Welcome to the Real World

As many of you are aware back in March I lost my job. Well technically I didn't really lose it. I know exactly where it went and why it disappeared. What you may not know, since I really didn't want it to be public knowledge, is that I was fighting back. I felt that it was unfair and that I was being targeted. Ideally I wanted my job back... but failing that I at least wanted the termination pay.

Now I did get an apology from the parent company over my treatment there but nothing else ever came of that. Then I had someone from corporate looking into it. They dealt the final death knell for any thought of getting my job back. They also refused to admit any wrong doing. But offered me the 4 weeks salary. After careful consideration I turned it down choosing instead to let the labour board make the final decision. If they decided that it was justified then I would accept that answer. But if not then it would go on record that it was a case of wrongful dismissal and the company would be held accountable.

Such noble sentiments. I have since discovered that the labour board is on the side of the employers and will look for any loophole to screw over the employee. Okay so the wrongful dismissal is not the reason for that thought. They didn't give me my raise back in February and then fired me at the end of March. I was told I couldn't claim for any additional wages. So as long as they fire you before implementing the new wages it's okay. For the longest time I had a catch-22 at work. If I took my lunch then we wouldn't meet the mandate and it would lead to disciplinary action. So I didn't take my lunch but they didn't pay me for it either. They deducted the time. And I was told that I voluntarily chose not to take my lunch. Hmm... damned if you do and not paid if you don't.

As for the whole wrongful dismissal claim.... since they had already offered me the 4 weeks pay and to change my termination to without cause that is exactly what I'll be getting. But basically they are calling it a settlement. The company will not have to admit to any wrong doing and can even try and take the righteous high ground of "Look at us. We offered to do this and didn't have to. We wanted to bring closure to the situation." But really.... if they thought they could win and not have to pay anything they would've fought me.

Life in the real world isn't quite as black and white. There are a lot of shades of grey. But the good news is that the whole saga has now come to an end... or will once I get the cheque (which could be 6 months from now). I saw it through.... no matter how many people told me that I couldn't win and that I should just stop fighting. In the end I won.

Steal From the Losers

So now that the election is over and the Liberals are in I am thinking that it would be nice for them to steal the best ideas from their opponents platform. Little from column A and a little from column B. I'm still not going to see any reform for student loans :( but there were ideas from each party that I thought were really good.

The NDP wanted to bring in a dental plan for low-income families. My only question is where do you draw the line? There are a lot of people that do not get dental coverage from their employment and many of them can't afford the high costs of dental care yet would likely be excluded. Perhaps implement a sliding payment scale so that the more money you earn the more you have to pay but still make it low enough that people can afford the dental care. I do believe that dental care is linked to health care. Even just an untreated cavity can turn into an infection. If treatment is done early enough it prevents further problems. But if left untreated the person may wind up needing to have the tooth extracted or a root canal done. Other health problems include sinus infections and TMJ. TMJ is typically treated by dentists, often with a nightguard or possibly even surgery. But without a dentist... or the $300 for a nightguard.... it causes severe pain in the jaw and a grinding down of the teeth. I know that it would be expensive but what price can you put on health? So I would like to see a dental plan.

One of the lesser known platforms of the Conservatives was about medical records. Of course in following the media coverage did they have any platforms other then providing funding for faith based schools and bringing back Canadian trained doctors? Speaking of the idea to bring back Canadian trained doctors they left because they could make a lot more money in the States. Why spend that kind of money to try and bring them back? Would it not cost less and make more sense to bring in foreign trained doctors as long as they were properly trained? But back to the medical records. The conservatives wanted to bring in electronic records which I think makes a lot of sense. That way doctors can easily access patient records. Right now my childhood doctor has some of the records. The school has some of my records. Various hospitals have other records. And now my new family doctor also has some. It would be handy if the doctor (whether it be a family doctor, specialist, or ER doctor) could access all of the records That way they would have a more complete look at your entire medical history instead of just a brief snapshot. I would just recommend that they also keep a hard copy. I don't completely have faith in technology. But being 2007 I think it is about time that this information go electronic.

Calling in Sick

So yesterday I called in sick... Not really surprising since I slept for 13 hours and felt really sick. Work called around 12:30. It has now become policy to call and ask how you're doing. So the message was something like this, "Hi, Heather this is _____ calling from work. Just calling to see how you were feeling. If you want to give me a call and let me know how you are doing. And if you do want to come into work feel free..." Back when I had the flu a couple of years ago I had been off work for a few days and my team leader called to see how I was doing and when I was coming back. That was appreciated. When it becomes policy (and you get calls from random managers, like yesterday) it seems forced and loses the personal appeal. It's no longer genuine and also seems to be more like harassment. I know that some people have a habit of calling in sick but I'm not one of them. And no you can't guilt trip me into coming into work. Unless I have been off work for a couple of days don't call me. After all you are not concerned about my well-being but are trying to get me to come into work.