Patrick Reis-Ekelund
Administrative Assistant, OIE
19, Bd. de Belleville
75011 Paris

Mr Guy Jannot
Head, Administrative and Financial Department
Office international des épizooties (OIE)
12, rue de Prony, 75017 Paris

Paris, 27 November 1998

Note for the Professional File

Dear Guy,

Being most surprised and disturbed by the discussion held in private between us yesterday, at your request, and in order to avoid misunderstanding, I request that this summary of the discussion be placed in my Professional File ("Dossier professionnel"):

1. Procedural working matters

At your express instruction:

1.1 I am forthwith not authorised to sign any outgoing mail except for minor matters such as answering basic inquiries and providing simple information. All other correspondence prepared by me is to be ratified and signed by either yourself, the Director General, or your deputy, Mr G. Sutherland.

1.2 In future, I am to ensure that all documents submitted for decision or signature to you, the Director General or Mr G. Sutherland, should be presented with full background materials on the matter (previous correspondence, relevant documents, contracts, etc.).

1.3 I am at all times to conform with the "OIE standard" of presentation of such things as dates. All correspondence prepared for signature should be approved by Mr G. Sutherland in order to ensure conformity to the OIE standard of presentation.

1.4 In future, I am not to ask you or other staff questions concerning professional matters by e-mail, but to discuss matters orally.

I will, evidently, fully comply with these instructions. As I stated in our meeting:

· I have presented documents (with supporting materials as I have deemed relevant) in the same way ever since I first took up my position in December 1997 and that I am surprised that this has now become an issue after eleven months of service with the Office.

· Both yourself and Mr G. Sutherland encouraged me to assume my responsibilities and act independently when I first began at the OIE and I have only been acting upon the authorisation given.

2. My position and working manner

2.1 You questioned whether my position was completely full time and expressed disapproval that I have, supposedly, at times told people that I was too busy to perform services immediately.

· To this claim I formally protested and asked for examples; which you were unable to provide. I outlined some of the recent duties and projects I have been working on and invited you to come with me to my office so that I could give you a full picture of the situation. You turned this offer down.

· I made clear that I have never said that I would not execute instructions or tasks, but rather that I would not be able to perform the requested service within the time-limits demanded, given my existing workload.

2.2 You stated that you have the impression that I have troublesome professional/working relations with other members of staff. You also claimed that I am "brutal" and "threatening" in my approach to certain matters (this was linked to point 1.1 above); in conjunction with this you recalled that I was, for example, to be respectful to Dr E. Gimeno, who is not only the OIE Regional Co-ordinator for the Americas but also an honorary President of the OIE.

· I asked you to substantiate the impression of troubled professional relations with staff and your claims regarding my approach to certain matters; you were unable to provide any examples other than that mentioned above. I fully protested against your choice of words and assured you of the full professionalism in my attitude to all staff and co-workers. We, upon your initiative, agreed that good working relations do not necessarily require particular personal affinity.

2.3 You stated that my professional background was not substantial and that I should consider the OIE as an opportunity to gain experience for work elsewhere.

· I expressed my dismay at such an evaluation of my professional skills and requested clarification as to whether this meeting was to be considered formal or informal, with the addendum that if it was formal I reserved my right to respond in writing. You stated that it was formal but underlined that you did not consider your comments as criticism concerning professional fault on my behalf, but rather a matter of making observations and asking for modifications to my professional acts and behaviour. You added that you might elect to express these matters in writing, at which time I would have an opportunity to respond in writing.

2.4 I expressed my feeling that there has been a negative change in your attitude towards me following our discussion on my position and wage earlier this summer. Since drawing your attention to questions regarding the expense accounts of the Regional Representation for the Americas, there has been a clear change for the worse, with a marked increase of last-minute assignments and shortening dead-lines.

You dismissed such thoughts as unfounded and indicated that you are still willing to discuss the nature of my position and salary. You also stated that the fruitfulness of any such discussion depends on "successful" completion of the 1998 accounts of the Regional Representations on time, in January.

I also recalled that previous to our wage discussion, you had expressed complete satisfaction with my professional performance at the Office.

I assure you that I shall conform to these instructions to the best of my ability, and that I shall continue to perform my duties and the tasks entrusted upon me with the goal of contributing effectively to the activities of the Office.

Sincerely yours,

Patrick Reis-Ekelund
Administrative Assistant
Administrative and Financial Department