Thai Boss And Loss Of Face

[edwinchester]

Hi, just wanted to share what recently has become an unpleasant episode.

My wife is a Thai national who works for the local town council here in Thailand.

Until a couple of weeks ago relations with her immediate supervisor were very good. So good that she even came with us on one of my border runs for a couple of days break.

Two weeks ago my wife reported to her boss her concerns that one member of staff was involved in corrupt practices.

Instead of a pat on the back and a thankyou she was immediately labelled a troublemaker and told she was transferred out of the office to what is a siht job with immediate effect.

Well my wife does not take much lying down and went to see her supervisors boss.

He overturned the decision, reinstating my wife into her previous post.

Now my wifes supervisor has threatened anyone who speaks with my wife during duty hours with dismissal. One of her duties is hiring and firing so people are afraid they can lose their jobs. Unlikely but the threat is there.

All my wife wants to do is work hard with her friends at the office but right now she is having a hard time.

We do not need the money so I am tempted to say stuff the job but there is principal involved here.

Thanks for reading and any thoughts are welcome.

Edited February 2, 2007 by Totster
removed formatting

[jumnien]

Would you rather be right or be happy? Take time, take a few deep breaths. Right action will come naturally in time. Be open-minded.

I demanded my wife quit her job at the bank so that we could spend more time together, never regretted it.

[jbsears]

Stick to your principals. Too many people here let them go with the excuse of TIT.

[Dakhar]

For me, I'd make it perfectly clear that

A) I/she does not need the job

You/she quits

C) You will be enjoying each other greatly on a much deserved long vacation... one you can afford

[t.s]

Stick to your principals. Too many people here let them go with the excuse of TIT.

ask you wife what she wants to do. then support her decision. its her job, not yours

[jbsears]

Stick to your principals. Too many people here let them go with the excuse of TIT.

ask you wife what she wants to do. then support her decision. its her job, not yours

Yeah, this is probably the answer.

[chingching]

so why is your wife willing to go over her boss's head, when she was unjustifiably demoted, and not willing to do so, when she is being unjustifiably punished? Seems to me it would be very easy to talk to her boss's supervisor again and explain what has happened. If indeed her boss did threaten everyone else with firing if they talked to her, she'd have plenty of witnesses

[tasasc]

so why is your wife willing to go over her boss's head, when she was unjustifiably demoted, and not willing to do so, when she is being unjustifiably punished? Seems to me it would be very easy to talk to her boss's supervisor again and explain what has happened. If indeed her boss did threaten everyone else with firing if they talked to her, she'd have plenty of witnesses

Unfortunately, if they were scared of losing their job, how many of those witnesses would come forward?

What happened to the staff member who was accused by the Op's wife?

[Farma]

Something to think about if she quits her job. As government staff she may get healthcare benefits for her extended family and these will go with the job.

It’s her choice to make and she may think quitting will be loss of face. She may find things return to normal in a couple of weeks.

If the problems continue she can always seek free advice from the government lawyers although this could lead to an escalation in matters and a possible inquiry.

[jingjoe]

I'd buy her a micro-recording device.

[GuestHouse]

Two weeks ago my wife reported to her boss her concerns that one member of staff was involved in corrupt practices.

The assumption when discovering a fellow worker involved in corruption should always be that the corrupt employee's supervisor is in on the corruption too.

[altman]

Two weeks ago my wife reported to her boss her concerns that one member of staff was involved in corrupt practices.

The assumption when discovering a fellow worker involved in corruption should always be that the corrupt employee's supervisor is in on the corruption too.

ahh, there's the crux.

if she was punished, and continues to be punished, then it is fair to say her boss is in on the 'corrupt practices' and i suspect the boss of her boss would be very happy, one way or another, to know about it. (either there is soimething in it for him, he can stop a subordinate from gaining advantage, or he can gain favor by reporting it higher up)

go upstairs again, but be prepared to lose the job. it could happen if you and she are misreading the situation.

[dave111223]

Seems like her boss is already totally out to get her, but he can't fire her so what else does she have to worry about. She should make a really big stink about it, if she doesn't even need the job then what's the worst that can happen.

Obviously if the boss really is heavily involved in some kind of deep corruption and you think violence could be possible then just get out now.

[Maestro]

Now my wifes supervisor has threatened anyone who speaks with my wife during duty hours with dismissal. One of her duties is hiring and firing so people are afraid they can lose their jobs. Unlikely but the threat is there.

I think your wife knows how to handle this. For example, off duty she goes for a bowl of noodles with some of the office girls she is friendly with, they blabber about the usual gossip, etc. This can compensate, at least partly, for the silence imposed in the office.

--

Maestro

[Smilodon]

The assumption when discovering a fellow worker involved in corruption should always be that the corrupt employee's supervisor is in on the corruption too.

Holy smokes, I never, EVER thought of that before. I am going to keep this in mind supposing I find anything like this going on. Go straight to the top, and not to the lower levels who might all be in bed together.

Glad I read this. Funny how off-guard it caught me. But, I love to learn new ideas, no matter how many other things I already know.

[Choscura]

basic politics: it's easier to drop a brick from high up than throw one high from the bottom. translation? go to the top and drop your 'brick'. alternately, you could get the police in on this, get a small digital camera and collect evidence, and get that ###### supervisor fired. you won't make many friends, but if the principle of the thing is important and it's a government job, you'd be doing the world a favor.

[edwinchester]

As a follow up to the saga.

Well the siht hit the fan a while ago when some other people complained about the corruption too.

The big boss organised an investigation which was both videoed and written up.

The good thing was that people did come forward to back up my wifes side of things and when others heard of the investigation too came forward with their own stories of corrupt practises.

As is the Thai way nothing was pinned for sure on my wifes boss although it was made very plain to her that the way she ran her staff was not 'acceptable'.

As for the guy, he was transferred to the same siht job they attempted to transfer my wife too. Result of sorts I guess and my wife was even thanked by the big boss for being so honest.