Pierre Maudet temporarily loses the keys to his department – rts.ch

This urgent measure was taken to “protect the mental and physical health of employees”, said Wednesday the president of the Geneva government Anne Emery-Torracinta in Forum. The magistrate even mentioned the risk of a fatal outcome for some of these employees of the State.

The 35 people of the DDE are now under the responsibility of State Councilor Nathalie Fontanet, responsible for the finances of the canton. This transfer remains provisional for the moment pending the final report. The external expert who has been appointed by the canton must return her work within two to three weeks.

The expertise was launched due to the constant and significant increase in the rate of absence within the general directorate of economic development, research and innovation, as revealed on Wednesday by the RTS. This rate increased by 13% between May 2019 and April 2020, triggering the implementation of the appraisal process by the State Personnel Office.

Pierre Maudet targeted in person

The expert interviewed some of the staff. Serious facts have come back to him. Faced with this situation, she decided to write an interim report to the Council of State, also urging the executive to take measures to protect the health of employees, said Anne Emery-Torracinta.

Other audits on human resources management have already been carried out within the State. Most of the time, they were targeting a manager, the behavior of an executive. The present case is completely different. It is the State Councilor Pierre Maudet himself who is questioned by the collaborators.

Their suffering is such that we had to take measures, underlined the president of the government. Pierre Maudet received the expert, but was not heard by her, because it is not his role, explained Anne Emery-Torracinta. The magistrate may defend himself before the Council of State once the final report has been rendered.

An “unjustified and premature” decision for Pierre Maudet

Pierre Maudet had already seen his department shrink since 2018 because of his quarrels with the Geneva justice following a trip to Abu Dhabi in 2015, all expenses paid, in the company of his relatives. Today, the Councilor of State finds himself without a collaborator under his orders.

“This decision seems to me unjustified and premature. It can appear like a cabal”, indicated Pierre Maudet, who deplores the fact of not having been heard by the expert. He intends to wait until Thursday to communicate more about this situation.

>> To read also: Malaise within Pierre Maudet’s department

ats / ebz

>> Joël Boissard’s analysis in the 7:30 pm: