Targeted by the local council.

[Terror Australis]

The other day I went to the landfill to empty the truck I drive as part of my usual work week. As I finished backing up to the pile one of the workers reversed their dozer into the truck and then the crap hit the fan so to speak. The dozer driver assaulted me by pushing me to the ground then threatening to find me while not at work and "take care of me". This was all witnessed by a fellow truck driver and other council workers. Now the story that came out is totally different and they have all closed ranks which is really no surprise and I am copping the blame for it.

So today I am out of a job after the council threatened my boss with withdrawing his contract if I wasnt sacked. Now I cant afford my mortgage and the prospect of finding another job is slim. Basically there is nothing I can do and now I live in fear of repercussions from the council. I reported the assault to the police and was told to "report it to the council". WTF?

Im thinking of going to the state member for our area but dont hold any hope that there will be any benefit to doing so. I think if I do suddenly we will start getting "inspections" by the council of our house,garbage bins or a sudden raise in the evaluation price of our house which makes things harder for us than they already are by increasing our rates...

[anarchir]

Damn.  That really sucks when something like that happens. I wish I could do something for you or give you advice, but you'd have to come here for me to help out, and I have no advice other than to get under their radar fast!

[BonerJoe]

Move.

[Terror Australis]

Move.

My wife still thinks these people are good guys...despite my complaints for the past 6 months about the council putting pressure on my boss to get rid of me. They finally found a reason and can get away with it while smelling like roses\.

I wish I could move. 

[blackie]

Do they have welfare there?

[Terror Australis]

Do they have welfare there?

yeah. Im in the process of signing up but its not enough to live on.

I might write a recipe book 100 ways to eat noodles. 

[Diogenes The Cynic]

Do they have welfare there?

yeah. Im in the process of signing up but its not enough to live on.

I might write a recipe book 100 ways to eat noodles. 

Anything you could import blackmarket from New Zealand?

[Terror Australis]

Do they have welfare there?

yeah. Im in the process of signing up but its not enough to live on.

I might write a recipe book 100 ways to eat noodles. 

Anything you could import blackmarket from New Zealand?

Do sheep count?

[Diogenes The Cynic]

Anything counts so long as you could make a living off of it.

[alaric89]

I am also having a tough time job wise, and it is my principles that bought em. This strange world where merit counts for nothing and those with pull can do anything is getting me down. Boner Joe is right.
I enjoy dealing with dudes like that Cat driver. After we are both forced to run to NH, if something similar happens we can go out and have a few beers every night til the tough guy gets his wish.

[Terror Australis]

I am also having a tough time job wise, and it is my principles that bought em. This strange world where merit counts for nothing and those with pull can do anything is getting me down. Boner Joe is right.
I enjoy dealing with dudes like that Cat driver. After we are both forced to run to NH, if something similar happens we can go out and have a few beers every night til the tough guy gets his wish.

haha karma has a funny way of working out. The silver lining is that I no longer have to worry about working for a company that gets its business from a violent organisation. I was out tonight and ran into someone I used to work with at a job a few years ago and he told me of a place looking for drivers. I definitely would like to have a beer with you some day while in NH.

[alaric89]

Awesome, good luck man.
I'll get the first round.

[Terror Australis]

Having had a few days to mull things over has given me a clearer understanding of what happened. I should never have been allowed to even get close to the heavy equipment and in fact it was a breakdown in workplace safety that caused the incident.

A traffic management plan for the site didn't exist which it should have when you have heavy machinery moving around and there is a possibility a collision may occur. The fact my boss sacked me because the council told him too without giving me any chance to explain things or any sort of investigation is grounds for me to sue him for unfair dismissal.

I am using their own system against them in self defence because if I dont Ive been told my ex boss's insurance company will try to sue me for damages. Its either do this or me and my family will lose everything.

There are massive fines for ignoring safety and treating your workers like shit. The fact I was almost assaulted and had threats against my life when it was their fault in the first place that the accident happened means I lose no sleep at all for taking this path.

The moral of the story is dont treat your workers like dog shit if you dont want them to bite you on the ass.

[YixilTesiphon]

"Almost" assaulted? If you were pushed to the ground, it sounds like you were assaulted to me.

[davann]

What is a council? The dudes that work the dump?