And your Christmas goverment services will be...

Reduced ACTION Services on the 23/24 makes sense, given that most APS I know are taking those days off.
But I do wish the Libraries were open on the odd public holiday. It’s hard to actually get to the libraries now with their restricted hours.

Fair enough; not everyone who criticises ACTION and their bus drivers actually ride the buses.

At least my privately owned gym will be open 24/7 during the holidays and there is usually a big turnout on Christmas morning before a big seafood lunch. While the Aussie stupor sets in on Boxing Day with cricket and a yacht race dominating TV I’ll be lifting the weights again. I’m afraid our ACTION bus drivers – featherbedded by years of overpayment and other perks gained by the TWU – couldn’t work in an iron lung.

Well, it’s not as if it hasn’t happened before. We had reduced services during the Christmas/New Year period last year and in years before. Regular bus goers either get used to it or go down to the south coast. The really stupid thing is Sunday services on the Saturday. They should go Sunday until 6pm and then Saturday timetables after 6pm. It then connects to Night Rider.

Anyway, ACT Library branches close at 1pm 24th December, and are closed for the weekdays to New Year’s, reopening to normal times and branches for the weekend (why? but not complaining) and the 2nd. The National Library’s exhibition areas are open for the duration apart from Christmas day, but the reading rooms are closed until the 2nd.

You’re right.

Maybe it’s the climate. We need bus drivers who don’t want to go outside in the middle of summer. Maybe Korean and Indian beautiful girls who want to avoid a suntan?

I’d be happy to help them but I’m so pale that the sun bounces off me like a mirror so I’ve no particular need to stay inside, rather the contrary…

Nothing wrong with using a pencil and diary system as long as there are rules like leave needs to go in a certain time before you plan on leaving, only a certain number allowed on leave at a time, and of that only a smaller number to be essential staff, be that supervisors, senior field staff, full timers, depending how your business runs. Not so ok to have a free for all!

Of course I always find working over the holidays is so much more rewarding, great for team bonding and so on, but I suppose if you hire all Christians, they’re all going to want the same Christian holidays off.

A guy I know who is an ACTION bus driver was shocked when he first started to learn that their annual leave record system consists of the general manager keeping a notebook with penciled in dates. Could explain a lot about driver shortages/unplanned absent buses….