Hiya ...this is going to be a long story...
O.k on 2nd of July i started training as a bus driver, the training course was for two weeks then if you pass you get bus etc etc.
Now i started along with a girl and we trained together taking it in turns to drive a bus (L plates etc).
The conclusion is that you need to pass firstly a theory test...we both passed same time, a practical test this we also both passed same time. (this gets us a category 'D' on our licences) this enables us to drive a bus legally.
However there is also a CPC element now (basically a competency test) this consists also of 2 parts, a theory and a practical/hands on type test these are known as module 2 and module 4 respectively.
We were advised on the Friday (2 weeks in) NOT to send our licences off as we had now passed our theory and practical. but to retain our licences for our CPC stuff the following week......
ON Monday is was noted that the person i started with was being way too efficient and had sent their licence off in error. so was advised therefore that they were unable to do their CPC until her licence had come back.
I subsequently went on and passed both parts within that week and I was kind of kept company by the her as they were unable to do theirs although I was not accompanied by her when i did the tests.
The first thing that all bus drivers get put on is what they call park and ride service it is a basic service and is possibly the easiest to learn on.
Whilst I am now on Park and ride driving, the other person has been put 'on the cushions' this means that they are unable to drive but will just sit on a bus 'route learning' until such time as their licence comes back....
now when we initially started we were told that we would have a pay increase(49p increase PH) in 2 months. now this was told to all trainees when they start by the training dept.
When i was on the P&R i then found out that this pay increase doesn't happen until you have come off P&R and have been signed off on all the routes I.E a full bus driver...although really there is not a lot of difference as driving a bus surely is just driving a bus !!! I was slightly put out but 'hey' if that's the rules ok i guess.
anyway 3 weeks in i then find out from the other person that they have now passed their CPC as they have their licence back etc.
a week?? later this person then appears on the P&R ..so fine.
now on the P&R the person that has been on the longest moves up and then goes onto the full routes etc as the newer persons come through, so myself and this other person are of course at the bottom of the list.
on bank holiday Monday we have the day off as P&R does not run on bank holidays...fine.we also get our 'normal' day off during the same week.
I am therefore very surprised to find this other person doing a normal service route on their day off?.
when i asked this person i was told that as they knew that route it was daft to have 2 days off that week and that they therefore wanted to do some overtime.
I had previously asked if i could do some OT but that as i was only on P&R there wasn't any really.
so this person has kind of leapfrogged everyone else and is earning more money by being able to do this other route where we are unable to as we haven't been trained/signed off on these routes. And how/where did they get signed off as they were unable to drive passengers without the CPC classification.
We also have a certain thing in our timetables/rotas were someone is labelled as a 'spare' sicknesses etc.
this person has been on spare this week on Tues Weds and Thursday. (i was also spare on Tuesday)
On Tuesday i appeared at depot for the afternoons spare rota and of course I cannot do anything except sit around.
In my wisdom as I want to get on I just get on a bus to just do a 'round on the cushions' as at least i can route learn.
Whilst out I find that this other person is on the same route and that they are driving passengers around i.e doing a normal service!! OK they are spare and as they are able to do this i guess why not....but felt this was all kind of odd.
I texted her yesterday and asked i she had been signed off all the routes (Total of about 11) i was told that she had only been signed off 5 routes.
I have found out today that she has been given their pay rise.!!! now this is ONLY a rumour however as you can imagine not only am i quite annoyed but the other P&R drivers have heard this and we are all quite upset about this. when one of my other colleagues asked our HR dept we were not really told anything that sort this situation out and they felt as if he was fobbed off.
However he was told when with the HR person that you do not get a pay rise until you are off the P&R and that we signed this to agree to this in our contracts when we started,
I can remember signing about 3 lots of paperwork when we first started but obviously this but either slipped in under the radar or has not been signed at all. i/we (the other drivers) do not have copies of the paperwork that we signed.
The person that I started with is still scheduled to be on the P&R next week so if they have been given a pay rise this is also wrong.
So in summary....
office says:
1/ no pay rise until you know all the routes.
2/ You are off the P&R
3/ you have to wait your turn until you get off this.
4/ we signed contracts to say that we would not get pay increase until after P&R.
MY Grievance:
1/ this person (Rumour) has been given a pay increase.
2/ how /why did they get to learn these routes and get signed off when unable to drive unless they were trained AFTER they had there licence back and had passed their CPC.
3/ surely MORALLY this is wrong is there something I can do?
I am not worried about the fact that this person has leapfrogged 3 people (one of which is me) but to benefit from a pay increase and have the ability of earning even more extra money by being able to do overtime is wrong in my opinion and I want to know what I am able to do not just for me but for the other people who deserve to be off the P&R and earning more money by having their pay increase first.
Thank you ANON
Last edited by Bilb0baggins; 06-09-12 at 07:32 PM.
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