Overtime

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Someone mentioned overtime in another thread.

I lived at work at most of my UK jobs, worst was British Gypsum, we on the elec staff worked three weeks of days and one week of nights. Days we worked a couple of hours each day in overtime, every Saturday and every Sunday. Nights I had to be there a couple of hours earlier than the mining crew to cover the surface operations..Wished I'd kept a few pay dockets!! Damned if I can recall how much I was making, but must have been good money.

 

Next best was at the brand new Boulby Mine, everyone was classed as staff, paid monthly, so they had to put a gun to our heads to work overtime. Then someone realized both the fitting and ele staffs were short handed and it was hard to get elecs and fitters. So time and a half and double time was implemented, that made a load of men very hungry!!

 

In my area, central and ore handling, there were four of us to cover the odd shift system, orders from above were, no more than one elec per shift was to be allowed to take annual holidays at one time, well we only had three on each shift, so that was fair enough. My mates covering the same area as myself all booked their two weeks hols the same week, remember one per shift, so this was following the rules laid down.... Problem, none of the other elecs knew anything about the central district, anything broke down, the whole mine was standing.

My Friday Day shift, my Foreman phoned me, "How are we going to cover the job for the next two weeks John"?

" Don't you mean how are YOU going to cover the jobe for the next two weeks"??  Expletives......

" Give me a bit of time to come up with a plan" say's I.

 

I called back later and said "OK, I'll go home at 4-00pm, get a meal, pack my snap and get back at 8-00pm and cover until 8-00am, you should be OK until 8-00pm. Then I'll cover the next 13 shifts doing 12 hour nights from 8-00pm to 8-00am, how does that sound" 

"Great" said he..."Ahhh but this is going to cost you!!"

 

I ended up with 24 hours  all at double time, within that, I'd had sump pump problems, not planned!! But sump time was double time, I had to change a pump out. Stupid thing failed and I had to change that one out, again not planned, we hated the sumps.  So my 24 hours was paid at double double time!!

On top of that was quick return payment, work through snap time.

I ended up breaking the monthly pay record of any electrician that month.

I worked so many hours at Boulby, that I used to say "I spend more hours at work than the winding engines, and they are bolted down.

 

It cost me a marriage, so after I'd migrated to Australia I was reluctant to do any overtime.

 

[FLY2 10,108]

Yes, Ayeup. I remember my girls as toddlers, and the next thing I knew, they were stroppy teenagers.

They never went short of anything though, and by all accounts, they probably didn't even miss my presence !

[loppylugs 8,427]

I was never much of a fan of overtime.  Did one or two Saturdays when we were wiring the Calgary airport but they were normal hours just made it a six day week.  I know sometimes it can't be avoided but I never heard of anybody on his deathbed saying.  I wish I'd worked more hours.

[radfordred 6,284]

Regularly did the 15 hour double shift 6:30am till 9:45pm, 7 days a week, with an unblemished 20 year plus sick record, would I do it again? I would defiantly drop a few sickies in  overtime? I'm just going in three hours & fifteen minutes early, for six times less money than I used to get at the fag! 

F**k it dragged us scabby arsed f**kers out of Sunny Radford & kept me in Fred Perrys. 

[catfan 14,793]

Worked excessive hours on the buses, usually 20 days on with overtime then one day off. By playing the game the RTA rest rules could be easily manipulated.i.e. finish an early on a Saturday & then do a late shift on a Sunday, 24 hr break done !

Saw many marriage break ups.

[plantfit 7,580]

12 hours a day 7 days a week for almost 16 years,kids had everything they wanted as did the first wife, money was good but looking back I never saw the kids grow up and never had a social life,would I do it again? yes, just to give the kids and wife a good life wanting for nothing or very little anyway

 

Rog

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

One of the reasons I wouldn't have a telephone was because it made it easier for management to call me out, the usual method was phone them up, and if that failed, send a foreman out knocking on doors.

Boulby was unique, the face equipment was straight forward, but the central district wasn't, four of us dedicated elec's had learned the equipment, knew where everything was, so a spare elec wouldn't know much about it. The skipping equipment would stump them, if I diagnosed a fault to a pneumatic solenoid I'd call a fitter and have to show him where it was and how it worked in the system, sadly we weren't authorized to change mech parts, had I done so, and someone got hurt, I'd have been sent to court under charges by the mines Inspectorate.

We were also grossly undermanned on the electrical staff, so overtime was guaranteed. Our maintenance shift was Saturday day shift, everything was down for routine planned maintenance, so we were expected, not coerced into coming in, Sunday was part of our normal shift pattern as was Sat afters and nights, like I stated it was an odd shift pattern, three shifts spread over the week, 2, 2,3, two off, then it started again.

[NewBasfordlad 3,599]

Last time I worked over time I was in my mid twenties. Fitters mate at ICI Tunstead quarry, they took me on because of my gas qualifications and they were changing from heavy oil to gas on the lime kilns. As the only qualified gas engineer I was required every time something went wrong even if only to pressure test after the work was done.

 

The way they paid over time was strange to say the least. normal hours for fitting and electrical staff were 8am to 4-30pm, from then till 6pm was time and a half after that double time till midnight when it went to double time plus time off in lieu. One of the rules meant that if a job finished after midnight you were paid from when you left site till 6am at single time on top of your earnings. Known as the 'easy six' I bet you couldn't guess how many jobs finished at 10 past midnight.

 

Soon after I left it all changed, the lads were paid a 'lump dump' to fall into line with the production staff and move onto 3 shift working.