Craig Ronald Servin said he wanted to ‘b***h slap’ his female boss
A Queensland workplace safety inspector, who likened his female supervisor to the ‘Star Wars’ character Jabba the Hutt and expressed a desire to ‘slap’ her, has lost his appeal against charges of misconduct.
Craig Ronald Servin, a veteran of 42 years in state government service, held a position at the Office of Industrial Relations within the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (OIR DSDIP).
In July, Servin was deemed guilty of misconduct following a series of inappropriate communications. Despite appealing the decision, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission heard his case on Thursday, ultimately upholding the original finding.
The commission reviewed evidence that between November 28 and December 17, 2024, Servin sent unprofessional messages via his work email account.
From November 29, 2024, to January 13, 2025, he further engaged in questionable communications with several colleagues.
Among these communications was a December 13 message where he shared a meme depicting the slimy, worm-like crime lord Jabba the Hutt from the ‘Star Wars’ saga, seemingly directed at the Executive Director, as the commission noted.
Mr Servin captioned the image: ‘Just sitting back on a Friday afternoon, guzzling a vat of chardy, eyeing off the hapless beast she’s about to swallow whole, thinking about the human detritus and carnage she’s caused during the week…and thinking…life is good at the top!’
He then reacted with laugh emojis to a series of responses from colleagues responding to his message with comments of endorsement or encouragement, the commission heard.
Mr Servin then expressed a desire for a meteor to hit ‘her’ (ostensibly about the Executive Director) and contended that the size of the required meteor would destroy the planet.
Mr Servin also compared the female boss to worm-like villain Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars
A month later, on January 13, the court heard about a series of messages by Mr Servin to a group chat with colleagues.
He replied to a message from a colleague showing a picture of the Grim Reaper overlayed with the words: ‘ALL THOSE IN FAVOR [sic] OF B***H SLAPPING STUPID PEOPLE SAY…HELL YES!!’
Mr Servin’s responses included ‘HELL YES! I’m closest so if I get everyone’s proxy I will bitch flog her for everyone!’
‘Are you allowed to use a piece of 4×2 with rusty nails projecting out the slapping end. Hate to use my hand and accidentally miss, hit her arse and lose my arm!’
In these messages, the commission said he was ostensibly referring to his Executive Director when saying ‘her’.
When one colleague asked to be part of the ‘b***h slapping’, he said: ‘Of course mate. The more the merrier.’
In an initial hearing in July this year, Deputy Director-General Donna Heelan found Mr Servin was guilty of misconduct. No disciplinary action was taken.
But, while Mr Servin did not deny his behaviour, he appealed the decision for eight different reasons including ‘personal harm and isolation’.
Among the reasons, he alleged the procedure was unfair and that his group chat messages with colleagues were private.
In his cause notice, submitted to the commission for his appeal, he said he regretted his words and action, even in private, contributed to a workplace environment that was disrespectful and unprofessional’.
‘I accept the impact this had not only on OIR colleagues and leadership but also on the broader public service’s integrity,’ he said.
‘I unreservedly acknowledge that my conduct between November 2024 and January 2025 fell below the standard expected of a Queensland public sector employee.’
But Industrial Commissioner Samantha Pidgeon disagreed with his appeal, ruling that the decision was fair.
‘I conclude that on any reading of the content of the message thread Mr Servin was involved and contributed to, that conduct was improper and inappropriate,’ she said, adding that his behaviour could reflect poorly on his employer.
‘Mr Servin was a Principal Inspector with the Office of Industrial Relations. He was tasked with ensuring safe and healthy workplaces.
‘The message exchange, undertaken in a private capacity but amongst work colleagues included body-shaming and encouragement of gendered violence toward women in leadership roles.
‘I accept that the process has been distressing for Mr Servin and that he is distressed at the potential impact on his professional reputation arising from the findings.
‘However, these matters do not make the decision unfair or unreasonable.’
Mr Servin is now employed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
