All Posts in "Month: October 2009"

I’m only working 4 days a week and I am enjoying my Fridays.  That may change in a few months and at this time, I’m not sure how I’ll feel about that.[ad#ad-1]

I would definitely miss having an extra day off, especially to take care of business that can’t be done on the weekends. Part-time working has been much more attractive than I expected.  The pay is OK.  It doesn’t leave much for extras, and that may become an issue in the future.  On the other hand, the decrease in stress is welcoming.

I finally had time to read part of a newspaper today; although the paper is from several days ago.  It appears that the government is trying to make businesses offer their full-time positions to job sharers and part-timers.  There’s been criticism that although it is good for working parents to have that flexibility, the recession is not the time to introduce such measures.  There were several points mentioned in the article that I find fault with.

The first one, which irritates me many times when it is mentioned, is the pay differential.  I’m not a true “feminist”, but I don’t think it’s right that men and women are paid differently.  I can understand if the pay appropriately reflects their skills or responsibilities, but studies have shown that is not the case.  Some might argue that women are not put into higher positions and are fighting for more women at the top.  My stance on that is “May the best man/woman win” and I don’t like affirmative action just for equality – that is not true “equal opportunity”.

The second point about the pay differential that irritates me when it is reported, is that the journalist goes for sensationalism and does not make a good comparison.  For example, was it necessary to report on the difference between a part-time working woman with a full-time working man?  Why not compare part-time woman (man) to full-time woman (man), or full-time woman to full-time man?  That would really show the difference in income between working part-time vs. full-time, or between a woman and man working equal hours.

And I will apologise for causing offence, but I do get annoyed when critics bring up the point of pay and promotion.  I don’t know the inside track on every company, but there is a broad generalisation that women are not promoted as quickly as men.  I agree that may be true.  But when critics bring up the point that part-time working women are overlooked for promotions and they want laws to protect these women from discrimination, it does make my blood boil.

If you’re looking to work part-time, isn’t it because you want fewer hours, thus less responsibility?  Perhaps, it’s because you want more family time.  Whatever the case, you’re looking for less stress.  So, why would you want to be promoted to a higher position with more pay and more responsiblity?  If you’re expecting higher payer with higher responsibilities, and you’re willing to put more time into it, then fine.  I know women who work part-time in higher positions, but they don’t work strictly 9-5.  Plus, they are on committees, which meet outside of their work hours.  They may have other occasional duties that require them to be present for a whole week at a time.  All fine and dandy.  But, if you suddenly allow someone to dictate their own hours and still expect promotion and higher pay, you are really throwing a spanner in the works.

Yank by — October 30, 2009 in My Journey 1

I have never been a big fan of unions.  They began as a good idea, but it seems that the union organisations have gone out of control.  I find that employees are sometimes caught between union bosses and employers.  They are the ones who suffer in the long run.[ad#ad-1]

Now, the Royal Mail strike is affecting everyone.  While blue collar workers who strike aim to cause disruption for their companies, the effects for the wider community is not immediately felt.  However, postal workers who strike cause havoc for everyone.  (Even worse than when the tube workers were striking earlier in the year – people made other arrangements for travel.)

I recall just a few weeks ago when my work contract took forever to reach me.  My job and our financial state were in terrible danger.  I remember thinking that perhaps if one of those workers were waiting for a critical document, they might reconsider the strike. 

Today, we almost missed the deadline to register our daughter for secondary school.  Granted, we should have taken care of this ASAP, but we only received the paperwork last month and we really haven’t had the time to investigate schools.  People used to this system would know what to do, but we are very new to all of this.  So, when we sat down to do the application, we found that we had to have it in by noon today.  Secondly, it was not the time of posting, but the time of reception.  Thirdly, the mail strike meant that delivery on time was  not guaranteed.  Some school districts extended the deadline, but others refused.  We managed to drive around the neighbourhood and found some internet access – just enough to get online and submit the application right as the clock struck noon.  Of course, we wonder if it will really matter in the long run, because we might move and will have to apply for special consideration at a different school later on.  It’s so much easier to apply for schools in the States.

Royal Mail have tried to counteract the impact of the strike by hiring 30,000 temporary workers to catch up, as well as to ramp up for the upcoming Christmas season.  Of course, the unions are not happy about this because it may, in effect, the negate the effects of the strike.  But, I have to agree with RM in saying that the strike is extremely irresponsible.  Why should we, the common people, have to suffer because of their disputes?  Did they expect that the public would rally behind the union and demand that RM give in so that we can resume our daily lives?  RM is already in financial trouble so the government wants to sell part of it off.  What concessions can they possibly make during this recession?  That’s what I cannot  understand.

What I fear is that this strike may force many companies to start using the internet for all communications.  UPS and FedEx will take over the delivery of parcels and all the other postal services will be handed over to other departments.  Some might think this image of the future is for the best – the “greenest option”, but I personally still enjoy getting handwritten postal messages.  And I fear problems arising with the use of email for all communication, especially legal issues.

Yank by — October 23, 2009 in British Culture 2

Wow!  It’s been a while since I posted.[ad#ad-1]

My hours were supposed to be 9-5, but there’s no 9-5 about it.  Paperwork was rushed through so that I could start on the agreed date.  It’s a good thing I’m only working 4 days a week.

Unfortunately, last Friday was taken up with clearing out of the old house.  Still some unfinished business, but after threatening legal action, I think the agents are  starting to see our side.  It also helped that a couple of them have already come out to see it and have exclaimed in disgust at the conditions we were forced to live in.  Then it was our daughter’s last gymnastics meet last weekend, followed by another hectic work week.  So, I am finally back to post about my time in Britain.

I’ve had loads of things I wanted to say, but I’ve forgotten most of it.  However, I do want to comment on my mode of travel these days.  I’ve been taking the trains in to work.  It actually works out less costly than if I were to drive (that is, if I ever get a chance to practice for my exam).  The most inconvenient thing, of course, is to live by the train schedule.  It can be tricky as well when the work days are so variable that you never know when you’ll finish, so you don’t know which train is best.

In my first week, I just had to go with the flow.  But, by the end, I managed to get a rough idea of the timetables from a couple different stations.  The one closest to work is rather small, so there are fewer trains that stop there.  So, some days, I have to walk an extra mile to get to the next station.  I may have to get creative with the routes I take.  It may mean that I also have to walk further at the house end.

It’s such a novel thing for me to commute to work via public transport.  I know that in big cities in the US, people do it all the time, but I never lived in those cities.  It’s more common in the UK, even in the smaller towns.  Given the state of the roads these days, I’m surprised not to see more people doing it.

Of course, you start to notice the regulars on the train as well.  It’s a bit of a surprise for me to find large groups of students travelling from one town to another to attend school – a state school, not a private one.  It makes me wonder about the availability of schools.  Which reminds me, the deadline for secondary school admission is next week – better get going on that.

Yank by — October 16, 2009 in My Journey 2

I find it hilarious that the agent wants to come see the house tomorrow with the goal of trying to market it for a new tenant.[ad#ad-1]

Her colleague had had the audacity to send us a letter stating that he could not talk to the electric company, so it was up to talk to them and we should do so ASAP as our lease is quickly nearing the end.  First of all, why send us a letter to tell us that?  The previous agent (who no longer works with them) had no difficulties; the postal service is extremely unreliable given the postal strikes (it took my occupational health assessment a full week to travel a couple miles); the ball is no longer in our court as concerns the electric company.  No replies to our email stating all this.  Then, out of the blue, they want to see the house because the landlord wants to remarket it.  That’s on top of telling us that our lease will expire exactly 30 days from when we definitely stated we will not renew.  Never mind that we had suggested this two months earlier but no one bothered to acknowledge or question it then.

I wonder what the agent will think when she parks up and sees the rubble in front of her.  Our nearest neighbours, also tenants, are showing signs that they are possibly moving out.  They have been the longest tenants on the estate, but I suppose that when the adjacent storage collapsed one morning, they decided that the safety of the structure they are living under is suspect.  We all knew that it would collapse eventually, but to see it happening in front of your eyes was quite novel.  Luckily, no one was hurt.  This was two months ago, and the only thing that has happened is that the landlord’s workers removed the collapsed bricks and placed a metal fence around the area, which meant that our neighbours have been a bit inconvenienced.  Well, we’ve seen furniture being removed from their property and their chickens went today.

I also wonder what the agent will think when she actually walks through our house and sees the mess.  What more surprises will she have in store for us? How will she react when we confront her for maladministration on their part?  We have a very strong case against them and the landlord.  How can they justify forcing us to pay for an extra week when we aren’t even being compensated for living in this neglected property?  And, of course, what have they decided about the electricity?  Still no answers from them on that score.  Yet another example of maladministration.  They drag their feet when it benefits us, but rush when it benefits them.  And they tried to tell us that as agents, they work for us as well as the landlord.  Pull the other one.

Well, I guess, if they will force us to pay for the extra week, we’ll have to prevent them from coming in sooner to fix up the house.  They cannot possibly expect someone to move in with these conditions, unless the new tenants are gullible enough to believe that repairs will be done before they move in.  Wish I could be a fly on the wall when that happens.

Financial stress is still fever pitch, but we’ve agreed on another house and will sign the lease tomorrow.  The movers will come next week, my first day at work.  All I can think is, if we get through the next 3 weeks without further financial burdens, we will manage.

Yank by — October 1, 2009 in My Journey 1