[blindza] (more) transport issues
- From: "Jacob Kruger" <jacobk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "NAPSA Blind" <blind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, "blindza" <blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:50:10 +0200
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...'
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