Pay Cuts?

eddiemcgarrigle said:
The Fire Service idea of modernising is to spend less and demand more. They are trying to push through a new shift system (Manchester are already suffering from it) where I could be called into work with only 24 hours notice as their new idea is that I will continue to work my usual shifts but will OWE 28 days extra per year and can expect no extra payment for it. This is to allow cover where individuals are off sick but without the need for paying overtime. :rolleyes:

They are touting this as being 'family friendly' but refuse to account for the hassle it will cause trying to get childcare at very short notice and the cost of doing so (at least £120 per day). Expect a strike soon as I will not allow the Fire Service to compromise my ability to care for my son.
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There are lots of stories about how inflexible the FBU are.

Of the top of my head I think it was Avon and Somerset who jointly built and new control room for the Police, Fire and Ambulance service. Everyone was happy except the FBU who kicked up a stink that they were not portioned off from everyone else when the sole purpose of the joint control room was to improve communication between the services.

This week the FBU are threatening strike action because a fireman too fat to do his job has been sacked.

The FBU seem to use the threat of strikes as the first tool of negotiaition.
 
Cyanide said:
As much as I'd love to I currently don't have a spare £1000 that I'd need to re-pay my training fees.
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It is dubious if these pay back clauses are actually legally binding. Something about breaching european restrictive working practices regulations.
 
RDM said:
It is dubious if these pay back clauses are actually legally binding. Something about breaching european restrictive working practices regulations.
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Really? I haven't really looked in to it yet as I've only just found out about the cuts. All I know is that my contract says if I leave within the first 2 years of finishing the training I have to pay back the fees.
 
OP calls himself a central heating engineer; where does the Fire Service come in?

Apparently, I am still in line to get upto a 10% rise this month, but I won't hold my breath.
 
There are jobs out there, dont get bummed by penny pinching bosses just because they think the "current economic climate" gives them an excuse to do it.

Citylink tried to do it with me this week, as a result I start my new job on the 28th for 5k a year more basic and 10 hours a week less.
My parting line in my notice as i am writing it is "as I told you at my HR interview, I work here because i choose to, not because i dont have any alternatives.............."
 
atpbx said:
"as I told you at my HR interview, I work here because i choose to, not because i dont have any alternatives.............."
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Cyanide said:
I've just found out that we're due to get what amounts to a 20% pay cut (ie, 20% extra work for the same money). We're also yet to even get close to having an inflation raise this year. I'm amazed our union's let this one through. The meeting on Friday with the managers where it's made official could get interesting.

Anyone else ever had something like this thrust upon them by their employer?
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Be grateful you still have a job, a recession on the way, managers and owners (myself included) have to watch money saved disappear due to scare-mongering by the News. If you dont like it move....
 
Are you being asked to do more hours for the same wage?

If their asking for 20% more output in the same hours, then thats not a pay cut, its not even overworking you, its just trying to squeeze some more efficiency out of you, if ifs physically possible to 20% more work in the hours your contracted for, and you cant manage it in the said amount of hours, maybe your just 20% lazier than everyone else?
 
Efaws said:
Are you being asked to do more hours for the same wage?

If their asking for 20% more output in the same hours, then thats not a pay cut, its not even overworking you, its just trying to squeeze some more efficiency out of you, if ifs physically possible to 20% more work in the hours your contracted for, and you cant manage it in the said amount of hours, maybe your just 20% lazier than everyone else?
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We get a time allowance for every element of the installations we do. Installing a boiler and associated pipework, for example, is 8.62 hours. We have to do 40 hours worth of stuff in a week to get our basic wage. They're reducing the time allocated for each task by 20% but keeping the week at 40 hours - thus 20% more work.

20% more hours is a lot when you're already doing 40 hours manual labour though. Most of the engineers I've spoken to have said they'll struggle to do 48 hours in a week so it's not just me being lazy. It'll equate to doing 3 heating systems a week, not an easy job when you've got an incredibly high standard of work to maintain.
 
Slinwagh said:
This week the FBU are threatening strike action because a fireman too fat to do his job has been sacked.
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You will find that Grampian Fire Service had the option of moving him to light duties until he could sort himself out. Sacking someone and witholding their pension due to their size is a bit much when it could have been dealt with in a much better way. I've no doubt he was seriously stressed by the whole issue and stress can have a detrimental effect on people, causing them to eat when they know they shouldn't. Management are playing hardball, no reason why the Firefighters shouldn't do so either.

Anyhoo, this isn't a thread about the Brigade so back on to the original topic.
 
Exentia said:
yes, new load of products to support, manager put everyones (below me) wages up by 1500 put mine up by 500 so that people I was managing were on 1500 les than me a year. I left 1 month later.
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For a short while I was supervising a guy earning nearly £4k more than me afaik. Even now I believe he's only £2k behind me and could well be closing the gap when the annual pay review comes around (I think I may not be eligible this year).
 
wush said:
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Absolutely.

But it is also the case entirely, Like a lot of you whether you realise it or not, I am in the slightly privileged position of being very employable, I have a flawless work history, good education and a proven history of success from both being employed and self employed so can pretty much choose who and where i work within my chosen field (Any job in the multi drop courier industry up to and including depot manager as I've done it in the past) as people will always want good staff.

I've left everywhere i've worked (apart from DHL) on good terms and have been asked to return to previous employers on more than one occasion.

So yes, when i get mucked around, i do find it slightly insulting that they would treat me like i had no choice but to accept conditions i would never consider working under.

Hard workers (like the majority of you) should never feel they have to work somewhere because they have no choice.
 
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atpbx said:
Hard workers (like the majority of you) should never feel they have to work somewhere because they have no choice.
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Ok, I'm probably in a worse job than I could get with the credentials I have now.

But..

The bills have to be paid and I have to eat. I can't quit to give myself time to go to interviews etc, I wouldn't be able to pay my rent. So I'd disagree on that...
 
sr4470 said:
Ok, I'm probably in a worse job than I could get with the credentials I have now.

But..

The bills have to be paid and I have to eat. I can't quit to give myself time to go to interviews etc, I wouldn't be able to pay my rent. So I'd disagree on that...
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Get your CV out there to everybody you can, even if they are not advertising.
This new job I have, were not even advertising, and to be quite honest didnt even have a job going when they received my CV, it was only after they were having a discussion a few days later when they said, "wouldnt it be great if we had someone to do X?"
"yes, but we dont really have anybody to do it"
"Hmm............hang on, lets have a look at this fella"

etc etc.
 
here's a related question. when does a reasonable amount of work and the timescales you have to complete that work in become unreasonable? is it right for an employer to demand that you work over and above your hours, regularly, in order to get work out that has unrealistic timeframes attached to it? or do you just have to take it?
 
eddiemcgarrigle said:
Anyhoo, this isn't a thread about the Brigade so back on to the original topic.
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Good job too the brigade is a bunch of work shy dinosaurs hiding behind a backwards union the sooner someone modernises the service properly the better!

Back on topic I think it's pretty much tough luck unless they are asking to do something which would constitute a change to your basic T&C's like manual labour when your contracted for office work you haven't got a leg to stand on which is why the union have done nothing. It's just some extra work suck it up.
 
I people hand in resignation letters if employers do this, soon get a message can't alter a signed contract where hours and hourly wage/salary has been agreed to.

Want extra hours? Well either pay for the extra hours (hourly rate) or increase salary by x amount!
 
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