alix776:
Will some of you whingers go get a life if someone wants to work over Xmas period so what. If you work for a company that operates over the period then id you don’t like it get another job. To those that cant see the boss in on Xmas day the boss probably did more hrs and lost more sleep getting to the point that allows him Xmas day off.
Why shouldn’t we moan,when they can clearly give you the day off,but choose to use it as a way to BLACKMAIL you in to working over time,then I think we’ve a right to moan about working
When you arrive for work at 11 a.m on Boxing Day ,log on too iso- trac to find your first planned drop is at 22.00 hrs( 11 hrs later) ,then yes your going to have a bloody good moan,and you’ve a bloody right too
N.b even the bloke who hands out the jobs was shaking his head at that bit of planning( I use the word planning in a loose way)
When you get to shop on a evening too find it shut,and not due too open for 5 hrs ,then when they do finally open too be told we’ve no room drive ,the freezer is full,you’ll just have too wait until we can try and make some,we’ve a right to moan.
It’s pure vindictiveness ,they don’t need you there but because you won’t give into blackmail they make you work.
Then they go round asking how can we raise morale
alix776:
Will some of you whingers go get a life if someone wants to work over Xmas period so what. If you work for a company that operates over the period then id you don’t like it get another job. To those that cant see the boss in on Xmas day the boss probably did more hrs and lost more sleep getting to the point that allows him Xmas day off.
What a great attitude. If you don’t like it, ■■■■ off somewhere else. It’s because of viewpoints such as yours, and a willingness to be bent over as and when the boss decides, that the industry is the way it is and drivers are treated how they are.
See what happens when the train companies try to run on Christmas Day. Bob Crow will either knock it on the head straight away or have his ‘brothers’ on about £100 per hour - just like they’re on £35k plus for a four-day week. Then again, they stick together and don’t ■■■■ up what they’re told, as many lorry drivers not only seem to, but do so with a big smile on their face thinking it makes them one of these ‘proper truckers’, just as working 75 hours per week does!!
Tgtrucker:
Robroy, ta for your thoughts.
After 30 years doing this job I never expected to be described as all keen and wide eyed
In that time what I’ve seen is a change from an industry full of reasonably happy and positive drivers to now, where negativity is the accepted norm and if you don’t constantly moan you’re seen as something odd, or keen and wide eyed
Gets right on my ■■■■ tbh.
Now I don’t doubt that there are many good reasons for this happening, pay and conditions are certainly on the decline from a drivers point of view, and yes I’m well aware that there are still unscrupulous employers around who will take advantage at the drop of a hat, and I totally agree that each and every driver should stand up for what is right and not just agree to everything they throw at him/her.
But that still doesn’t excuse the original point of this, which was the moaning and whinging about holiday working when it was known in advance to be part of the pay and conditions.
And it seems to escape many that society is changing, not necessarily for the better either IMHO, but the fact remains holiday working is becoming more and more the accepted norm these days, and it will get worse, so it’s really time to be getting used to the idea.
Anyway, enough of all this negativity, I’m off to book my hols for next Christmas now
Happy new year
Ok, looks like I was wrong about the newbie bit, and nice to see you have turned down the “keen vibe” on your last post , and sorry for getting on your ■■■■
It appears we are of the same generation of trucker, and I am well aware I maybe come across to you as one of your moaners, it’s probably because of the fact that haulage, evidently unlike your experiences in it, has not done me a lot of favours over the years, so I tend to look at things from a more ( highly ) cynical point of view, always looking for a hidden agenda, and as I have said before on here, I’m beginning to enjoy the moaning anyway! …must be an age thing
Working Christmas hols has never been for me, but each to his own, if you agree to it at first then no excuse. As for getting used to the idea,…hmmm… (Cynical hat on) that is part of the ongoing process of us “being kept in our place” by the unscrupulous sector of the employers market, so we will have to agree to disagree on that one. I do tend to agree more with fredthered’s opinion on it…even though he is a Man Utd fan .
Enjoy your next years Christmas hols, but don’t be surprised if he has you working, as you have… got used to the idea
Pat Hasler:
Are we all on track minded on here ? … The original post mentioned being in the tunnel, the channel tunnel and it’s system including the trains, also the ferries crossing constantly take thousands of staff to keep them going, my heart goes out to all of those who worked hard on Christmas day to get you drivers where you are going.
Yes you’re quite right, I don’t think people have any idea just how many others have to work over the period;
Police,
Ambulance staff
Firemen
Emergency phone line operators
Doctors
Nurses
Hospital staff
Highways agency
HATO
Ferry staff
Channel tunnel
Air traffic control
Airport
Airlines
Petrol stations
Motorway service areas
Power company
Water company
Gas company
I could go on,the list is long, but I won’t
The one thing these jobs share is that they are all in the service sector, and modern society demands that to be functioning every day of the year.
Oops, sorry, I forgot 1 rather important industry in the service sector;
Road transport and distribution…
You missed Train company’s and bus company’s oh well im sure 5 will come along at once.
Pat Hasler:
Are we all on track minded on here ? … The original post mentioned being in the tunnel, the channel tunnel and it’s system including the trains, also the ferries crossing constantly take thousands of staff to keep them going, my heart goes out to all of those who worked hard on Christmas day to get you drivers where you are going.
Yes you’re quite right, I don’t think people have any idea just how many others have to work over the period;
Police,
Ambulance staff
Firemen
Emergency phone line operators
Doctors
Nurses
Hospital staff
Highways agency
HATO
Ferry staff
Channel tunnel
Air traffic control
Airport
Airlines
Petrol stations
Motorway service areas
Power company
Water company
Gas company
I could go on,the list is long, but I won’t
The one thing these jobs share is that they are all in the service sector, and modern society demands that to be functioning every day of the year.
Oops, sorry, I forgot 1 rather important industry in the service sector;
Road transport and distribution…
You missed Train company’s and bus company’s oh well im sure 5 will come along at once.
They don’t work christmas day, and very little on boxing day. Its the only major shutdown they do so major track maintainance can be done. Thats also why I can earn a months money in a week this time of year
As for the family time, as I work the days, I don’t have to use my holiday allowance up on days not of my choosing, so I get to spend quality time with my family when we choose. Its the same with all thebank holidays in the rail maintainance industry. No one is forced to work any of them, but we are paid a good amount if we do, plus if your on a big job you usually get free meals on christmas day and boxing day. This isn’t sorted out by any union, as there isn’t really one on our side of the rail industry.
Sunday is a religious day, and god decreed that it should be a day of rest, so lets ban that. Easter Friday and Monday are also religious days, so lets ban those, along with Xmas day and Boxing day, plus all the Bank holidays, and seeing that they fall on a Monday, we should also close down Saturday/Sunday as well, which will give the transport sector a well deserved rest. Of course i am kidding, when i joined this industry, i knew it involved, or could involve working on bank holidays, which was handy really, cos normally one would spend money on a bank holioday, and go through the rest iof the week skint, so why not take advantage and double your money. It didnt happen often, but there were times when i was shipping in or out on a boxing day, or were stranded away on both days, so all in all it was deemed part of the job, and it was no good moaning about it, and at times it was a blessing. Often i could make more friends, and would often encounter generosity never known to me, just because it was Christmas, so it can have its advantages. Yes it also ruined marriages and relationships, and strained also that special bond with my children, the hardest part was planning a day out on a bank holiday, only for it to be dashed, when asked to work, but that was and is the nature of the job, and especially in the food industry, which today is a 365/24/7 industry.
I don’t quite understand why we’re still working a five day week. It seems that at some point, we (as a society) chose more materialistic gain over quality of life. If it was up to me, I’d be at work for a maximum of three days a week, every week, and get by with less money. I’d never go for a job where I was expected to work over Christmas.
Rhythm Thief:
I don’t quite understand why we’re still working a five day week. It seems that at some point, we (as a society) chose more materialistic gain over quality of life.
I think it might have had more to do with the need to get stuff done.
Rhythm Thief:
I don’t quite understand why we’re still working a five day week. It seems that at some point, we (as a society) chose more materialistic gain over quality of life. If it was up to me, I’d be at work for a maximum of three days a week, every week, and get by with less money. I’d never go for a job where I was expected to work over Christmas.
I dislike the 5 day week too. 4 days is more than enough, especially doing the hours we do. I’d favour a 4 day week, Friday and Saturday as the traditional weekend with Sunday as a true day of rest with only a very limited amount of things open.
Check this link out. Germans only work, on average, 25.6 hours per week. An interesting point is …
Of the 10 countries with the fewest average hours worked, nine have the highest gross domestic product per capita
Rhythm Thief:
I don’t quite understand why we’re still working a five day week. It seems that at some point, we (as a society) chose more materialistic gain over quality of life. If it was up to me, I’d be at work for a maximum of three days a week, every week, and get by with less money. I’d never go for a job where I was expected to work over Christmas.
I dislike the 5 day week too. 4 days is more than enough, especially doing the hours we do. I’d favour a 4 day week, Friday and Saturday as the traditional weekend with Sunday as a true day of rest with only a very limited amount of things open.
Check this link out. Germans only work, on average, 25.6 hours per week. An interesting point is …
Of the 10 countries with the fewest average hours worked, nine have the highest gross domestic product per capita
EDIT - We’re 10th on the list.
Yeah and it also says:
Average working hours per week: 31
Average wage per hour: $31.27 (11th highest)
So, either there’s people working VERY few hours, or it’s bollox
Rhythm Thief:
I don’t quite understand why we’re still working a five day week. It seems that at some point, we (as a society) chose more materialistic gain over quality of life.
I think it might have had more to do with the need to get stuff done.
But the need to get stuff done isn’t, frankly, my problem. What should have happened (and should still happen, in my view) is that people should turn around and say “hang on, a six hour working day (or three day working week) is more than enough in the 21st century. If you want me to work more, you can pay for it, otherwise I’ll take the increased leisure time and do without the latest ludicrously large flat screen telly and 63-reg car”. Instead, we’ve allowed ourselves to be bamboozled into believing that stuff - more and more of it, all the time - will make us happy, and that adverts for stuff must be obeyed or our friends will not like us any more and we’ll be outcasts without the things necessary to function in society. This stuff has to be paid for, so we all find ourselves working longer hours for less money than our parents did. It’s not just lorry drivers either: I know more and more office workers who put in ten hours a day, five days a week.
Thats’ why I won’t be working Christmas, or any other bank holidays, or even weekends, if I can possibly help it. More power to those who do wish to work bank holidays and whatnot, but I’ll take the time off over the money any day of the week.
Rhythm Thief:
I don’t quite understand why we’re still working a five day week. It seems that at some point, we (as a society) chose more materialistic gain over quality of life.
I think it might have had more to do with the need to get stuff done.
But the need to get stuff done isn’t, frankly, my problem. What should have happened (and should still happen, in my view) is that people should turn around and say “hang on, a six hour working day (or three day working week) is more than enough in the 21st century. If you want me to work more, you can pay for it, otherwise I’ll take the increased leisure time and do without the latest ludicrously large flat screen telly and 63-reg car”. Instead, we’ve allowed ourselves to be bamboozled into believing that stuff - more and more of it, all the time - will make us happy, and that adverts for stuff must be obeyed or our friends will not like us any more and we’ll be outcasts without the things necessary to function in society. This stuff has to be paid for, so we all find ourselves working longer hours for less money than our parents did. It’s not just lorry drivers either: I know more and more office workers who put in ten hours a day, five days a week.
Thats’ why I won’t be working Christmas, or any other bank holidays, or even weekends, if I can possibly help it. More power to those who do wish to work bank holidays and whatnot, but I’ll take the time off over the money any day of the week.
If that’s what you want what’s stopping you?
Before the wtd came in I went on to a 4 day week, my choice, someone else did the other 3 days on the truck. We both could’ve done 5/6 days at that firm if we wanted. My mum does a job share week on week off.
Rhythm Thief:
I don’t quite understand why we’re still working a five day week. It seems that at some point, we (as a society) chose more materialistic gain over quality of life.
I think it might have had more to do with the need to get stuff done.
But the need to get stuff done isn’t, frankly, my problem. What should have happened (and should still happen, in my view) is that people should turn around and say “hang on, a six hour working day (or three day working week) is more than enough in the 21st century. If you want me to work more, you can pay for it, otherwise I’ll take the increased leisure time and do without the latest ludicrously large flat screen telly and 63-reg car”. Instead, we’ve allowed ourselves to be bamboozled into believing that stuff - more and more of it, all the time - will make us happy, and that adverts for stuff must be obeyed or our friends will not like us any more and we’ll be outcasts without the things necessary to function in society. This stuff has to be paid for, so we all find ourselves working longer hours for less money than our parents did. It’s not just lorry drivers either: I know more and more office workers who put in ten hours a day, five days a week.
Thats’ why I won’t be working Christmas, or any other bank holidays, or even weekends, if I can possibly help it. More power to those who do wish to work bank holidays and whatnot, but I’ll take the time off over the money any day of the week.
whilst I fully agree with your principles I don’t think your stance will work out well for you or your family, sure you will have more leisure time but no money to enjoy it after you have been replaced by migrant labour
Maybe we should all take a little time to reflect and convey our best wishes to those who have little or no choice those are the armed forces wherever they be and dealing with whatever conflict,the emergency services,the engineers who responded to the damage caused by the weather broadcasters who provide our festive entertainment.
but to put it all into perspective a heartfelt sense of gratitude to all the armed services and a sense of deep sadness to those who have lost their lives in the service of their country to their families and friends whose christmas s will never be the same.
may your god bless you all stay as safe as you can and just maybe you will all be about to see christmas2014
I was busy earlier so couldn’t look too much. Looking at the figures I posted the OECD don’t take into account holidays. They give the annual hours worked and divide by 52. Bit misleading that.
Adjusting for that our average output is approx 36 hours. Which sounds about right from 42.7 which only accounts for full time workers. Apparently 27% of our workers only work part time so that will lower it quite a bit.
Still, that’s the third longest in Europe for full time workers. Factoring in part timers we’re 10th on the scale of those who work the least. Then we have approx 2.5 million unemployed. This is the problem, our full time workers work too many hours. 2 workers doing 60 hours a week are doing the jobs of 3 people but paying high taxes to keep them at home on benefits.
Another thing to consider. When I started work the mandatory minimum holiday allowance was 20 days. It is now 28 days. That’s 8 days of productivity per year gone. Did businesses collapse left right and centre. I don’t think they did.
