What Petty Stuff Has Your Company's Union / Staff / Management Complained about?

airzone on 02/10/2015 - 23:09

First a disclaimer: I'm not a member, and will never be a member of any union. However I do recognise the value that they can bring to their members, non-member employees (Yay for RDO!), and the employers. And also I have seen first hand abuse of management power - but have also seen first hand when a union has held a company to ransom to everyone's detriment (even the members). So the conversation is not about the pros or cons of unionisation.

However unions, like any organisation has it's share of dead wood. And today it spoke to me.

I got called into a meeting with the union delegates and a small bunch of greatly concerned and indignant factory workers. This is literally how the conversation went:
Workers: IT is forcing us to work unpaid overtime!
Me: Huh?
Delegate: This is a very serious issue. High priority.
Me: Huh?
Workers: The bundy clocks are forcing us to clock off after our shift has finished! We're forced to wait in our own time!
Me: Huh? The clocks are wrong? Show me.
- We walk over to the nearest bundy clock. They are PC based and synchronised to the network time, which is in turn synchronised to ntp.org (basically an atomic clock if you didn't know) and is within a second or two of mobile network time, radio, etc -
Me: It looks about right to me.
One Worker: Look! It's running 70 seconds slower than my calibrated watch! We have to spend that time waiting before we can clock off shift!
Me: Stop wasting my time. *walks off

I actually took the time to explain it to their shift supervisor when I had regained some faith in humanity. Thankfully he only thought it was a medium issue… Until he checked his phone. And google.

So what other examples of prime pettiness have you all experienced in the course of the daily grind?

Education & Work

Comments

  • gooddealmate on 02/10/2015 - 23:43

    So everyone also gets to start 70 seconds later too, so no-one is losing out anyway. That's ridiculous.

    • eatwell365 on 03/10/2015 - 06:35

      not to all. most people would look at their own watch and try to arrive in time for work unless It is official.
      70 seconds may be petty but if you are the one waiting even 10sec is a lot especially everyday.

      • Hunter80 on 07/10/2015 - 22:17

        Well, if 70 sec is a long time, get another job. Stuff the employer who is wasting your time, it will teach him/her a lesson as well.
        PS. There is a line of employers outside the door.

  • airzone on 03/10/2015 - 00:00

    Here's another one for you.. Makes me and the receptionist laugh.

    One of the other managers occasionally has to do things that are obviously beneath him. Like walking access forms to me. So he directs the receptionist to do it for him instead. Like put said access forms into an envelope and walk the form to my office (which is about 10m away from his desk, but anyway…). That's an example, but it shows how trivial it is.

    So I was out having a chat with the receptionist when "other manager" comes out to see her. "Receptionist", can you call "IT support guy" and have him call me? Then he walks back to his desk. Still not sure if it's just ineffective laziness, or a weird power trip..

    • [Deactivated] on 03/10/2015 - 15:31

      Maybe he just finished watching Mad Men on Netflix.

  • eatwell365 on 03/10/2015 - 06:43
    -1

    A drop dead gorgeous blonde, intelligent, kind and friendly girl was filed a complaint to HR by her new-arrival manager who was fat, old and obnoxious.
    Reason - the girl gave him a welcome hug in front of the other female staff who did not, and may have made her uncomfortable.

    • try2bhelpful on 03/10/2015 - 07:36

      For a start the prejudices you show here are off the chart; I think you have read far too many fairy tales in your lifetime. Additionally, your phrasing makes it very difficult to work out exactly what the issue was here. I presume the manager made a complaint about her to HR because she hugged him in front of the other staff. This sort of touching, particularly between a manager and staff is unacceptable and the manager has done the right thing. He is protecting himself against any future claims by raising this himself now.

      • eatwell365 on 07/10/2015 - 12:33

        You are correct in work point of view. Have read this - A 62 year old make employees took this case to court in 2001. He was awarded compensation for humiliation, pain and suffering after he argued that the hugging was too intimidate and could jeopardise the relationship with his wife.
        Wonder what the other thinks?

  • try2bhelpful on 03/10/2015 - 07:38

    There is a lot of big stuff that employees are being screwed over, so I do think this should have gone to the keeper. The amount of time they stood around arguing about it probably covered the next year's worth in one go.

  • Baysew on 03/10/2015 - 09:44

    The bundy clocks are forcing us..

    I'm pretty sure what ever a bundy clock actually is, it is not what I have just imagined.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/10/2015 - 12:23

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_clock

      They're pretty out of date now….but some places haven't moved on yet :)

      • Baysew on 03/10/2015 - 13:04
        +2

        Bundy Clock

      • airzone on 03/10/2015 - 14:00

        Silly for salaried staff perhaps, but for wage staff where their hours are directly charged to a customer, you need a way to keep track. Anyway in this instance, although everyone has to clock on and off when coming and going (for fairness), it only matters for wage staff as it hits the payroll system and directly impacts. But since the system works in 15 minute intervals, nobody is going to be short paid 1:10 minutes..

  • [Deactivated] on 03/10/2015 - 12:12
    -1

    Unions, What have they ever done that's any good for anyone….

    Well. Except for weekends, a 36 hour week, the Anzac Day Parade, shift penalties, overtime, maternity leave, paternity leave, annual leave, sick leave, work health and safety, superannuation, professional indemnity insurance,worker's compensation, redundancy pay, uniform allowance, meal breaks, unfair dismissal claims….

    Yeah, other than all that other petty stuff. Who'd belong to a union?

    The Point: crooked people doing crooked things makes them crooked - not the organisation they belong to. No process is perfect because people are not perfect.

    • airzone on 03/10/2015 - 13:52

      You didn't read past the first sentence. Good one.

      • Oddmog on 03/10/2015 - 14:51
        +1

        I don't think that this could be real honestly. My experiences with them have proven it's hard to get people to show up for even heavy issues let alone petty disputes.

        With these things people are naturally going to get defensive one way or another.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/10/2015 - 18:24
    -1

    I'm not racist but, {insert racist comment} - is actually racist
    I'm not sexist but, {insert sexist comment} - is actually sexist

    • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2015 - 01:26

      So, "I'm not a union member, {insert union comment}" makes him a unionist?

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