We are pleased to say that Bylor have seen sense and have opted for a voluntary weekend working system. After some heated and tough negotiations in the past few days, during which Bylor’s stance was unchanged they have today relented and confirmed that they will trial a voluntary Saturday working plan in January.
This would not have been achievable without the support from you the members, every survey response we had as well as your input into the Reps helped us to sway the companies position and combat their view of weekend working. A particular thanks goes out to our members within the crane team who have been providing us with vital information over the past 24 hours to be able to respond effectively to Bylor’s assumption that this particular team do not wish to work weekends.
With all possible options that we have suggested such as 10/4 or 11/3 being shot down by the company it left very little choice but to retain the 5/2 work pattern for the day shift with an increased drive to make Saturday work available to those people who wish to work.
The previous set up of Saturdays only being given to the select few and only being available in certain areas will be gone. Every other Saturday will see all platforms open to anyone who wants to work. Bylor are asking that those who do not wish to work notify their Black hat by the Tuesday to allow them time to prepare for the numbers of workers they will have available to them as well as notify the canteens and buses.
An email from Bylor will be sent out to all workforce tomorrow confirming this decision.
This is now our opportunity to put this issue to bed and retain a working pattern preferred by everybody, to do so though will require enough people to volunteer to fill the slots available on a Saturday. If enough people step forward, then there is a view that Sunday shifts will also become available, increasing the earning potential for those who would like to work it even further.
We do however envisage a potential issue when these shifts start on 4th January due to Bylor’s desire to move all platforms back to a 7am-6pm working day. This will mean increased numbers in changing rooms and clock queues. We have challenged Bylor on this issue and have asked what they intended to put in place to combat this. We will continue to question Bylor as well as make sure Reps are monitoring the situation closely on 4th January if no clarification is given to us before then.
As most of you will be finishing this week for the Christmas break, if you haven’t already. We would like to take this opportunity to again say thank you to all and Merry Christmas.