I have been appalled at the attitude of some of the council's elected representatives, who appear to be more concerned with the leaking of the report than the actual content of it. My understanding is that councillors, elected by the people of the Larne Borough, have a duty of care to Council employees, therefore rather than castigating the alleged 'whistleblower', should not the councillors be seeking to get to the bottom of the grievances raised in the report?
Whilst individual staffing issues should always be treated as a matter of confidence, this report highlights problems that impact on all staff and ultimately their families who, by and large, are ratepayers and as such, surely, have a right to know about employment practices within the Council.
The grievances raised in the Staff Commission's report did not just arise within the last nine months and had the councillors who have, through your paper, condemned the levels of sickness absence over the years cared to investigate the underlying causes of the rising levels of absence, rather than condemning those who were sick, they may not have needed a Staff Commission report to tell them how many employees felt about staff relations within the Council.
In August 2006 I wrote to the Chief Executive expressing some personal concerns. Within that letter I stated my willingness to talk to any councillor and show them documentary evidence regarding my own situation; a situation that it would appear was not unique. I have yet to receive a response to my letter, or to a subsequent letter that was sent. However, I am still more than willing to talk to any elected representative, should they care to contact me. (Our correspondent's contact details may be obtained by telephoning the Larne Times office on 2827 2303).
Finally, I would suggest that those councillors who are concerned at the leaking of the report should address the more serious issue of grievances that have not been dealt with, hurt that has been caused and a working environment that has, over the years, become increasingly stressful.
I do not have much knowledge of things medical, however my understanding is that when one is ill the doctor will not say 'thanks for coming in, now we must move on'; rather the doctor will analyse the symptoms, trace them back to a cause and deal with the problem. I trust that this will happen with regard to grievances both past and present.
However, based on the overall responses of all but a few councillors, I am not overly optimistic. Indeed I can almost hear the sound of brushes sweeping these matters under the carpet!

Lesley Reilly
(Address supplied)