Letters / Chose not to accept
Whilst I totally agree with Andrea Manson’s overall views (‘Easter overtime bill enrages parents’, SN 27/4/14) relating to the treble time payment for support staff working in schools on Easter Monday there is another side to the argument.
I am sure I will not be popular for the comments I make but whilst there is an SIC agreement in place to pay treble time on such occasions employees have the option to decline the extra payment. The mechanism used to make the payment meant that it was offered to me, in my roleas a cleaner in one of our threatened schools, but I chose not to accept it.
Surely the principal of treble time has to be questioned in an era when savings need to be made. I am not saying that there should be no extra payment for working bank holidays but it should be comparable to that of other work sectors. I wonder how many employers offer treble time.
Alan Macdonald
Fairview, North Roe
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