I sent an e-mail regarding the Arvato-case to an online publication.

Erik Ribsskog <eribsskog@gmail.com>

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Enquiry from Free Nations website

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Erik Ribsskog <eribsskog@gmail.com>	Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 1:57 AM
To: freenations@freeuk.com
Hi, I read your article about Bertelsmann taking over Council-services, (like incoming phone-calls from the people living in the constituancy), in a Yorkshire town. http://www.freenations.freeuk.com/gc-60.html I was working for Bertelsmann Arvato Services Microsoft Scandinavian Product Activation, in 2005 and 2006, and I also recieved training, for doing this 'Council-job' for the Yorkshire Council, by the way. A Finnish girl working at the Microsoft-activation, Aniina, and myself, we had to take the elevator down, from the 4th floor, in the Cunard Building, to the 1st floor there. (Arvato had offices in both the 1st floor and the 4th floor, in the Cunard Building). And then we spoke with a woman from the town, and a manager in Arvato, and we were to be a back-up, for the Council job. So I had training answering call from 'citizens' that hadn't had their litter-bins emptied etc. And we got a plastic-folder with a booklet, and a mascot, I think it's called, a green textile-thing, with a sticker on it, to put on the computer-screen etc, that looked like a strange animal with two eyes. This I think must have been at the beginning of 2006. And I was working at Arvato, untill November 2006. And, we never recieved a single phone-call, from the Yorkshire town. So I think must have been something 'phoney' at Arvato Liverpool, also since I think it was only me and Aniina, (or Anina), who recieved this training. So this seems a bit odd, thinking back on this. I also started an employment-case against Bertelsmann. They used reinforcement, as a managment-method, that the team-leaders were trained to use. And this means, that if one sit more than eg. 15 seconds, between calls, without seting the phone on 'available', then the team-leaders are going to scream at you, through the office/table, 'Erik, you're on wrap-up'. This I've heard is illigal in the UK, I've heard it's bullying. Also there was a lot of bullying from managers, and other problems on the campaign. I've written about them in a summary from a meeting there, with my line-manager, in 2006: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4661735/7 And there are also a lot of other documents about the problems there: http://www.scribd.com/groups/view/14830-arvato-services-ltd-s-microsoft-scandinavian-product-activation I think that if someone went through these files, then they could find a lot of documents/e-mails etc, from Arvato, that showed illigal management methods/bullying from managers etc. there. I think one could almost say that we were being used as slaves there almost, and that the reinforcement was kind of like a whip, from the 'slave-keeper', if one did something wrong. On top of all the other bullying that was against eg. me there. So if you have the time, then you'd be welcome to have a look at the case, and see if there's something there, that you could write about on your webisite etc. (I'm also trying to get a court-case up, with this employment-case. But I haven't got it that far yet). Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this! Yours sincerely, Erik Ribsskog

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