Quebec's Transport Ministry bosses ruled with iron fist, union says

A culture of fear and secrecy existswithinQuebec's Transport Ministry, with senior managers vowing to make life "hell" for workers who speak out against shady practices, their union said Thursday.

Transports Qubec is at the centre of allegations of bid-rigging and hidden cost overruns, which havecost the jobs ofthe department'stop bureaucrat and its minister's chief of staff.

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Concerns about theministry's inner workings were raised by the previous minister, RobertPoeti,before he wasshuffled to the government's backbenches in January. He hadappointed a former UPACinvestigator to look into complaints about collusion and corruption.

Thatinvestigator,AnnieTrudel,stepped down last month, citing efforts within the ministry to sabotage her attempts to gather information.

"It was an open secret that several senior members of the MTQ ardently wanted my departure," she wrote in her resignation letter, which was obtained by Radio-Canada.

They ...make your professional life and sometimesyour personal life a hell.- Richard Perron, public-sector union president

The obstacles she faced in her investigation did not surpriseRichardPerron, head of theSyndicatdesprofessionnelsdugouvernementduQubec, which represents 25,000 public sector workers.

Union members have described working undervindictive bosses who publiclypunishwhistleblowers, he said.

"They make everyone know you're subject to reprisals,"Perrontold CBC News. "The message is clear: 'Don't speak, don't talk. Just tell your boss, and if he doesn't want to move, shut your mouth. Otherwise you'll pay the price.'"

He added that managers use "a lot of imagination" in their methods of punishing workers. These include suspensions, poor evaluations and reassignments.

"They ...make your professional life and sometimesyour personal life a hell,"Perron said.

AfterPoeti was removed from cabinet, he sent a letter to his successor, Jacques Daoust, outlining his concerns. He warnedDaoust that ex-employees were being rehired as contractors, winning bids that weren't subject to tender.

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He also noted that six engineering firms actually had official ministry email addressesand were given access to ministry resources.

There is, moreover, little accountability within the ministry because many auditors work directly underneath the managers they are meant to be auditing.

Those kinds of arrangements encouragethe culture of silence, Perron said.

"Our people are afraid to speak," he said. "They don't tell us everything. They don't speak to us because they're afraid of reprisals they would be subject to."

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