled non career type employment with little or no hope of anything else.

We are not told the truth because it might offend us and we might moan to much so we are fed lies and deceit with the promise of jam tomorrow. Just take a look at the fools who but lottery tickets a forlorn look of hope on their faces hoping it might be them but it almost certainly won’t be. This is chance luck Britain where we are sold a dream which can never be a reality for the many. Crisis in the NHS crisis in the housing market,increased taxes and low wage increases,this is the harse truth of working Britain.

But never mind your numbers might come up if you believe in fairy tales,for the rest it’s a fight to exist and it’s getting harder.    

We have been asked by several readers how our campaign on workplace bullying is progressing. One reader in particular has written to us outlining her experience.

Sandra told us that while employed within the Education department of Edinburgh City Council,she was subjected to workplace bullying. Sandra told us of been given heavy workload,set unreasonable time tables to complete the work,and being constantly blamed when ever a problem arose. This unfortunatly is all to familiar to Pilton Sucks,and is a clear indication of workplace bullying.

She approached her senior to report the matter but nothing was done. She was unaware even though she was not a member of a union she could still approach them for advice. Sandra also told us that the bullies antics where being covered up and that another member of staff who she did  not know about had complained about this person some time before.

Again this is familiar to Pilton Sucks and shows incompetent management afraid to deal with a serious problem in case they find themselves in the firing line as well. Sandra told us that she suffered a nervous breakdown and left her job without the bully being punished or proper compensation paid to the victim. George our associate who broke the story of serial workplace bullying in the Muirhouse Social Work Centre,has been giving workplace bullying his complete attention and has uncovered real serious misbehaviour in the Muirhouse Centre.

Sandra’s case is all to real and tragic. These small minded thugs who hid behind rules and regulations to cover their thugish behaviour are in reality cowards who will hid behind anybody’s skirts in order to hid their true nature. They would be employed nowhere else and the City is a good hiding place for them. We are advocating victims take legal action and flush out these low lifes,and do everybody a favour.

In the meantime we are now told the Muirhouse thugs victims now total 5 and still management do nothing. We are now saying that the time for talking is over, get this travesty into court and let the public know what’s going on.