***This is an independent submission, I am unable to corroborate or verify the information so I will term them as allegations*
JAMAICA LIBRARY SERVICE
They brought back the Monster
During her reign as Director of Human Resources and Administration, Dorna Gray presided over some of the most oppressive HR practices that was ever witnessed in a single organization. She was the architect of nine year freeze on study leave that affected nearly 600 hundred young people who was employed to Jamaica Library Service. Many departments, especially Accounts function is now in a state of paralysis as skilled and qualified officers could not be promoted because of her brain child philosophy of hiring from outside. What that means is that current officers who were in the employment of Jamaica Library Service, no matter how dedicated, loyal or faithful could never be promoted as they were simply deemed unsuitable.
Nepotism, cronyism, corruption and treachery were the order of the day.
Training was also reserved for most favoredemployees and competent and hardworking staff members were often assigned to function at levels higher than their substantive positions but were told that they could not act as they were not qualified. Special treatment and favours were doled out to others who were close friends and confidants.
While some staff members were harassed, threatened and sanctioned for trumped up charges of dereliction, lackeys and henchmen were flagrantly flouted rules and regulations bask in the admiration of admiration of our heroine in question.
It was an age of firing, resignation, black listing and constructive dismissal. Dorna Gray of Jamaica Library Service retired November 13, 1954 but since 2017 has enjoyed several back to back contracts of employment with Jamaica Library Service. Contrary to gazette rules and pronouncements by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, throughout the Covid crisis up to this time the 66 year has enjoyed non-stop employment with Jamaica Library Service as special HR consultant.
The unfair HR practices which are the brain child of this monster, has seen hundreds of young people flee Jamaica Library Service in search of opportunities in the public and private service. These young people are now exposed as wherever they are, they are new employees and as such may be in vulnerable positions in the face of staff cuts.
The big question is if there is any truth to this story why is this person so popular among successive managers at the Jamaica Library Service. In her pre- retirement years, she would have served under 2 Director Generals in her pre-pensioner years with the organization. The current Director General has now called her out of retirement and has unleash her on the skeletal staff that remain at Jamaica Library Service. Why? The outcome is that hardship for many is being perpetuated. Like those who have left, no promotion is in sight for several who are holders of 1st degrees from the University of the West Indies, Northern Caribbean University, University of the Commonwealth Caribbean and other tertiary institutions.
Why this retired HR Director DornaGray is still at Jamaica Library Service despite the presence of Michelle Nunes, Director of Human Resources who is now in her final years of pursuing a Master Degree in Human Resource Management? How is Jamaica Library Service able to finance the employment of two HR practitioners at this level?
Why are there hundreds of vacant positions in Jamaica Library Service? Why do the Ministry of Education and those who received nice explanation for the presence of these vacant posts accept the nice explanations that are given without conducting their investigations or ask the hard questions?
How many vacant positions are within the Jamaica Library Service and why are these positions vacant for so long? Why Jamaica Library Service Senior managers are frustrating young staff members to seek opportunities elsewhere while the re-hire Adolf Hitler like types such as DornaGray and her friends?
Birds of a feather flock together, there is a stench arising from unfair management practices that have gone un-noticed and unaddressed. It is clear that this monster is brought in under the guise of consultancy to do more dirty work.
The system is such that government of Jamaica continue to fund vacant positions whether or not persons are employed to those positions. In the last financial year it is said that the company saved over $300m dollars in subvention savings for vacant positions. So Jamaican Library Service used the money to pay their retirees friends including DornaGray and have also seek and get approval to use the money for building renovation. How sad! These are monies that young staff members have been denied because they were not promoted, they were not trained, not employed and they were frustrated by anoppressive and repressive culture of supervision that drive them to flee their jobs.
Jamaica should answer the question ‘How come a 1st degree in Library Management and Information Studies qualify and individual to function as CEO with responsibility for spending GOJ J$2 billion annually?’ If the Jamaica Library Service is by far the biggest GOJ agency, should a person with cooked up qualification or sub qualification be allowed to be at its helm? Should cronies be recruited to aid and abet malfeasances being practiced by those in charge of governance?
The time has come for Jamaica Library Service Staff to protest! Demonstrate! Loud and clear, involve the media expose these people and their cronies even their chairman and those within their parent ministry who continue to accept their excuses and turn a blind eye to their malfeasances.
Rise up people! You stay silent at our own detriment!
No government institution should continue to operate this way.
Pure corruption within every ministry department and agency. All JLP good for is to bring back pure retired ppl to continue to job out the system at the expense of youth.
Ask why June Spence Jarrett who mash up corrections department and had the armadale fire weh kill off so many youths is the head of Jamaica Anti Doping Agency with no medical qualifications. Just pure madness.
Dis have nothing to do with politics
Its both sides….. Not jist JLP
Oh yes and then can you imagine the husband was the Commissioner of Corrections first Juswyn Jarrett and then the Commissioner post pass to the wife June Spence Jarrett like it’s a family business. Jamaica needs a clean up from top to bottom we should have never gained independence. This independence is an independence for the corrupt an independence from accountability, moral standards, meritocracy etc.
Hold on, then Library still a keep?
Clearly u neva learn a school
Every government agency waan clean up. Non stop corruption.
If as stated this lady retired in 1954 ,retirement age at the time was 60yrs of age how she is know 66 yrs of age.don’t get it.
Well, well I could kiss the foot bottom of this writer. You have hit the nail right on its head. I am apart of this organization and I can say it’s the truth. Obviously you know what your talking about and you are station well in line to get certain information at your disposal but this is an all island thing that each head of parish within this service participate in. Recently a certain parish demonstrate in working conditions and the injustice that management deem upon their staff. They try to hush the staff because the don’t want the light to be shine on them. I stand with you wholeheartedly. They have seen a web that they defend each other so that no justice can be made to line staff you can’t speak freely cause staff are scared of loosing their job. When call up to disciplinary they call each other and already make their judgment so u walking in that room you are already doom if you don’t know your rights and have a strong will. As for me I always challenge management and they tends to say I have no manners but what really is manners. To voice your concern and talk for your rights is having no manners then I am guilty as hell. The library service is still being run by retirees whether we want to accept it or not. Government need to intervene within what is brewing in the service before it burst out. It’s no coincidence that St. James demonstrate on these points a few months ago, the release of the audit report and now this. The hitler attitude need to stop and right now. That’s the part that really hit the hardest writer cause the head within our region that is the name given to her. Dorna Grey was her mentor and is still being contact for advice on how to deceive staff members even to this day. With the Co-vid 19 pandemic this individual work ambitiously and go against government orders to work from home policy and no more than 10 person in office at a given time scheme a web so that only her friends are allow such luxury. What more is appalling is that the every day items need to carry out our duties are in deficit as subventions given to the parish can’t even pay utility bills but money are squandered on things of no importance. When these big head going to event the most expensive place are book for them and drive are provided but I have seen training being done for staff and function to be kept for them and they have to find their own drive to go on training and function for line staff have to be kept in house while thousand are being paid from government budget for senior librarians ,regional director and top management events not even a cup of tea a sick staff can’t get these days. Mi hate management bad!!!!
As for the selection of chair persons within these parishes they are strategically chosen so that they can manipulate the system only friends are selected. Anyone that goes against the protocol that these head have design for them unlawfully to act on they are force from being apart of their committee. You want evidence of this visit the western Region it’s playing out there blatantly as we speak by their own regional hitler.
This is a burning disgrace….office of the services commission nuh good again…what purpose do they serve if all this slackness is happening?
It seem like every government Organization n Jamaica is crippled by corruption no wonder people have to sometimes resort to assassinating their rival just to get promoted
Jamaica Library Service is a disgrace! The level of corruption in that place is sickening, staff there have to wait ages to get their appraisals done not to mention the pay out of their increments. The staff are overworked and under paid, staff need to speak up, get the media involved.
I too had to run for my life. I had no growth there. If I should visit the Library now I doubt I will know anyone. The staff turnover is so great. I too suffered from the lack of study leave or time off. Had to ‘bruk mi neck fi go school.’ This place is not for the young but the retired it seems.
Marvetta Stewart Richards aka Adolf Hitler & Donald Trump needs to go
Over the years whilst working with this lady upon her arrival , I have observed numerous bad leadership traits being displayed that has been blatantly ignored by her superiors. It has been quite evident over the years about her lack of likeness for the Library and its employees and her desire for the library to fail.
Over her tenure at the Library she has tried to manage through fear mongering and intimidation- which has worked on a few of the employees here. She has worked assiduously to create a culture of distrust, nervousness, and fear as some of the staff are led to play nice out of fear of their appraisals not being done in a timely manner. She has used her position continuously to lie about people behind their backs and led active campaigns to turn great friends into workplace enemies
Secondly, she is notorious for scheming and manipulating others, for both her personal agenda and for fun. I guess one could say misery always love company. Based on keen observations, she enjoys toying with people and then behave as if she is as innocent as a lamb. Whenever complaints are made about her behaviour its always said that’s how she is. Quite frankly, this is unaccepted. Not to mention whenever staff disagree or public debate on an issue they have in their general staff meeting she spends the entire week finding ways in which to get back at that staff – by tainting their personal files with memoranda filled with lies- instead of finding ways in which to uplift the libraries within the region that she oversees. With regards to the appraisals, I have witnessed first-hand where she demands supervisors to rewrite appraisals to her suit. Under her oppressive leadership, St James has recorded the highest staff turnover.
Whenever she is at odds with the staff here she is of the belief that we are not entitled to information regarding our well-being. In addition, she often contradicts themselves or give conflicting instructions. For instance, she tried to stifle the Work from Home programme while it was still in effect and then her words were that it did not apply to us because we had no work to do from home. Even after she tried to shut that down there were still monthly reports being done by staff that could have been facilitated at home. Lack of communication as become the norm amongst us along with the apology train.
One of her traits that has always stood out for me was that she was a blamer. A lot of oppression within the St. James Parish Library has been orchestrated by her and when she feels the staff withdrawing from her she weasels her way back in their heart by passing the blame on someone else which has worked on numerous occasions. She does this by having informal one and one meetings in her office with a few favourites- who provides her with her daily office gossips- to get back in their good grace.
Upon her promotion to Regional Director she has yet to learn to lead by example. She is always quick to get at an employee regarding their punctuality and their productivity and never self-assess to see that is wrong to use to company’s resources to do her personal business. She has always had a problem with staff children visiting the library but allow her child numerous times to sit in the conference room with her friends to eat.
Even though there is a call to stand up for what is right most person are afraid to talk even during our general staff meetings as they are often singled out as trouble makers. Likewise, it not always easy to communicate to her superiors when they are the same ones who defend her if a complaint is made privately to headquarters they make her privy to whatever was discussed instead of holding her accountable for her unprofessionalism.
They often blame the government that they don’t invest in and value libraries but until Jamaica library Service find a way to weed these bad seeds from within, the organization will never grow.
I will be sure to let her know to keep her lunch under wraps because you sound motivated enough to fix your branch problem seeing HQ is corrupt and doesnt readily fix the very issues that is affecting staff productivity.
I wish you well in your future endeavours whether within the JLS or whichever agency that would care to unburden the JLS of you.
Good Night, get enough rest and be early for work tomorrow.
This is so true. I remember when St. James Parish Library was such a tight unit, teamwork was indeed a dreamwork there. Everyone may not have been best friends but they all worked together to execute the library’s mandate. However, ever since Adolf Hitler’s promotion, everything changed. It was like we were at a concentration camp. Additionally, it was evident that she did not like St. James. While there i would see her calling one on one off the books meetings with staff to know everyone’s business and use it to turn them against each other.
She never liked the younger ones either, to be honest I don’t think she likes children. Always barking at the primary school kids when they come to the library in the afternoons( that they are making too much noise) The young staff members are never given a chance and if they do, once they excel, the woman took the credit for herself even though she had nothing to do with the success of the project.
She is notorious for shutting down brilliant ideas for various projects suggested by staff. Her mentality was that if it wasn’t her idea then it should not be done!
This woman strives to downgrade staff until eventually some break and leave, this is 1 of the main reasons why St James keep losing staff.
Yes lord, finally these issue start to be aired. As a past staff of this organization within the St. James Region I can honestly say it’s full time staff start to speak up. I have suffer under both Regional Director and Senior Librarian “cook up attitude” and unlawful management style. Before the incredible “Hitler” promoted to her present position and joining the St.James staff her judgment for us was nothing new. Every private discussion that staff shared with the senior librarian was also shared with “Hitler”, as they seem to be good friends or so they portrayed. The circle of friends among the librarians is next to none. When ever visiting headquarters the first question that’s ask is what’s the name let me place a face to it. Discussion about staff and their private affair is what keeps them tight. Their friendship strive on making a misery on their line staff. So “Hitler” came what’s new? She started to clean up what she think the senior librarian was weak to do. She want to create the fear that she impose on staff of the Hanover Parish Library on the St. James family. Yes I said it family, although there were times where staff have disagreements they still came together as one to make the impossible happen. This monster don’t like or support unity. She creates so much animosity for staff there, if they only knew. For all the training that Dorna Grey have given to her she is now perfect on her craft. Since her tenure she have succeeded to free the service of nine staff that I know of. She fit the description of a perfect weasel. She do have her fans that she brain wash to think she is doing so much for the parish but truth be told she hate the success of the parish. I hope to God that the senior librarian see this and wake up she is not your friend. That woman speak more shit about you than a pit laterin. She is trying so much to let you fall face down it’s not even funny. She is digging a hole for you to fall In May God have mercy on you when she achieve it. As to the comment that was added earlier, stating this woman hate kids, I agree she hates them except her own “I think”. She fight a driver to flee because she wanted to send him to pick up her child, carry her shopping at the market and to do church chores. The moment he want some time to do something for himself it becomes a problem. So he refuse to do personal chores for them then she set the idiotic senior librarian on him about his attire and all that. The staff are employed to carry out library work not personal errands. The clause that is stated in their job description as “any other job “ need to change. These demon think it’s ok to treat people like shit. Numerous time they take library vehicle for personal spree and then come back for the cleaners to go buy lunch for them in the hot sun. A letter was written to headquarters outlining some of these challenges and state that at times they the cleaner feel like spitting in their food and they forward the letter back to both senior librarian and regional director. Staffs don’t have the luxury of having their kids within staff quarters but yet still the regional director daughter and her friends could have the meeting room for eating their lunch and having study sessions under air conditioner. Staff have duties to carry out and would love to do them within that room and were refused the use of the room by these managers. Time off was often times given to their news carrier friends but limit to some. If time off was granted you have sign the book as their excuse was if something should happen to you while on the road the book is there for your protection, yet these manager don’t sign the book when they leave work to carry out errands including going to the hair dresser and market mainly. They don’t sign the attendance register so no action can be taken against them in coming late but quick to reprimand line staff of their short comings. I recently visit the library before Co-Vid 19 and the library need an overhaul. A letter from a user of the facility was issue within the western mirror some time ago on the condition of the library and I was told by a staff member that the regional director met with the gentleman and gave confidential information as well as read the letter before it was address to the editor. If you really care for the parish why would you agree to that letter? You use to tell staff that they should not entertain visitors but you should lead by example. You have numerous visitor from church and for personal gains meeting within your office for hours. You hate to see others strive and may god have mercy on your soul, cause as a church goer and a vibrant member satan have nothing on you. Staff members that are still within the service my advice to you is to pray none stop, cause the devil is rampant within your leaders. You guys need to demonstrate again until your voice are heard not from your headquarters but by ministry and the heads of government. A clean up exercise need to be done. And for those staffs that are not afraid to speak up continue to do so, they will try everything to break you and for you to leave but stand your ground until your ready to do so. Marvetta leave the workers that they can strive and moodie try and have an ounce of sense. Be a leader not a follower to Hitler.
Mi a wait fi c it
A ya so nice……. dem must feel like shit fi know say dem cyaa pretend no longer the sheep clothing is tattered and torn ….. it reveals the true identity
Remember that she even give staff memo to speak with auditor. Bout “Entertaining Strangers” buss them yes!!!!
I am not an employee of the JLS and I feel the need to say something. I have read the comments about this Marvetta lady and someone could never be so diabolical!!! Now employees of the St. James JLS. I am in a leadership position at a private firm and it hurts to see another leader uses their position or what power they have to make other staff members uncomfortable. Lets look at it from another angle. Take away the hatred for her and and ask yourselves is any of this true? If they are all true, then may God have mercy on her soul as the bible speak of people like her.
Not everyone is a leader some are boss and right here it’s evident she is a boss that lack feelings for her team
Moodie she nah learn i don’t know what the heck is wrong with her. She did have some ways bout her that i cant wrap my head around and from Marvetta come to St. James she set on Moodie fi terrorize the staff including the nice Christian people them. Moodie u need fi stop it because u cant stand the heat in the kitchen on your own. The staff were willing to unite with you because you were far better than Marvetta with the corruption but idk every minute you apologize you gone back to following Hitler style. I think the rest of the staff there are willing to forgive you Moodie but time for some real changes you dont have to be disrespectful but stand your ground for the injustice that your staff face under Marvetta’s hands. As for Marvetta only God can change she as she needs to be rewashed with the blood a Jesus everyday fi get change her black heart.
yes fada