And you thought life was brutal in the United States! (At least those of my readers from the US.) Imagine what you might have to put up with if you were a library worker in Australia. (Or do put up with if you're one of my Australian readers.) Check out this story from the Green Left Weekly (you should click through; there's a cute little picture of Che on their banner):
MELBOURNE — On August 16, 60 workers employed by the Moonee Valley City Council attended a lunch-time rally to protest against attacks on the working conditions of library workers. Australian Services Union assistant secretary Brian Parkinson told the rally that the council's CEO was trying to change weekly working hours in the library from 35 to 38.
Scandalous! Increasing the work week from 35 to 38 hours! What horrors will those Moonee Valley City Council tyrants think of next? Cutting the lunch hour by three minutes? Banning Vegemite from the staff lounge? Where will it all end?
Oh, sure, who cares about Australia? I know what you're thinking. It can't happen here. Well, that's what the Austrians thought in 1938, and then there was a little thing called the Anschluss. Next thing you know, we'll start having to work 38 hours a week! Then you won't feel so superior, now will you?
About Me
- AL
- The Annoyed Librarian is possibly the most successful, respected, and desirable librarian of her generation. She has no other interest than to bring her wit and wisdom to the huddled librarian masses yearning to breathe free. The Annoyed Librarian is a free spirit and you are lucky to have her.
5 comments:
Seems like the Aussie librarians are "non-union" librarians. 38 hours might be unheard of down there, but (in the big, bad world...oh my) 40 hours and more are normal (especially in corporate America, that's why we're all so tired, sick, weak...oh no, that's from something else...never mind).
If the librarians are having their work week increased but not their salary, then their hourly wages will be going down. I am scheduled for an eight hour day, but get an hour of lunch a day, so I an viewed as working a 35-hour week. I would not be happy if required to work three more hours a week with no extra pay, and I doubt that most people would also be overjoyed at the prospect. Of course, were I making a large salary or received a bonus or stock options, I might be more flexible in regards to my time.
-yet another Brooklyn librarian
Perhaps I think this radical protest is strange given my own situation. I am a salaried professional librarian, which means I get paid the same no matter how much I work. Some weeks that works out quite well, but many weeks it does not. I'm not sure from the article if these are the "librarians" or the "library workers." If they are hourly employees and will be paid the same weekly amount though their weekly hours will increase, then that is indeed a problem. Otherwise, I'm not sure what the protest is about.
I received the same letter last month and just got around to reading it tonight. I went to their website and this site came up instead, their site no longer exists, funny.... People will do anything thse days to scam people.
I began my web search looking for info re: a letter I received recently from Cambridge Who's Who telling me that I was being considered for inclusion into the 2008/2009 Registry. I laughed to myself because it referred to me as a 'successful professional'. I stopped working over 20 years ago! I had been divorced in the early 1980's and remarried in the mid 1980's creating a combination of 4 teenagers at home -alone. So we thought it sensible for me to become a stay-at-home mom and all was lovely. However, back to this illustrious letter...I am not a college graduate although I did attend university for 2 1/2 years, putting it on hold when I married the first time. Unfortunately I never got back to it. In my employment, though, I managed to be able to create my own position and made myself indispensible in a variety of duties. I was a secretary in 2 different school districts - although not simultateously. I was involved in a Federal education program, giving workshops and training to staff and parents. I also joined a natinal parents org. and became an officer and performed similar duties within the org. Being involved from both angles became a very beneficial and symbiotic relationship. I chaired an entire convention, even down to giving an opening address for which I was asked by an attendee to sign her program with my autograph. What I'm trying to say - and of course I always take a stroll around that proverbial barn - is that I'm neither a current professional nor successful at same. And I haven't the slightest idea where Cambridge Who's Who came up with my name, although they typed it correctly and the same way I always use it (minus the Mrs.). I am so thankful I found this format to help make my decision easy. I think it would have been the same in any case. Sorry to burst the bubble of the other college alumniposting here, but appparently the Cambridge people are finding gullible college folks becoming scarce. Tally ho.
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