Tram driver

[muldoon74]

Applied for Tram driver tail end of last year, got online tests to do via email yesterday. 

 

Are there any tram drivers on here?. 

 

Is the job worthwhile? Get much hassle from knobends etc? 

 

As I understand it holidays are allocated and specific dates need to be swapped for with other drivers.. Are colleagues usually happy to do this or are there issues with this process..? 

[gjcc]

5 minutes ago, muldoon74 said:

Applied for Tram driver tail end of last year, got online tests to do via email yesterday. 

 

Are there any tram drivers on here?. 

 

Is the job worthwhile? Get much hassle from knobends etc? 

 

As I understand it holidays are allocated and specific dates need to be swapped for with other drivers.. Are colleagues usually happy to do this or are there issues with this process..? 

 

Not sure if it’s a help...

 

my pal pal works for Lothian buses and he’s never had a problem swapping shifts with other drivers from his depot. Not sure how many tram drivers there are so difficult to compare. 

[obua]

10 minutes ago, muldoon74 said:

Applied for Tram driver tail end of last year, got online tests to do via email yesterday. 

 

Are there any tram drivers on here?. 

 

Is the job worthwhile? Get much hassle from knobends etc? 

 

As I understand it holidays are allocated and specific dates need to be swapped for with other drivers.. Are colleagues usually happy to do this or are there issues with this process..? 

I think they were talking about going on strike recently because working conditions were bad.

[IronJambo]

13 minutes ago, muldoon74 said:

Applied for Tram driver tail end of last year, got online tests to do via email yesterday. 

 

Are there any tram drivers on here?. 

 

Is the job worthwhile? Get much hassle from knobends etc? 

 

As I understand it holidays are allocated and specific dates need to be swapped for with other drivers.. Are colleagues usually happy to do this or are there issues with this process..? 

I work on trains and we have block weeks which are allocated by the union. It's never really been an issue in the 7 years I've been there and if you plan ahead enough you probably don't even need to swap weeks. It was harder to get the time I wanted in retail. 

[Shanks said no]

18 minutes ago, obua said:

I think they were talking about going on strike recently because working conditions were bad.

They voted to strike just before xmas after concerns were raised over staff being subjected to a hostile and bullying management culture, including claims of victimisation and fears around job security.

 

70% in favour of strike action

 

they later called it off after being satisfied that the company had listened to their concerns and had agreed to change practices.

[Dunks]

Driving trams is great once you suss out the steering

[Boof]

Teacher's get feck all choice when their holidays are.

 

And yes, they DO need them that long

[H2]

11 minutes ago, Boof said:

Teacher's get feck all choice when their holidays are.

 

And yes, they DO need them that long

When you take into account the actual hour's teachers work, they will be well in excess of most other jobs over the year. People forget that apart from the hours the kids are at school, teachers are there in advance and leave later, and  after hours - have staff meetings to attend, pupils work to mark, lessons to prepare, parents evenings. It's a lot of hours every week. (no I'm not a teacher).

[¼½¾]

3 hours ago, muldoon74 said:

Applied for Tram driver tail end of last year, got online tests to do via email yesterday. 

 

Are there any tram drivers on here?. 

 

Is the job worthwhile? Get much hassle from knobends etc? 

 

As I understand it holidays are allocated and specific dates need to be swapped for with other drivers.. Are colleagues usually happy to do this or are there issues with this process..? 

I don't think tram drivers have much, if any contact with the public. I've used them quite a lot (the trams, not the drivers ? ), and the drivers are stuck away in their own wee compartment; I can't recall ever noticing one. Any hassle would come from management, as others have mentioned.

[superjack]

I'd imagine that it would be a seriously boring job, even worse than I'd imagine a bus drivers job is.

That's just me though, I get very easily bored.

[muldoon74]

1 hour ago, superjack said:

I'd imagine that it would be a seriously boring job, even worse than I'd imagine a bus drivers job is.

That's just me though, I get very easily bored.

This is what worries me a bit.. Its not like there's a huge and varied network in Edinburgh,.. Just back and forth on the same line... 

[superjack]

1 hour ago, muldoon74 said:

This is what worries me a bit.. Its not like there's a huge and varied network in Edinburgh,.. Just back and forth on the same line... 

If the wages and conditions are good though, then that will sort of make up for it I suppose.

Would a tram driver be allowed to listen to music whilst on the job?

[Boof]

4 hours ago, Barack said:

See there's been another murder in Shetland.

 

Stay safe, mate.

 

Should be okay - was Perez' taxi driver in one scene yet to be screened. Don't think I'll even get into shot...but I'll know I was there  

[Boof]

4 minutes ago, Barack said:

Nae chat? 

 

"Busy today, drive?"

 

"Nah, mate. Just watched the Hearts match on the new black & white tele though. Shite!"

 

 

 

Git never even got in the car!!

 

I'd've been listening to the match on the wireless though - telly signal usually down. Or, as used to happen, read the match report in the Sunday Post...when it arrived on a Wednesday  

[Governor Tarkin]

8 hours ago, Barack said:

See there's been another murder in Shetland.

 

Stay safe, mate.

 

[IronJambo]

18 hours ago, H2 said:

When you take into account the actual hour's teachers work, they will be well in excess of most other jobs over the year. People forget that apart from the hours the kids are at school, teachers are there in advance and leave later, and  after hours - have staff meetings to attend, pupils work to mark, lessons to prepare, parents evenings. It's a lot of hours every week. (no I'm not a teacher).

Teachers have got it shite. I'm smug and get more time off than them along with working less hours. I also get to choose when I'm off. 

[fabienleclerq]

Teaching is a hard job, I'm no having the hours aren't good though! They're on holiday 42 weeks a year!!

[Brighton Jambo]

On 13/02/2019 at 00:04, H2 said:

When you take into account the actual hour's teachers work, they will be well in excess of most other jobs over the year. People forget that apart from the hours the kids are at school, teachers are there in advance and leave later, and  after hours - have staff meetings to attend, pupils work to mark, lessons to prepare, parents evenings. It's a lot of hours every week. (no I'm not a teacher).

Sorry mate but that’s simply not true.  I will concede they do more hours than get credit for (my wife used to be a secondary school maths teacher) and the days in term time are quite long but not much longer than most decent jobs when pro rated for the amount of time off and there is never any travel involved so never being away overnight etc.  

 

But to be brutally honest any job that provides circa 12 weeks holiday a year which is more then twice what the average person gets can never be that tough.  Teachers literally never go more than about 8 weeks before getting a minimum of a week off.  

[The Real Maroonblood]

3 hours ago, Brighton Jambo said:

Sorry mate but that’s simply not true.  I will concede they do more hours than get credit for (my wife used to be a secondary school maths teacher) and the days in term time are quite long but not much longer than most decent jobs when pro rated for the amount of time off and there is never any travel involved so never being away overnight etc.  

 

But to be brutally honest any job that provides circa 12 weeks holiday a year which is more then twice what the average person gets can never be that tough.  Teachers literally never go more than about 8 weeks before getting a minimum of a week off.  

With a******e teenagers they have to deal with they deserve these holidays.

[H2]

1 hour ago, Brighton Jambo said:

Sorry mate but that’s simply not true.  I will concede they do more hours than get credit for (my wife used to be a secondary school maths teacher) and the days in term time are quite long but not much longer than most decent jobs when pro rated for the amount of time off and there is never any travel involved so never being away overnight etc.  

 

But to be brutally honest any job that provides circa 12 weeks holiday a year which is more then twice what the average person gets can never be that tough.  Teachers literally never go more than about 8 weeks before getting a minimum of a week off.  

Sorry mate but it simply is true, and in particular for a secondary school Maths Teacher. The "official working day" maybe be a little shorter than your average job, but the add on 2-3 hours four nights a week for marking / prep, and maybe an average 4 hours on a weekend, then the 12 hour days when there are parents evenings. And the "minimum week off" when it isn't always a week because of in-service days, and then stay-behind hours for staff meetings. There is the occasional stay-away for training,  It would be unusual for a Maths Teacher to work less than an average of 50 hours a week.

Just on a very basic calculation (using your circa) a teacher will do 2,000 hours a year, your average 40 hour a week (and many people now do less than 40 hours) it is 1840 hours. (Legal minimum entitlement for holidays is 5.6 weeks, for most, it will be 6+ including public hols). And to suggest "it can never be tough", all I can do is ??

But hey, I suspect you will still disagree, so we'll just have to agree to disagree. 

 

[southcap]

Not strictly the same thing but I was seeing a nursery manager once. She was putting in a few hours a night writing report cards, preparing for the next day etc etc. Every single week night for the few months I was seeing her. Was quite annoying having to wait around for a few hours before she'd pounce on me.

 

Amusing though, she had several sheets of standard phrases and sentences she'd just pick and mix from for each report card. But I suppose reporting your kid spent all day chewing crayons isn't what the parents want to hear.

[Boof]

3 hours ago, Brighton Jambo said:

Teachers literally never go more than about 8 weeks before getting a minimum of a week off.  

 

Shetland Islands Council: Term 3 - Tuesday 08 January to Friday 29 March (inclusive)

 

Looks like 11 weeks and 4 days to me. Okay we have a long weekend (Friday and Monday off) at the end of February but that's - literally - a 47.5% increase on your 8-week claim.

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by Boof

[superjack]

1 hour ago, southcap said:

 But I suppose reporting your kid spent all day chewing crayons isn't what the parents want to hear.

I'm sure that is the standard report for the hibs youth players.

[Armageddon]

My mate is a tram driver, he was a bus driver but changed as tram driving keeps him on the straight and narrow...

[The Real Maroonblood]

6 minutes ago, Armageddon said:

My mate is a tram driver, he was a bus driver but changed as tram driving keeps him on the straight and narrow...

[Stuart Lyon]

Hope he doesn't go off the rails!

[Brighton Jambo]

2 hours ago, Boof said:

 

Shetland Islands Council: Term 3 - Tuesday 08 January to Friday 29 March (inclusive)

 

Looks like 11 weeks and 4 days to me. Okay we have a long weekend (Friday and Monday off) at the end of February but that's - literally - a 47.5% increase on your 8-week claim.

 

I don’t mind being corrected I had wrongly assumed there would be a half term week around February time. We definitely have them in Glasgow.  

[Brighton Jambo]

2 hours ago, H2 said:

Sorry mate but it simply is true, and in particular for a secondary school Maths Teacher. The "official working day" maybe be a little shorter than your average job, but the add on 2-3 hours four nights a week for marking / prep, and maybe an average 4 hours on a weekend, then the 12 hour days when there are parents evenings. And the "minimum week off" when it isn't always a week because of in-service days, and then stay-behind hours for staff meetings. There is the occasional stay-away for training,  It would be unusual for a Maths Teacher to work less than an average of 50 hours a week.

Just on a very basic calculation (using your circa) a teacher will do 2,000 hours a year, your average 40 hour a week (and many people now do less than 40 hours) it is 1840 hours. (Legal minimum entitlement for holidays is 5.6 weeks, for most, it will be 6+ including public hols). And to suggest "it can never be tough", all I can do is ??

But hey, I suspect you will still disagree, so we'll just have to agree to disagree. 

 

Nah I know my views on teachers are not really fair and me and the wife had some barnstormimg rows to that effect.  My personal gripe is that I do a job where I do minimum 50 hours a week and a lot of travel and the thought of that much holiday is like a dream.  So when teachers grumble it just triggers me quite badly!  I fully appreciate I am being unreasonable!  

Edited February 14, 2019 by Brighton Jambo

[been here before]

3 hours ago, Brighton Jambo said:

I don’t mind being corrected I had wrongly assumed there would be a half term week around February time. We definitely have them in Glasgow.  

 

Edinburgh ones are off now.

 

These last 4 days have seemed like a month.  ?

[Shanks said no]

5 hours ago, Boof said:

 

Shetland Islands Council: Term 3 - Tuesday 08 January to Friday 29 March (inclusive)

 

Looks like 11 weeks and 4 days to me. Okay we have a long weekend (Friday and Monday off) at the end of February but that's - literally - a 47.5% increase on your 8-week claim.

 

Is the Wednesday after Up Hellya Aa not a public holiday as well?

 

[Boof]

4 hours ago, The Frenchman Returns said:

Is the Wednesday after Up Hellya Aa not a public holiday as well?

 

 

Yes. But only 1 day.

[H2]

10 hours ago, Brighton Jambo said:

Nah I know my views on teachers are not really fair and me and the wife had some barnstormimg rows to that effect.  My personal gripe is that I do a job where I do minimum 50 hours a week and a lot of travel and the thought of that much holiday is like a dream.  So when teachers grumble it just triggers me quite badly!  I fully appreciate I am being unreasonable!  

Thanks.

I appreciate your job commitment, I think you would agree though that your British average employee does not quite have your commitment, I hope you get the financial reward it deserves.

[Brighton Jambo]

10 hours ago, H2 said:

Thanks.

I appreciate your job commitment, I think you would agree though that your British average employee does not quite have your commitment, I hope you get the financial reward it deserves.

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by Brighton Jambo

[Koolkeith]

On 13/02/2019 at 18:38, IronJambo said:

Teachers have got it shite. I'm smug and get more time off than them along with working less hours. I also get to choose when I'm off. 

Do you work in the council or civil service? ?

 

 

[IronJambo]

3 hours ago, Koolkeith said:

Do you work in the council or civil service? ?

 

 

Neither. I work on trains. 

Work a 24 week rolling rota averaging 35 hours per week. 2 days off per week and 9 consecutive days off on weeks 1, 7, 13, and 19. 34 days annual leave and 6 months full sick pay + 6 months at half pay. Feck being a teacher and getting stuck with being off all through summer.

 

Edit: a common alternative to having "rest weeks" is to work a 4 day week instead.

Edited February 15, 2019 by IronJambo

[mutley]

2 hours ago, IronJambo said:

Neither. I work on trains. 

Work a 24 week rolling rota averaging 35 hours per week. 2 days off per week and 9 consecutive days off on weeks 1, 7, 13, and 19. 34 days annual leave and 6 months full sick pay + 6 months at half pay. Feck being a teacher and getting stuck with being off all through summer.

 

Edit: a common alternative to having "rest weeks" is to work a 4 day week instead.

Aye but **** being a trolley dolley 

[IronJambo]

9 hours ago, mutley said:

Aye but **** being a trolley dolley 

? I wouldn't go near that job