I need to vent!

[millhouse]

The last place I worked at would have 5-day rosters, but people would earn more because they worked on a Saturday or Sunday, despite doing the same 40 hours and having a "weekend" somewhere in the week.

I worked in retail before my current 9-5 role. Retail was 7 days, with one day of late night trading, rotating rosters.

I can tell you the amount of work on peak periods (ie: weekends, public holidays, boxing day, etc) definitely earned the extra pay. While I worked in computer sales and had base + commission, the poor kids on the counter, selling CDs/games/working the storeroom didn't. It's definitely a case of penalty work. Otherwise people are less likely to work the harder shifts, and you're going to have more customers with worse/less staff.

If (and lets just say a massive figure that i'm sure has no basis in reality) 50% of people work 9-5 and do their shopping outside of those hours, shouldn't the people working to service the usual demand + that 50% of people be paid more for the less desirable hours?

That being said, I'm sure the system needs a kick in the ass, but shitcanning penalty rates completely wouldn't be the way to do it.

[The_Damned]

i think every one is forgetting that kids dont go to school on the weekends so if you do work weekends then that is cutting into family time. And what about night shift people that start work at 12am, shouldn't they be compensated for starting at that hour while you are tucked into your bed.

[iamirondude]

i could never understand it either. as time went on orders slipped as machinery broke down and such and they would expect us to make up that difference during work hours but without the bonus. not long after that i left as i couldn't support my family enough on it. it was basic award wages. you can survive on it but it's really really tough. the massive corps like woolies and the others are holding the government to ransom. they know that if the unions push to hard they'll replace with contractors or like the big mining companies, with overseas workers, who they can legally pay at their countries pay rate, as was the court case last year showed. it sucks but the best thing would be to break up woolies and coles and the other duopolies and make law saying that you can only own or have x-amount of market share. they did it in america with standard oil and they threatened to do it to telstra not long ago and they need to stop selling our natural resources off so cheap. do what norway has done with their oil money(plus too they tax the s*** out of it, so that oil companies pay a lot for their oil rights and what they pump). if they liquidated their oil fund they could give every norweigen(i don't know how to spell it,sorry) a million dollars in their currency.

[griffin]

i think every one is forgetting that kids dont go to school on the weekends so if you do work weekends then that is cutting into family time. And what about night shift people that start work at 12am, shouldn't they be compensated for starting at that hour while you are tucked into your bed.

That's why I was acknowledging the need for out-of-hours (5pm to 9am) penalty rates, but the school kids thing should also be a factor... but that's where more flexible working conditions & rates would be useful (determined by a neutral party - not between employer and employee like Workchoices wanted, which left the power in the hands of the employer).
The Award should be a minimum framework, but since everyone is different, with different needs and commitments (not everyone is a two-working-parent home), so work environments should be semi-flexible to accommodate the many different employees and lives.

[iamirondude]

well the turds down the road of finally done it. they broke in. they took the kids bikes but on the plus side i got them back and i don't think they'll be back down this way for a little while.

[Golden Phoenix]

well the turds down the road of finally done it. they broke in. they took the kids bikes but on the plus side i got them back and i don't think they'll be back down this way for a little while.

What pricks. This is why we can't have nice things.

Maybe we should buy one of those little pacific islands and just dump them all there.

[Sinnertwin]

Maybe we should buy one of those little pacific islands and just dump them all there.

We already have enough garbage in the world

[iamirondude]

well i just hope they stay away now. they were actually riding the bikes out front of their house. these are the same little shits that have broken into my neighbors house's and the cops don't do anything to them. i just calmly told them if i see them near my house i'm gonna come down and hurt their parents.

[morg176]

It is a most unfortunate circumstance in which some people can go through life with flagrant disregard for rules, order or common decency and have a consequence free existence. And other good, honest, hard working people have to put up with and often pay out of pocket for the ill behaviours of others. And often if action is taken to correct said individuals, the honest person falls to the law.

There seems to be a distinct lack or absence of logic and/or common sense here...

[iamirondude]

well if you gert the newpaper here everyday you'll see the crimewave these little turds do every night. they go to court they get a $300 fine(which they don't pay anyway) and don't have to pay for the damage to the cars they steal or replace valuable items they've hocked. 2 to 3 weeks ago 1 died in a stolen car. not 1 word of condolence was said for her. the most was"good that's 1 lees to steal our cars".we have a text to the editor here and it's printed everyday and last year 1 of them were breaking into the riverside tavern and cut his arm and bled out and died. his mates left him for dead and they never rang an ambulance. he was found by the guards doing their rounds. well for the next 2 weeks there were text after text about how he deserved what he got and his mate were scum(well they are. you never leave a mate)his family sent in a few texts defending him and saying he was a good bloke. how can he be when he's out ripping off hard working people. i work for everything i own, never handed to me and i expect to be able to go to sleep or go out and come home and to see that my family and stuff are still safe.