to think it is good that supermarkets/express/garages are all closed christmas day

[WillowTit]

i am sure in previous years shops would open for a couple of hours
discovered that we dont have enough wine but apart from premium overpriced stores shops are shut
and major garages too
i have enough petrol,
we will manage without the extra wine
i am glad the shops are shut
aibu

This is where MN is in a bubble.

Many jobs don’t have unions. Many jobs don’t have anyone at all fighting for their rights or ensuring equal pay or fair treatment. No idea if aviation is one of them. I know care workers (who have to work Christmas Day) are one such role though, and I don’t think retail staff (especially those in the smaller type of shops that tend to open) are either.

I didn't say you have?

Like my original post mentioned, looking for a new employer is easier said than done.

Garage and shop near me were open today. Also a smaller shop further along the road.

Of course they did. They were probably really nice people.

They don't care. It has been raised many times.

In England and Wales (don't know about Scotland and NI) by law all shops over 3k sq ft are shut on Christmas Day as it is the second holiest day of the Christian year (Easter Sunday being the holiest). Shops used to open on Boxing Day but now it's probably seen as pointless as much shopping is done online (why you'd shop on Boxing Day I don't know, but here I am writing on MN, so who knows!). Garages usually shut on Christmas Day (but a few stay open). I assume those working over Christmas (as my DS used to as he worked for a brewing company) plan ahead.

This is what you wrote in response to one of my posts: Just because YOU would be okay to travel as you don't care about a major public holiday, and YOUR needs are met, screw everyone else eh? We're only waitresses in the sky after all. Ranting on the internet at strangers isn't going to change anything. If you're unhappy, you need to do something about it. I would imagine your employer has a rota for Christmas to make sure that not the same members of staff end up working year after year.

It was interesting that the truth of what you said wasn't disputed.

Yes, as someone who's been flying regularly for 52 of my 61 years, apparently I do know more. Christmas Day commercial flights are not a new thing. They have existed for nearly a century.

And frankly I assume other adults are capable of weighing the costs and benefits of the jobs they choose to work. Their personal needs are not something I factor in when doing business with their employer.

Anyone so bitter about perfectly ordinary workplace demands might want to seek other employment. When I got tired of working Christmas after 25 years in the business, i found an employer that gives me ten days off at Yuletide, in addition to normal annual leave.

Working Christmas Day isn’t a ‘perfectly ordinary workplace demand’, especially not for no extra pay.

@Rabinroo if working on Christmas Day makes you this grumpy and irritable, you're probably best leaving aviation and looking for a new career 🤦‍♀️

Honestly, so much drama over nothing. And I've worked my share of Christmasses and spent many as a child with my parents while they went into work - it's certainly not the massive deal you're turning it into.

There is a union for retail staff. Just about everyone has the right to join a union, except those in a small number of specific jobs such as the police.

Well, clearly in many industries, it is.

How odd.

There are unions for care workers too.

Read it again. I said just because you WOULD, not you HAVE.

making assumptions again about the rota when you have no clue. It's the luck of the draw made by a computerised system, taking different factors and legalities into account.

You CAN'T choose to work or not, you are TOLD. There are some people that have been scheduled every Christmas and new year and others that have never worked one.

Our leave/vacations are bidded for using a hierarchy system, 1 year in advance and even with that, you're not guaranteed or always granted what you bid for.

In addition, in the days before it was dropped on staff, the following applied:
such jobs paid more than unskilled sectors such as hospitality and shelf stacking
the pay actually paid the cost of living
no one had to pay in the region of £70k to obtain the qualification in order to do the job
Probably, they did not have to deal with so much aggression on shift either. A quarter of hospital patients now have dementia, according to a stat I saw the other day: many of those are aggressive and violent
staff to patient ratios were a heck of a lot higher as well

i could go on. In short, the number of people wanting to do these jobs is falling.

Good for you. Once again you are absolutely clueless. It's 2024 and things have changed greatly since back in your day 61 years ago. If an employer changes working conditions, You can't just walk out of 1 job and right into another like ye good ole days. Have you been hibernating for the past few decades? 🙄

Like I said, if your needs are met then screw the rest of us. I have mentioned repeatedly, working Christmas is NOT something the MAJORITY of us signed up for, so I'm not sure why you continue to state otherwise.

Working Christmas day with no extra pay is not a perfectly reasonable demand.

We don't have a choice when it comes to time off or leave, we bid for it and are rarely guaranteed to get what we want. Usually because every other employee bids for Christmas off because no one wants to work it 🤣

Yes because this is how the world works and there are plenty of jobs for me to walk into 🙄

Why should I not be angry with something that's been forced upon me? Especially when my management are not willing to roll up their sleeves and join us?

The union is shit tbh. Too busy focusing on their own scandals and corruption. If only people would agree to switch to another and we could start fighting for reasonable working conditions, that are gradually being stripped away piece by piece.

Where did I say I did nor was I talking about YOUR specific circumstances. I was speaking in general so no need to take it personally when it doesn’t apply to you.

@phoenixrosehere I'll refresh your memory regarding your reply to biscuits and books. It appears you were talking about my specific circumstances and not "in general"

biscuitsandbooks · Today 19:35

I have to say, I do find it a bit odd when people deliberately go out of their way to train for 24-7 type careers, and then complain because they actually have to work shifts that cover those hours, lol.

It's not like retail or bar work where you don't need qualifications and pick it up out of necessity - cabin crew go through rigorous testing and take multiple exams to qualify - why do all that if you're not prepared to work weekends, or nights, or public holidays? It would be a bit like someone training to be a nurse even though they can't stand the sight of blood Confused

phoenixrosehere

Same.

It’s not as if it was dropped on them last minute or not known before applying.

Is this what passes for a left wing view ‘oh, well they have the right to join a union’?

Apologies for not highlighting the top part of the poster’s paragraph, however you are also ignoring the rest of what I wrote which explained further

Same.
It’s not as if it was dropped on them last minute or not known before applying.
Jobs literally say on job boards, weekends/holidays are a must or will need to be worked every other week, etc. Many professions are known for working such days and holidays. Understandable it is annoying yet a bit silly to moan and blame others because you chose to go into such professions in the first place with full knowledge that the likelihood of working holidays that are important to you are high.

so if you are going to quote me, quote the entire thing, and not choose to purposely take me out of context.

I was simply stating a fact.