[blindza] Re: [Blind] (more) transport issues
- From: "Carel Ewald" <cewald@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'National Accessibility Portal mailing list with topics focused on accessibility for users with visual disabilities.'" <blind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, "'blindza'" <blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:19:59 +0200
Hi J,
Maybe try the Kempton express. Advertising for a young student/person to
take you to and from work every day. It might however mean, that you will
have to get to work at 6.30am, and only get back at 6.30pm as to give the
student/person time to do his thing also from 8am-4pm - advertise as "extra
income". It is going to be fairly expensive though when you using their car.
Also, I have a car but let the people driving me around use it, and now have
bumps and scratches - but kind of got over that long ago as there is just
nothing one can do about that.
What is interesting to me, from a labour relations perspective, is that they
are changing your terms and conditions of work. They cannot do this unless
they can prove it is a operational requirement that you have to be in the
office. Even though it was a verbal contract, the mere fact that you were
allowed for a number of years to do this, creates the expectation that this
is normal practice. If they can prove this is a operational requirement, and
you do not wish to change, they are in a position to propose retrenchment,
which would be at a minimum rate of 1 week for every year worked. However,
what you can tell them also, is that this extra hiring of a driver, due to
them changing the terms and conditions, comes at a cost to you, so they need
to look at accommodating or at least contribute to this extra cost. If you
can prove that you can do the work from home, they kind of stuck.
You can always take them to the CCMA/bargaining council on this, but this is
a career limiting move, no matter how much protection the law try to give in
this regard.
Thanks,
Carel Ewald
From: Jacob Kruger [mailto:jacobk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 9:50 AM
To: NAPSA Blind; blindza
Subject: [Blind] (more) transport issues
Might not be worth posting to lists as such, but just looking for possible
opinions on workable/viable solutions for a current issue relating to
transport to work etc.
Firstly, I live in Kempton Park, but current offices are in an office park
right by gillooly's exchange, sort of on the border between bedfordview and
germiston.
Either way, before the company am officially employed by was bought out by
the new parent company, I was working in woodmead, and that parent company
had sort of arranged that I would need to come into the office 3 days per
week, and work from home on the other 2 days, and they sent their one driver
past my place on those mornings, and I had a sort of arrangement with the
one driver who was working for action4 then, that he'd fetch me in the
afternoons, and bring me home for a relatively small daily fee.
Anyway, the company take over took place in December, and I have literally
only been into new offices like 3 times this year, but have done some work
for them from home, since this type of work was sort of website development,
where I can do work here, then send it off to the them, etc. etc. -
programming work is generally digital format, so no real physical handover
required if you get my drift.
However, yesterday, went in to office and had a sort of formal meeting with
my now direct boss, and one of their HR people, and they've basically told
me that if I don't at least start making a concrete starting point on making
an arrangement to come into the office 5 days per week, for standard 8 to 5
working hours, that's it.
I don't have much time to make this happen, and have already, in recent past
placed ads in local newspaper looking for possible lift clubs, and keep
track of any advertisements placed on gumtree.co.za and eliftclub.co.za, but
just seems that the combination of kempton park, and these areas are a no
go.
Anyway, they were suggesting that I should look into employing my own driver
- somehow think money would make that idea inept/unusable - or look for some
form of general lift provider like a retiree, or someone, but have looked
around various resources, and, for example, dial a student doesn't seem to
cover this area - if I looked in the right place - etc. etc.
Any thoughts/ideas?
Part of the issue in the past has also been that since I own my house, and
it's fully paid for, I wouldn't want to have to firstly try find a place to
stay closer to there and either pay rent, or have to hope that if I sold my
house (which is rather a bit of a process nowadays) that it would work out,
partly since I also have other reasons for wanting to keep my house etc.
There really just doesn't seem to be any real, permanent workaround for
this, since while I do have some friends I could try ask to at least start
off giving me a lift, the every day thing is an issue since the ones am
talking about run their own businesses, which also means their time frames
change on an ongoing basis, and while that type of expenditure - petrol
money etc. including a bit extra for time/effort - wouldn't necessarily be
too much of an issue, the main thing is I don't think it would be at all
suitable if on/off/suddenly arrangements had to be looked into again, since
honestly think these guys want something permanent/sort of in writing.
I have also in past contacted/made use of one driver linked to BlindSA -
Smitty - but his rate wouldn't be suitable for this type of thing at all,
and, although I might be able to try negotiate a lower rate due to repeated
trips, etc., the permanent, repeated, ongoing times might be an issue as
well.
Lastly, while they initially seemed to think it was Ok if I basically worked
from home most of the time, I think it's just possible they've had some
internal complaints or something, but this is a guess based on some of the
things the one person was saying in yesterdays meeting, and I never really
got/had anything relating to suitability of arrangements in writing up to
now either - was sort of a word of mouth okaying/arrangement.
This again makes me wonder if the one local OT I saw a few times a while ago
who told me straight out that apart from certain job types etc., the only
comfortable/successful blindies are self-employed - my UK-based OT sister
didn't like that at all - mightn't have been right all along.
Part of the problem is also just that my type of work isn't too common for
Kempton Park residents, which means they don't necessarily travel to the
same areas on a daily basis.
Any thoughts?
Stay well
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
'...fate had broken his body, but not his spirit...'
_____
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1209 / Virus Database: 1500/3538 - Release Date: 03/29/11
Other related posts:
