the thing is that when you join a company, it is a matter of a contract. you provide a service, for which you are compensated. they outline their expectations of your labor, such as when you start, and when you cease. any requirement that is not laid out in the four corners of the contract is a violation thereof, and legally cannot stand, if challenged.
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the thing is that when you join a company, it is a matter of a contract. you provide a service, for which you are compensated. they outline their expectations of your labor, such as when you start, and when you cease. any requirement that is not laid out in the four corners of the contract is a violation thereof, and legally cannot stand, if challenged.
We are talking about the DR right??? Many family members work extra hours unpaid, here in the DR it is to be expected. Is it right, no but as one of them said it is about having/keeping a job. My MIL prior to retirement worked many extra hours (worked as a education director). When everyone would complain her reply would always be this is the way it is. She enjoyed her career so although it bothered the family she didn't mind so much. Many people go that extra mile even with no extra pay in order to keep a job or further progress their career.
As a side note...in the US we were never allowed to work off the clock (liability for the company). However if we were salary it might be a bit different but there were limits.
As a side note...in the US we were never allowed to work off the clock (liability for the company). However if we were salary it might be a bit different but there were limits.
If you are management or an executive officer your hours are whatever it takes to get the task completed. If it's 10 hours a week then golf or a 100 hrs, just as long as the mission is completed successfully, you're on salary. Here.. it's a totally different arrangement. You speak of being covered legally, more likely than not that is not even a possibility.
Well let's go there then, because it is tied right into the discussion and there is a contract involved here.
If you are saying that contracts that are signed between the government and its employees are not legally binding, why do they bother having them at all? I really want to get to the essence/the heart of Dominican people here. What makes them tick? Are there such things as unions in DR and if so, how do they function?
I did it for almost 4 years without problems. Of course my base for victims were two hotels picking up their guests at either of 3 airports. Never got rich, but it added to my Social Security paid me about $100.00 per week and made the difference between making it and not. But then the car died and I had to go away,because the woman I was with refused the idea of working.
Der Fish
These seminars are related to work, right? What does she expect, a choice from Scientology and Bachata 101?
Yes, I think that any training that helps you be more competent or productive at your job is a good thing! In anything you do, you have to make sacrifices!
Aguaita, we have to put the concept of sacrifice into proper perspective. sacrifice is what you make when you choose to go to the seminar instead of your daughters performance in the school play Little Red Riding Hood. the fact is that you have given up your personal time, and you should be paid. any exertions you make on behalf of the company should be compensated.
Many people whine about the fact that people working for the government can retire early on a good pension. Staying late and attending seminars and putting in unpaid overtime is compensated by that good pension plan. During my time in the air force I worked uncountable hours of overtime. During my first years when I was getting paid peanuts I worked many 12-14 hr days or nights. I don't recall complaining or hearing too many others complaining either. It was the jobs out to be done. Those that couldn't handle it quit at the end of their contract. It is simple the price people have to pay to stay in certain jobs. As far as the OP questions, yes there are unions in the DR and some, like the teachers union or Fenatro have considerable power.
You are a lucky man. If the taxi union / mafia gets wind that you are giving rides for money, the least of your concern will be your vehicle getting vandalized.
I think you guys are confusing the public jobs with private jobs. In the private sector, no "boss" who knows the labor laws/code will let their employees work extra unpaid hours as this could result in legal trouble, headaches, etc. However, the labor code doesn't apply for public jobs, so this is likely the reason why the OP's wife is working extra unpaid hours.
I don't recall what labor code the government employees adhere to, but is definitely nowhere as strict as the standard labor code.
I don't recall what labor code the government employees adhere to, but is definitely nowhere as strict as the standard labor code.
In the first world there are job descriptions, contracts, laws and for some lucky people, unions. Here its anything goes for the employer and screw the work force. Old time capitalism including child labor, ultra dangerous working conditions and few benefits. The result being there is no middle class with purchasing power to drive the economy. With a few exceptions like liquidation pay the employment picture for many Dominicans remains bleak. Niece came home from school the other night as classes were cancelled because it was raining. Not a flood, just a regular rain. Amazing. So long as the population remains uneducated they will be taken advantage of, six ways to Sunday.
that sums it up, in a nutshell. in private enterprise, unpaid labor could result in lawsuits. in a third world country, nobody sues the government..
You are assuming most private sector jobs are formal.
Informal employees are as good as illegal immigrants and most Dominican jobs are informal. That's also the fastest growing job segment. No benefits, minimum wage isn't respected, working conditions don't always adhere to basic safety standards; employers can 'forget' to pay their wages and employees can't do much legally because there's no written contract and the business doesn't legally exist (construction sector is rife with this last violation), etc.
The daughter of my neighbor works in a government agency. She told me last March that since the new government (August '16) they haven't been working, AT ALL. Yes she has to come in, no she can't use the Internet to at least do a course or study online, yes she does get paid but the whole department doesn't work.
.... Then why does the DR make more laws every year..... when the laws they already have are rarely inforced??.....answer that and you will have a lot of insight into Dominicans.....Doc.......
Politicians everywhere make laws. Enforcement is very expensive. Leaves less in the till to pilfer. Writing law is what they think they should be doing and it gives the appearance of something being accomplished. You know, look busy.
No, I was not assuming that I was just talking about private sector (Obviously the formal jobs that fall under the law) vs. the public sector in order to help the OP understand why his wife is working those extra hours. Additionally, a verbal contract is just as important as a written contract, the first is just harder to prove than the second, but lately, I've known of various people getting sued and losing even when they did not have a written contract.
When I worked for the gubmint, we had three shifts. When I had the two to midnight shift, I would sometimes come in a half hour or so early to avoid traffic. On one of these occasions,my manager spotted me, and had the nads to say, "make sure you don't get hurt before 2:00 PM.
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When I mentioned the seminars are not ones that the workers choose, I should have continued with "choose to go to." It's not a question of them choosing one seminar over another, whatever they are, it's the principle of being forced to go to them after contract work hours. These seminars should be held during the day when the workers are alert and being paid for their work; not at night when they are falling asleep and not being paid.
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