- Joined
- 7 October 2011
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Yes, times change!
The discussion about the supervisory level has been interesting to me. I'm old enough to remember the days of a foreman (supervisor), a leading hand or two, and the tradesmen and apprentii. Nowadays in our workplace, the Team Leader (leading hand) carries out the same administrative duties as the foreman of old, plus his responsibilities as the day-to-day go-to man and troubleshooter. He is still 'on the tools' and on wages. Our first in line staff fella on salary is our Superintendant who is responsible for multiple work groups. He is a qualified engineer with more abbreviations after his name than I've seen in quite some time. Above him is an engineering Head Of Dept, then the Engineering Manager, then the GM. We are obviously top-heavy.
Anyway it is interesting because what was basically a staff position on salary a couple of decades ago, is now a hands-on wages position!
The biggest disincentive to anyone from the shop floor going on to a superintendant type of position, although it does happen from time to time, is the loss of a fortnightly RDO, the loss of union protection, and the potential loss of total earnings. The superintendary position is NOT a stepping stone to H.O.D and further at my workplace, and even if that person seeks employment elsewhere they might still only land an equivalent position.
