*From:* David Cantrell
*Date:* Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:53:32 +0100
On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 02:51:02PM -0500,
wrote:
Drivers are not allowed to do overtime (the unions won't allow it)
Why do the unions have any say in the matter? If a driver wants to
work
overtime, and his manager has work for him to do, then it seems
crazy to
stop them.
--
David Cantrell | A machine for turning tea into grumpiness
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity
-- Hanlon's Razor
Stupidity maintained long enough is a form of malice
-- Richard Bos's corollary
I'm not quite sure of the reasoning behind this on the Underground -
overtime is worked on the stations. Rest day working is also worked on the
mainline (I don't know if it's agreed with all train companies). It isn't
because of the amount of actual time worked. When I joined, you worked a
five day 40-hour week, Monday to Saturday. Sundays (one on, one off,
giving an average 44 hour week) were always classed as overtime. Although
they were rostered and you could say in advance "I don't want to work
Sunday", very few people did. However, you couldn't work any of your
booked rest days, although this was sometimes done unofficially or during
training.
The Company Plan was introduced in the early 90s when there were sweeping
changes made to the terms and conditions and everybody had to sign new
contracts if they still wanted their job. Apart from going onto salaried
status (paid monthly, at a flat rate, instead of hourly at enhanced
rates), one of the major changes was the introduction of a five day 40
hour week when Sundays were classed as no different from any other day and
the week ran from Sunday to Saturday. It's possible that this was when
overtime was tightened up as the only official overtime (Sundays) was no
longer relevant.
Personally, I'm neutral over the overtime ban
Whilst it might be useful to occasionally work a bit of overtime if you
need a bit of extra money, it would be too easy to get into the trap of
being used to that extra money all the time and so effectively get trapped
into having to work the overtime all the time out of need. Of course this
applies to any job, however high or low paid.
Roger