Climber V groundie pay ratio????

[Recceboy]

I think you need to define a climber first. Is it:

 

A - An employee that has his rescue ticket that is able to Climb.

or

B - An employee that has his rescue ticket and use of a saw in a tree?

 

There is a lot of Groundies that can climb but have not chosen to do there ticket on climbing with a saw, does this make them any less valuable to your business? How about a Climber that doesn't have his ticket to operate chippers?

 

I think each have there own abilities and worth the money you as an employer are willing to pay them. It comes down to qualifications, reliability, hard working, loyalty and many others qualities that each of us look for in an employee.

Only you as an employer can justify how much you pay your employees. Do you pay a groundie more that has worked for you for 10 years more than a College boy that has a years experience since leaving college but has his climbing qualifications.

 

Too many factors to take in to consideration to come up with an answer to suit everyone.

[Stephen Blair]

To call yourself a climber there should be no tree you can not get on the deck, simples. Even if you had to do a job Reg couldnt do because of tooth ache(although that wouldnt stop him) you stick on your harness and get up it, no moans, no groans, no crap excuses , even if the harness is too wee and the spikes are blunt and the rope is too short, monkey up and get it done, then yo can call yourself a climber. LOOKING like a climber from an Arborist magazine costs about a Grand though.

[Mark Bolam]

To call yourself a climber there should be no tree you can not get on the deck, simples. Even if you had to do a job Reg couldnt do because of tooth ache(although that wouldnt stop him) you stick on your harness and get up it, no moans, no groans, no crap excuses , even if the harness is too wee and the spikes are blunt and the rope is too short, monkey up and get it done, then yo can call yourself a climber.LOOKING like a climber from an Arborist magazine costs about a Grand though.:sneaky2:

 

Agreed.

 

Although looking like Tigger costs a lot less, it would seem....

 

[Lorry thompson]

I thought you weren't a climber until you had all the shiny bits?

Did you like the score yesterday mark?

[Lyndon]

i personally think that it is not possible to equate wages to a role , its more important to set a wage to a man's skill , the guys that work for me are top chaps that do not feel they have a set role, our outlook is that if you can see a job that needs doing then get on with it there is certainly no them and us betwne climbers and groundies .

 

when we start any job it starts with the boss saying " right who wants to do what?" to which most of us reply "don't mind ". sometimes the climbers come down and help the groundies and sometimes the groundies work twice as hard as the climbers just to get the job done. If the boss isnt climbing then he is on the floor doing what ever needs doing even if its raking and shoveling. All our pay is very similar P/H i think it keeps the team feeling and no one job is more important than any other so we are all happy to do whatever needs to be done!

[Tom D]

The best groundies are climbers who happen to be on the ground. I would only pay a groundie the same as a climber if he could do all the usual groundie stuff without being told to...as well as.....

He would be able to fell any tree that was fellable with the equipment that was available to him.

 

As well as that he could tell an inexperienced climber what to do, IE where to tie, where to place gear, where to cut, what cut to use and so on.

 

He would also be able to drive and operate all my machinery and fix it if it broke.

 

He would be able to converse knowledgeably with clients and tell them why they can't have "just a bit more off".

 

He would be able to speak to neighbours who enquired after costings and confidently price and win the job.

 

And he would remain cheerful throughout whatever clients, neighbours or pedestrians said or did.

 

Thats what I do when I'm not climbing and if someone came allong who could do the same I'd pay him climbers money.

[Big 'Ammer]

The best groundies are climbers who happen to be on the ground. I would only pay a groundie the same as a climber if he could do all the usual groundie stuff without being told to...as well as.....

He would be able to fell any tree that was fellable with the equipment that was available to him.

 

As well as that he could tell an inexperienced climber what to do, IE where to tie, where to place gear, where to cut, what cut to use and so on.

 

He would also be able to drive and operate all my machinery and fix it if it broke.

 

He would be able to converse knowledgeably with clients and tell them why they can't have "just a bit more off".

 

He would be able to speak to neighbours who enquired after costings and confidently price and win the job.

 

And he would remain cheerful throughout whatever clients, neighbours or pedestrians said or did.

 

Thats what I do when I'm not climbing and if someone came allong who could do the same I'd pay him climbers money.

 

[big fell!]

Reading the previous posts its easy to see that there is always going to be a argument in the skill difference and hence the money paid to both climbers and groundies. Lets just say that they are both as important as each other! Im sure all the gadget loving, premaddona climbers will have something to say about that. When you get a good climber and a good groundie working and communicating together it makes a job look fluid and smooth. I knew climbers that charged £180 a day and then moaned when they got down because i asked them to move some logs 20 yards... Is it me or has anyone else encountered climbers that think working on the deck is beneath them? pardon the shocking pun.

Edited November 1, 2010 by big fell!
typo

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I agree with the ratio but not in the situation where the groundsman is the company owner, directing the job and supplying all the gear, saws, vehicles, chipper etc. It's £120 ish for the climber and twice that for me per day. He comes and climbs and goes home; I prepare the night before for the job specifics, fuel up, sharpen, run a chipper, get us to site, clean up and dump the chip and all the other logistics / paperwork by which time I'm more than just "grounding".

[Rich Rule]

i don't go home until the job is complete. if that means I have to lump logs and drag brash and give the groundies a hand then that is what will happen so I can go home.

 

Mind, I have worked with some top ground staff and also some absolute dross! But I could also say the same about some of the climbers I have worked with.