The changes that effect me are I have lost one early start but go an other even earlier start at 0702 which regular readers will know is the middle of the night to me. I have lost the one late turn I did so that is a good thing. The down side is I have lost just over 2 hours a week so I will need to work one rest day a month to make up for this in Wages. We haven seen the running boards yet so I don't know what horrors await on the actual duties. Time as they say, will tell.
The Werther's haven't gone yet, a controller tried to claim them when I went to pay in but he hadn't got on the bus so he didn't get them. OK the cat isn't 'sweet' but I love him, most of the time.
2 comments:
You mean you are assigned your work? I've worked for six different companies and we always bid on our work, based on seniority. This was true even at the non union companies. In fact, I've never heard of a bus company that didn't follow this procedure.
Management would love to do away with bidding, as it is cumbersome, but even they can't see a way around it. Different runs pay quite differently, and there would be an uproar if a junior driver was given a high paying run.
Also, one of the good things about the job is that there is a tiny amount of flexibility. Most of us work 10 to 14 hours a day, but we can hope to find the schedule that best suits us. If work was assigned randomly, life would be impossible for those of us who pick runs based on driving the kids to school, or picking them up. When I was married, my wife, an early riser, got off early to be with my stepdaughter in the afternoon. I went to work late so that I could give her breakfast and see her off to school. We were both drivers working 12 or 13 hours a day. It was hell on the marriage but at least our 8 year old wasn't left alone.
I can think of any number of other arrangements that drivers have made, picking runs that allowed them to do something that was important to them. That's what makes it a job, not serfdom, in spite of the long hours.
I travelled on a No.12 from Lawes Bridge to Brixham today hoping to get the Werthers but unfortunately you were not either of the drivers. Better luck next time eh!
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