Oil giant Total SACKS 900 people

I get around · 21 Jun 2009 at 16:58

jamief said:
A scab? You mean someone actually doing the job they are being paid to do?

Yeah because the job you do always matches the description exactly.
It's not about money, it's about people. Treat the people badly and they're going to strike.

rypt · 21 Jun 2009 at 17:06

dowie said:
erm no, just simply no - like I pointed out already I don't do manual labour in some factory so I couldn't care less about unions.

If a company signs an agreement stating that they will do A, B, C ... they cannot go back on this as if they did they could be taken to an employment tribunal.

dowie · 21 Jun 2009 at 17:47

dmpoole said:
So you think that the working conditions in the job you have now didn't come out of past Union representation?

erm pretty much yes - like I've already pointed out working conditions were probably better in the past than they are now.

As for break times etc... again this is more applicable for people working set hours for a set hourly rate etc...

FWIW I eat my lunch at my desk, opted out of EU working time regulations and frequently work long hours. My salary and any other contractual terms are negotiated between myself and the company once a year.

Jeff Lynne · 21 Jun 2009 at 17:49

dowie said:
Now banking has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years, I'm not sure I recall bankers in the 17th century having to work in "nasty conditions". If anything conditions (in terms of working hours, stress etc..) are probably worse now than they were in the past.

Banking's not the must secure industry at the moment is it?

Maybe you'll change your tune if you lose your job in the future as well as hundreds or thousands of your collegues and end up having to do manual, unskilled labour to make ends meet.

Or you could get a job in McDonalds.

SexyGreyFox · 21 Jun 2009 at 18:30

dowie said:
FWIW I eat my lunch at my desk, opted out of EU working time regulations and frequently work long hours. My salary and any other contractual terms are negotiated between myself and the company once a year.

You are therefore breaking EU rules and the company should advise you against it in case of comebacks.
You should take your breaks.

dowie · 22 Jun 2009 at 00:22

dmpoole said:
You are therefore breaking EU rules and the company should advise you against it in case of comebacks.
You should take your breaks.

You're allowed to opt out of the EU working time limits, there is provision under EU law for people to opt out. As for the lunch breaks thing, there is a bit of a different culture in the city - most people work longer than the the hours their contract specifies too.

dowie · 22 Jun 2009 at 00:26

Jeff Lynne said:
Banking's not the must secure industry at the moment is it?

Maybe you'll change your tune if you lose your job in the future as well as hundreds or thousands of your collegues and end up having to do manual, unskilled labour to make ends meet.

Or you could get a job in McDonalds.

Depends where you work, what you do etc... you could also argue that no industry is secure at the moment though actually fast food is doing quite well and should continue to do so over the next couple of years. Still I don't think I'll be applying for the McDonalds grad scheme anytime soon.

As for the unskilled labour thing - I've got savings and I don't think I'd need to get that desperate.

D D Danneh · 22 Jun 2009 at 00:33

dowie said:
erm pretty much yes - like I've already pointed out working conditions were probably better in the past than they are now.

Agreed. Stupid comfy chairs, ergonomic keyboards, hired cleaners, breaks, automated machinery, safety guards, and flushing toilets. Making us work in worse conditions.

*grumbles to self*

dowie · 22 Jun 2009 at 10:15

oh actually sorry you guys are right, I forgot that the militant left wing union representing equity traders has massively changed conditions on trading floors and ensured the swift introduction of flat screens & hand held computers in order to reduce the fatalities previously caused by slipping on bits of paper.

TheMagicPirate · 22 Jun 2009 at 11:13

Just seen this on the BBC website

BBC said:
Workers at an oil refinery who were sacked for taking unofficial strike action, have burned their dismissal letters in a mass protest.

Er, what?

I don't quite understand what they hope to achieve by burning their dismissal letters in protest?!

scorza · 22 Jun 2009 at 11:33

TheMagicPirate said:
Just seen this on the BBC website

Er, what?

I don't quite understand what they hope to achieve by burning their dismissal letters in protest?!

Don't the dismissal letters include the invitation to re-apply for their jobs? They're basically saying they aren't intimidated by Total's tactics.

TheMagicPirate · 22 Jun 2009 at 11:39

scorza said:
Don't the dismissal letters include the invitation to re-apply for their jobs? They're basically saying they aren't intimidated by Total's tactics.

Ah, that makes a touch more sense.