Situation at work:
I recently returned from maternity leave. Shortly after I returned I discovered that a day's worth of additional work had been given to my maternity cover (normally work would be advertised in the team). I had agreed as part of my return to work that I would be interested in additional work in my area if it came up, despite the fact I was returning part time.
I challenged this with my manager and when I got no response escalated it. Lies were told (which were easily proven as lies e.g. manager tried to say that colleague was only covering two sessions when she herself told me she was covering four and it was apparent from the timetable). I didn't really get a satisfactory response and one of the responses suggested that there had been a change to terms and conditions while I was off that would really negatively impact upon our clients but had been done without consultation. This was mentioned in the context of what I was saying about these sessions e.g. I said that I wanted to work in x because I needed y skills and was told that now all member of the team were deemed equal in terms of skills, knowledge and experience (e.g. think a consultant for cancer being seen as having the same skills as a Paediatrician with no further training etc). As our work involves patients, one of these changes seemed to me to be something that would have an impact on patient safety and quality of care.
After much humming and hawing, I sought a meeting but was told that my concerns were not "relevant" to my manager and should be dealt with in my performance review. Arranged performance review and manager who conducted it disagreed with service manager, saying it was a service delivery issue, not an individual one. I raised it with the team for feedback (usual process) and had begun to collate responses when an email (apparently entirely unrelated to mine 
) came from manager saying that the thing I was concerned about was not going to happen now (for the reasons I had outlined).
Later that week, further sessions were advertised. These sessions will be advertised internally only (due to jobs at risk) and are suitable to be carried out by me or the colleague who provided my cover so we are naturally in competition. On the same day, a member of staff in the setting we both work in made a written complaint to me about said colleague. Why she sent it to me is beyond me.. it is terrible and full of how great I am and how crap my colleague is and contains the phrase "neither use nor ornament" .
I am basically now in receipt of a written complaint but in the context of everything that's going on, it really looks like something I have engineered to discredit my colleague. I swear to you all, MN jury, I didn't so much as mention this colleague to anyone in this setting at any point. Nothing I have done could have influenced it. I actually quite like my colleague (despite the competition). She's a good team player and to be honest, I think the complaint has more to do with the staff being annoyed that I didn't go back full time and that they have two people to deal with now than it has to do with her.
However, now I just want to run away. I need to forward the complaint as appropriate (in accordance with guidelines etc) but I don't think it is a very fair complaint and I have no doubt how it will look. It will look as though I have solicited it because I want these additional sessions.
I am considering not going for these new sessions as a result but if I do, then said colleague will as the only other person with the relevant skills and then will be working in all of my settings with me and gaining more experience (she is full timer, too, I am only part-timer).
So I am torn. I have to do something with the complaint within the next few hours (timeframe stuff) but I just feel in such a bind about it.
If I could just get another job... but none going etc and my own is at risk. I am tired and bored of the politics and unfairness of it all. I am racking my brain for a way out of this but can think of no solution that will be positive and won't result in either me or my colleague losing out.
Any rocks about?