Living The Dream - Thursday 03/06/10

Actually made it into work today, and quickly wished i hadn't. Recently management had a cost cutting brainwave, take vehicles off the road, make the staff work longer and harder. All under the guise of cutting fuel usage and CO2 emissions.
I work on recycling collection. You'd be forgiven for thinking we used electric-hybrid trucks, or at least bio-diesel. Nooo. These clapped out trucks are nearly 10 years old and 'hand me downs' from other contracts. They do 8 miles to the gallon... and still management are happy to send such a gas guzzler 10 miles or more to collect ONE box because one lazy bastard didn't put it out early enough and had the gall to complain to the council. Rather than say "tough titties" Veolia (the recycling contractor) will still send a massive kerbsider for it as a missed box incurs a £40 penalty, so they say...

We get paid for ten hours regardless of whether we finish after 6 or 8 hours and then go home. But they have understandably decided to get their moneys worth by increasing the size of the rounds to 1200 plus properties. So in sweltering conditions, we loaded 8 tonnes of crap bound for china for 10 hours 6am - 4:30pm.

Got home with a strained back muscle, a sunburnt neck and face as well as severe dehydration...

Had a bath then tea, now its bedtime. oh and had to pick Emma's dad up up, bring him over, then run him back. I'm shagged out, and now raring to do it all again.

Just living the dream...fuck that...

M Jones