Seniority in Canada any thoughts?

The evil that pervades all unionised positions. Especially bad in healthcare and teaching. Which all makes perfect sense. I mean it's not as though you want the best person taking care of you or teaching your kids do you? You want the one thats been there longest.

The longer Ive been in my job, the more in favour of the whole idea I've become

It's simple really - work out who the "right" people are, and then get in with them.

That's nothing to do with seniority IMHO, that's networking. Or brown-nosing. Perhaps there is a seniority amongst brown-nosers although maybe rectal-penetration-level might be a better description than seniority?

It`s not limited to unions. My experience has taught me that the vast majority of Canada operates this way - great if you are useless but have been there the longest, crap if you are brilliant but have only just walked through the door.

It is another issue that Canadians appear oblivious too, it`s the way things have always been done so it must be the correct way to do it.

I think it's pretty scary in healthcare. From what a friend has told me, because a couple of nursing home are closing, anyone who has seniority can 'Bump' another nurse off their line and then that nurse can 'bump' another less senior nurse and so on, it doesn't matter if they have experience in the particular area they are bumping into to, so a highly experienced nurse in one department can be bumped into a department she has little experience in and the person that did the bumping could also have little or no experience in the area they have chosen, I think that's really crap.

In nursing here it influences what shift you get, when you move from casual to full time and when you can take your vacation. It is also the reason why it took my wife almost 6 years to get a permanent teaching position. For the previous 5, no matter how capable she was, she was simply too far down the list.

As I say, it's an evil thing.

I was just having this conversation with someone yesterday. it is not limited to unions.
I find it really bizare. I can't go into too much details here because I'm not exactly anonymous but due to a temp. staffing shortgae at my work , the front office needed to be covered at certain times. The rota wasn't worked out according to who could be away from their desk for an hour, or any other sensible way. No , we had people who's exact words " I have seniority , I don't have to do that anymore" leaving some of us literally trying to be in 2 places at once , providing reception for two areas.

The thing is: Try convincing them it is a silly system - no chance me thinks

Actually in some situations I have managed to persuade those in higher authority that it is a silly system.

I am intensly unpopular with some of those who hold " seniority".

I don't know about evil...but I really don't like it.

I've just re read my post, I need to clarify a bit more, two nursing homes are closing in town, if the senior nurses there decide they want to work on X ward in the hospital, then they can bump a less senior person that has ward and other type say pediatric experience off that line, the other things you mention still count. I just find it really scary that someone that has little or no pediatric experience can take over a job where someone has years of it.

Too true.

The old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" situation, not realising that "it" was never made properly to begin with.

This.

I'm glad to be away from working in an environment where seniority dictates absolutely everything. Co-workers would even try to pull the 'I've got seniority' card to try and act like pseudo-managers when they didn't fancy a job. It just plain sucks. A nice idea, but in reality it just punishes those who make an effort to stand out.