[Misc] Working alone in a factory.....

[DJ NOBO]

Are you for real?

Of course no English people fancy it. Why should someone work 6 days week doing a back-breaking job just so they can live in a makeshift dorm with zero free time or disposable income? The reason eastern european folk come here and put up with shit pay and conditions is because it is still way above what they could earn at home. Unfortunately, this has driven down wages here, way below what they should be. Someone working as a farm labourer, should, as a minimum, be able to support a family and have a basic standard of living - not live in a frigging portacabin with 16 other people forever because wages have been undercut. What sort of lfe is that?

So you enjoy your strawberries this summer - at £2 a punnett, when the real cost of producing them should be at least double that, if you want to enable the people picking them 6 days a week to get a fair wage for a fair day's work and actually have any quality of life at all.

Bit of a leap....
But yes, were it not for the contribution of Eastern Europeans, soft fruit would indeed be more expensive in this country.
I’d guess that for the most part people would prefer to pay less.

 

[drew]

And if the company don't recognise the union they wont talk to them,

No point in being the only person in a factory in a union....Unite or whoever wont go storming in for one person.

You join a union because if you have employment issues they'll be in your corner. If there is a dispute the union will be your representatives just the same as if you hire a lawyer. They'll also offer you advice if you need to clarify situations. Think your looking at this from the old style unions closed shop agreements and the like!!!

 

[Bry Nylon]

Bit of a leap....
But yes, were it not for the contribution of Eastern Europeans, soft fruit would indeed be more expensive in this country.
I’d guess that for the most part people would prefer to pay less.

Well yes I agree with you on all of that. But I guess we all expect to be able to maintain a certain standard of living. If the salary for my job meant I had to live in a portacabin with 16 other people and work 6 days a week I wouldn’t do it either. I don’t expect farm labourers think differently.

But I agree with your points.

 

[super-seagulls]

Name one country Spongy could work in for a couple of years and buy himself and his family a house fully paid for in cash? Nope their isn’t one. Something like £3b is sent to Poland yearly no contribution to our economy whatsoever.

Site work is ****ed in this country good British tradesmen can no longer make a living due to the influx of European labour. Financially it obviously doesn’t effect you as you have come out with the standard response, you have cheaper car repairs so all good

I never said cheaper, I think Kwikfit is, I said better and more honest.
Not all Polish (or other immigrants) send money out of the country. Your closed mindedness and ignorance makes you believe it.

Lots of Brits have become lazy and won’t work, foreigners come and do the jobs that the Princesses of today won’t do.

As a British Empire we went around the world sticking flags in whilst pillaging, raping and destroying lands. Educate yourself on the appalling atrocities we dished out in Africa. We have learnt the error of our ways and opened our country to the world. This is not a bad thing.

This is you.

Wake up!

 

[spongy]

would depend on what procedures and policies, RAMS, and training are/is in place and if they were being followed.

In short there isn't any. I have had unofficial conversations with the director who hired me about the h&s issue when I first started 6 weeks ago and he said and I quote....

Him - "It's not illegal for you to work on your own, we just have to have measures in place if something goes wrong...... like someone phones you every hour to make sure you're OK, or you have to respond to a text every half hour."

Me- " so what in a worst case scenario, if I have an accident and slice my leg open on a sheet of stainless steel and start bleeding out? I cant reach my phone or cant use it as my hands are covered in blood? I'll be dead by the time you realise"

Him - "or we can install a cctv camera to keep an eye on you" ( this is a very very grey area as it is, they've already installed one inside the machine to monitor it for efficiency purposes) but by default that means they're monitoring my performance and efficiency... which IS illegal but the wording is vague depending on how you read it...

Me - "so who monitors it then? Are you saying that when EVERYONE else has gone home for the day and finished they will sit at home that evening logged in and watching me whilst I work in case I'm safe?

Him - ".........."

 

[spongy]

[MENTION=20792]spongy[/MENTION] You have mail brother.

Just seen thanks ill be back in touch soon. Its getting late and I'm tired.

 

[swindonseagull]

In short there isn't any. I have had unofficial conversations with the director who hired me about the h&s issue when I first started 6 weeks ago and he said and I quote....

Him - "It's not illegal for you to work on your own, we just have to have measures in place if something goes wrong...... like someone phones you every hour to make sure you're OK, or you have to respond to a text every half hour."

Me- " so what in a worst case scenario, if I have an accident and slice my leg open on a sheet of stainless steel and start bleeding out? I cant reach my phone or cant use it as my hands are covered in blood? I'll be dead by the time you realise"

Him - "or we can install a cctv camera to keep an eye on you" ( this is a very very grey area as it is, they've already installed one inside the machine to monitor it for efficiency purposes) but by default that means they're monitoring my performance and efficiency... which IS illegal but the wording is vague depending on how you read it...

Me - "so who monitors it then? Are you saying that when EVERYONE else has gone home for the day and finished they will sit at home that evening logged in and watching me whilst I work in case I'm safe?

Him - ".........."

I'm an H&S inspector (for my sins) if you want me to explain lone working privately I will help if I can.

 

[spongy]

I'm an H&S inspector (for my sins) if you want me to explain lone working privately I will help if I can.

Would be much appreciated. I'll PM over my details.

 

[The Clamp]

You cant just join any union, the union will have to be reconised by the employer.

As for Lone working there must be lone worker procedures in place, they could also ask you to use a lone worker app.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/lone-working/worker/index.htm have a read of this.

They may well have lone working apps etc, that’s the point of him asking to see the risk assessment. When you say there must be procedures in place. Don’t bank on it, some places just don’t give a toss. Or the procedures are in a dusty file at the back of the cabinet, bot update for years.

As for unions, where did I say anything different. However, that’s not how unions work. But it’s your choice and the company doesn’t really have a say.
Even if you belong to a union your company refuses to recognise you can still get legal advice, they can still look over contracts and policies and changes to hours etc and offer advice.