"BAZA 148"

TheReporter · Guest

No mobile phones at warehouse!

On 31/05/2007 USDAW has anounced that in future there will be
no mobile phones allowed in the Wincanton warehouse Swan Valley One.

Though this is reasoned with Health & Safety policy,
practice shows that this doesn't apply to first line managers
who have been seen chatting over the phones for tens of minutes,
while walking through the areas where MHEs are operating.
Let us just think that these are only business related talks over the phone,
which have been heard to start with "you're alright honey...?"

So, for your notice, the mobile phones should be stored in the lockers -
so if you don't have one, ask a manager to get you one!

Guest · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:42 am Post subject:

...interesting, that this the "no mobile phones" policy is put in place after
some employees have tried to get evidence of the agressive and insulting
language used on them by certain managers - by recording that on a mobile phone.

**Sprait** · Joined: 27 Jun 2007 Posts: 3

Categorical "NO!" for recording in interviews!

Else is a concern that the use of mobile phones is also forbidden in the
interviews conducted by managers - in order to ensure they are not recorded
for future reference.

Though the management have managed only to reason their request as
"reasonable management instruction", where the verbal statement usually is
something like "because i said so!" - they have not been able to provide with
substantial grounds for their requests.

Despite the fact that the management of Wincanton have been asked to provide
the non-english speaking employees with such an opportunity due to simple fact
for them to have an equal chance to have to hold a true account of the interviews.

The fact that the management is not providing the employees with the copies
of the interviews is alarming already! Earlier this was possible, but now it is made
troublesome for the purpose of Eastern European employees to stand less chance
for appealing against any decisions in productivity / disciplinary interviews.

------
Obviously, from the experience at site Swan Valley One / Wincanton,
there could be found different reasons laying behind...
Let us have a little insight to the history of this:

At certain stage the interviews conducted by Swan Valley managers
went out of control in terms of conduct - an aggressiveness, an insulting and
abusive language, cursing, threats, slammed doors and other deviant
behaviour was observed..

Along with that, the Eastern European employees have noticed that their statements
have been made different, i.e. twisted in the interview notes - or their answers
or questions not noted down on papers..

The rumours were circulating around from the top shelves of management,
that there will be no more Polish people employed at the warehouse -
later (~April '07) it proven itself true as there were Slovak people employed
through the agency work.

All the currently employed Eastern European employees (Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Russian)
realized that the process is taking place in order to eliminate them to free up spaces
for cheaper Slovak workers, who would work more for the same money,
instead being less demanding in terms of Healt & Safety at workplace.

People realized where all this was going
+ that the productivity interviews were taking place for most (!!) of the picking workforce
where the interviews were conducted by suppressive methods of management.

In the same time, no attention was paid to the issues raised by pickers -
• about the unsafe equipment,
• about poor stock management,
• about split restdays in nightshift,
• about mandatory overtime hours,
• requests to do a Health & Safety assessment,
• requests to do Time & Motion studies,
• requests to familiarize with the agreement between Wincanton lawyers and the union's (USDAW) area organizer
regarding the agreed productivity (170 cases per hour minimum) - in order
to stand a chance to appeal against such decision, or to raise a grievance.
• and lots lots of other....

To add to that, some non-British employees have experienced that they have been made
to attend the productivity or other interviews without a witness of their choice.

Now, we have come a long way to understand why some non-British employees
have tried to record the interviews in order to have chance to obtain some evidence
which they may possibly use in Employment Tribunal Court in case they get dismissed.
_________________
What goes around...
...comes back around