Back to the regime

Back to work after almost 2-weeks holiday. There's a good side to not taking your holidays until the last time possible: you appreciate the time off. There's a bad side: you go back to work and realise it's a year until you're next off. Okay, that's an exaggeration. I carried 5-days forward and have to take them by the end of March.

So, what's happened at GBU in the 2-weeks I've been off? Another of my plants has died. Not really surprising since I only went in to water them once.

Pay reviews are announced at the end of January, but the CEO's already sent out a "difficult year" e-mail like he did last year. Are we looking at another sub-inflation pay rise?

My Staff Representative (as close as GBU allows to a union rep') has reached the end of her term and a new rep' had to be found. I'd done the job before and was considering standing again. (The shame, the shame, I've played the part of a union rep.) Fine, but the CEO's e-mail also included an announcement that my area now had a new Staff Rep. We do? Did I miss the election? Who stood against the winning candidate? A quick talk to an incumbent revealed that members of staff no longer select their own Representative. Surely you must give people the impression that they have some control. Staff Rep's never had any power, but the employees chose them.

It could be worse: B&Q have prospective employees dancing before they're interviewed.

Word around the water cooler is that LMCK's been asked to come back.