Infuriating conditions

I was approached last week to take over the typesetting, as Janet Murphy had resigned in disgust. You may recall that I returned a message via your envoy I H to the effect that I had no [unclear: ntention] of working under the same conditions. I know that Janet is writing to you as well, but I'm writing in support so that people can see that the work conditions you impose are really infuriating.

[unclear: i] know only too well that Bruce Robinson has no idea how long something takes to type. A promised three hours work takes even my pondering fingers half an hour. The vice-versa is even more annoying. It's about time Salient was better planned, so the typesetter (and others) knew a bit earlier whether the weekend is going to be wholly lost or not. In other words, the typesetter gets thoroughly messed around by an incompetent, uncommunicative and insensitive editor.

This is bad enough, but putting up with Colin Feslier's procrastination is just as exasperating. All he has to do is authorise our pay. Instead, he keeps losing the time-sheets and simply doesn't bother to do a thing.

Robinson is editor solely by default—may the job be given to the first alternative, Maoist, Trot or Young Nat—but the parasite Feslier, at least should be booted out forthwith, rather than maintaining the pretence that there is an operative Publications Officer.