33 Million of Cost/Savings Per Annum

[shetlandpeat]

There will be some on stand by duties, keep that in mind. Others it may be part of their remuneration package. The additional problem may be creating enough parking space of folks private vehicles at their depot. Some may not own a vehicle.

[nic]

Each time the cooncil come up with cuts there is an outcry. The longer we wait the harder it will be.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16918000

[piggywiggie]

If council workers all have to leave the vans out by every day (which btw if they do take vans home at night,they do share vans in mornings and evenings more often than not so they can go right to the job in morning) the council will have to build a massive load of places to park workers cars safely and so they are secure. Which would surely cost quite a bit more?

[stilldellin]

Still recovering from falling off my chair will listening to Good Evening Shetland tonight. SHEAP, the Lerwick district heating operation is looking for 4 million investment from our Charitable Trust to expand their business so as to give a select few people cheap heating in the town ! Now what was that about the CT providing benefit to the Shetland community? Did anybody else hear it or did I get it completely wrong, I was under the impression that our golden pot was getting lower and lower.

[Kavi Ugl]

I heard Public Platform and was dismayed by the attitude of Cllr Cecil Smith who wouldn't accept that it's the poorest and frontline services that are suffering with all this.

 

At least Jonathan Wills stood up for the poorest and lowest paid by stating that yes, it's the "bottom end" that is taking all the cuts while nothing is happening at the "upper end".

 

Sadly, he seemed/admitted to being a bit worn out by his time in office and it sounded as if he's not so sure he'll stand again.

[fordcapri]

i assume all da buisnessess in da big toon and aa owir shetland built specal car park facilities fur all employees then? joost da cooncil dat dusna provide parking, glad dats sorted den,

 

heres wan dat i wid need explained to me:

Da cooncils muckle recycling wagon wis oot in scalloway dadae, closly followed by a white van containing health and safety...i tink da health and safety was following muckle cooncil wagon to check if dae wir following correct procedure etc.

I obsereved da men sporting safety glassess dis week along wi da usual hi-vis claes etc.

 

upon closer inspection i took a gander in trow da window o da health and safety vehicle and noticed 3 men inside!! 3 men i say! (asks da question foo mony cooncil staff ta change a lightbulb!!!) i cin only assume health was drivin da van and and was doin da gear changing, while safety was sittin in passenger seat takin HD snaps wi da digital camera dat he held.

[MuckleJoannie]

Still recovering from falling off my chair will listening to Good Evening Shetland tonight. SHEAP, the Lerwick district heating operation is looking for 4 million investment from our Charitable Trust to expand their business so as to give a select few people cheap heating in the town ! Now what was that about the CT providing benefit to the Shetland community? Did anybody else hear it or did I get it completely wrong, I was under the impression that our golden pot was getting lower and lower.

 

SHEAP is a profit making enterprise and the extra investment will give a commercial return to the Charitable Trust. £800,000 will be received from the ERDF towards the investment.

 

In 2010 the CT received £340,000 from SHEAP's profits.

[unlinkedstudent]

...and yet still da army o' yellow council vans and pickups head to various employees homes for da night!?...no signs o stoppin dat farce yit den?

 

Oh heck, Council vans ...

 

Just one point to bear in mind .

 

Thanks to Health & Safety , many of the tools in these vans will be personal issue like ladders, gas appliances,power tools & so each employee has to use there own .

 

No compensation if you are injured while useing someone elses issue.

That I believe to be the main need for so many vans !

 

In all the years I have typed up PI claim insurance reports, not once have I come across compensation not being paid out for "using someone else's issue". Indeed, if anything, most of the equipment you have referred to is non-person specific. Most companies have a van equipment checklist whereby the users of said vehicles sign each day to confirm that they are carrying X equipment. Just how much PPE is person-specific (Okay, perhaps gloves and safety glasses but FGS, power tools?) Many Insurers do not approve of company vehicles leaving company depots due to risk of theft from vehicles outside employees' homes.

 

Why cant cooncil employes use thier own cars to get to and from work?? (dae can still claim mileage)

 

That how it used to be. But a fortune in time was lost every day travelling to and from the depot, not to mention the waste in fuel and wear and tear already mentioned.

 

It is much more efficient to travel straight to and from the place of work, maximizing working time and minimizing travel whilst eliminating mileage.

 

How many actually go straight to the place of work only to arrive and announce "Oh, I need a part from the depot" (Especially with Housing Repairs) despite having a job sheet outlining the problem? Perhaps more communication required between those taking the initial Repair job, better details from Technical Officer attending before the guy/gal assigned to said Repair job arrives?

 

How many do actually travel "straight to and from the place of work" - figures? Comparables?

 

If council workers all have to leave the vans out by every day (which btw if they do take vans home at night,they do share vans in mornings and evenings more often than not so they can go right to the job in morning) the council will have to build a massive load of places to park workers cars safely and so they are secure. Which would surely cost quite a bit more?

 

Great to hear that some do share ... but ...

 

Without knowing the number of vans in question and the depot locations, I wouldn't know how large a car park would be required. You're not going to like this but in other parts of the UK (including rural areas with naff transport links), staff seem to be capable of getting to work without relying on their employers' vehicles.

 

Build a car park and charge for parking and if you can't have a car park nearby, have a shuttle service from said car park. You take away a freebie and you'd be amazed how people adapt. More car share. Kick the transport providers into touch to revise their bus services to cover more out of town areas (Do we really need so many buses just serving town throughout the day?). People work shifts at the airport with start times before buses commence, people work at other places in Shetland not served by a regular bus service/have to work non-office hours and they have to adapt and find ways to get to work on time - why should Council workers be treated any differently?

[shetlandpeat]

Great waffle, but, there are certain tools that certain folk have been trained for. I can drive any vehicle in my yard yet not qualified to operate the equipment they carry. Some will have specific P.P.E. requirements. If you are not familiar with a toot or a piece of equipment then you need some sort of instruction, be it formal accredited training or in house.

There have been instances at my work place where folk have been injured using equipment they are not familiar with. They get compensation, as they have to, regardless of fault. That, comes from a fund not insurance because of its size and the way insurance companies like to bump up premiums.

 

If an employee works and lives around Virkie, say. There is no council depot there, say. Would it be reasonable and right to expect the employee to make a 40 mile round trip every day firstly in a private car, adding to personal cost, an additional vehicle on the road and more pollution, then driving a 3.5 t vehicle back to the area he/she lives in to work.

 

The vehicle may be part of the terms and conditions of employment, so, you would need to change the terms and conditions of employment.

 

Oh, ZE postcodes are one of the, if not the cheapest postcodes for insurance.

 

If any way of saving money can be done, it could be done by sharing certain services with another authority. Generally admin, insurance, procurement and democratic. This can be done and is all over the country, there will be staff losses but more voluntary, you ask the depts firs how they can see it being done, not dictate as some seem to do.

[Ghostrider]

^^ If an employee uses a van containing any equipment they are not trained to use, firstly common sense dictates that that employee cannot be expected to carry out the task which requires that piece of equipment to be used, ergo, somebody sent out the wrong guy to the wrong job. Secondly, should a responsible employer not have a H&S policy in operation where it forms part of an empoyees terms and conditions, that they are not permitted to undertake tasks/use equipment they are not fully conversant with and adequately trained in the use of?

 

Most private companies expect employees to travel to their appointed "place of work" by whatever means they see fit, and at their own expense, why not council workers. Yes, there is a saving when an employee has a van home with them and have a job close to their home area to do first thing the next day, and go straight there. However, by the nature of their work many "yellow van men" are effectively "flying squads" operating all over Shetland as required. Is it reasonable to expect Council Tax payers to foot the cost of a 50 mile round trip in a council vehicle for say a sparky living in Virkie, who has to be in Hillswick or Walls for a job in the morning?

[Brian]

Well said, GR. So much discussion of the Council and its employees is of the Daily Mail variety.

[shetlandpeat]

As we know, a council is not a private employer. If the terms and coditions dictate a vehicle. That is it. As council employees are always the easy target when cuts happen, I wonder how many of the general public think twice about ringing a council to do a task that was once done by the residents in the form of a lengthsman or similar.

I wonder what the council worker has done to be subjected to this sort od sustained attack, as with any public worker. They do not get as well paid. I can personally vouch for that. The trouble with constantly attacking the public servants you may need to wipe your grannies bum, say, is generally the good guys get let go. Lower the wage, make it less atractive but tell folk the have to be happy or there is the door will not attract the best candidate. They could be like Tesco and take on J.S.A. claimants to work for free on the night shift. Happily, some large employers such as TKMax have opted out of this new slavery. There arre far bigger savings to be had. Firstly, folk have to be honest about paying tax. The last thing you will need is council officers setting themselves up as companies in ordr to avoid tax with the renumeration they get which seems to be the norm in London. Before subjecting your peers to punative measures due to some sort of perverted need to see the wee guy take the brunt of the situation we are told we are inperhaps more should get involved with the community spirit you so desperatly want.

[Spinner72]

Is it reasonable to expect Council Tax payers to foot the cost of a 50 mile round trip in a council vehicle for say a sparky living in Virkie, who has to be in Hillswick or Walls for a job in the morning?

 

In the unliely event of such poor management, there is still a large saving to the taxpayer as the operative would be on the job in Hillswick or Walls at starting time, as opposed to starting his vehicle checks at the depot at starting time and not actually being on the job for the first and last hour of the day.

 

This is why almost all private firms also insist employees work from home these days.

 

As with so many things, there is no big conspiracy, just common sense.

 

Again, the council is set to pay out probably approaching £10 million quid in the next few days, yet here we are debating how to squeeze a few more pence out of something that is one of the few real success stories of the past few years.

[Colin]

As we know, a council is not a private employer. If the terms and coditions dictate a vehicle.

 

Why should 'Public' employees expect to be treated any differently from the rest?

Plenty of private employers require their staff to use company vehicles. They do not, in my experience, provide a vehicle for employees to commute to and from their place of work.

Furthermore, if they were to do so, HMRC wold want to know as said vehicle then becomes a 'benefit' and the employee is required to pay tax on it's usage.

Can of worms?

[Colin]

(Do we really need so many buses just serving town throughout the day?).

 

Wrong place to take a pop at the bus companies. Anyway, I think that you are wrong on this point as there is only 1 bus serving Lerwick through the day. Separate thread anyone?