poor pay

[Ty Korrigan]

Yeh but Tom,

When I work for you I have to take off your slippers and tie your gaffs on before running oil into your leather 19century saw scabbard then levering you into your armour and helm because you are the great dinosaur of the arb industry at 43...hhhhhh l.o.l

Ty

[will.morris]

Very tricky subject ... Choosing my words carefully as I don't wish to upset anyone from either side of the employment fence.

 

I think the bottom line is any newly qualified climber is going to earn less with a chainsaw than they would sat on a check out. It is a very sad scenario that it has to be like that but it is what it is. My car is on it's way out at the moment (Acer roverheadgasketsyndromeacus) and I'm not going to be able to afford to replace it earning what I do. I'd be in the same position in a shelf stacking job, but that would be the situation for the rest of my time in that job. I see it as an incentive to put 110% effort in every day until I am worth more money, then I will look back and think wow I don't know how I scraped through but now I have valuable skills that make me recognised as being worth a decent wage.

 

The black and white is that people (customers) don't want to pay more just because its a dangerous job. I earnt more when I was litter picking for a landscaping firm ... at least I love what I do now!

 

Britain is on it's a**e, hence why I want to abandon ship and learn in a nicer part of the world in a lifestyle where I can actually live on a progressing climbers wage. I'm 22 years old and having to be supported by my parents when I want to work hard and be independant, its shocking ... the opportunities for college leavers are just not there in this part of the country in a sense of finding a job that can keep you on your on two feet, there is no space in the industry.

[Stephen Blair]

When I was 22 I loved in a bedsit and was working 100 plus hours a week shovelling coal 100 feet inside coal boats, I wanted to be 1 thing, a tree surgeon.

What I didn't realise that climbing ladders and shovelling was perfect training for a tree rat, when I did get a chance I was faster and fitter than the others so got ahead very quickly and I knew I was never going to work shovelling in the dark again!!!

Stick in there folks, stay positive and look for oppertunities to further your career.

[brewx1]

The best way to improve your financial situation is to ask others how they have done so.

Become the boss, Sell wood chip, start an arb forum. Then you can decide what wage to pay. Most people I know have gone out of there way to help me when I have asked. But you need to be positive a more productive thread could have been "how can I improve my pay.

At 43 its going to be hard to climb every day I know but it dose n,t mean you cant work in the Arb industry you just need to find solutions there will be lots of ideas here if the questions are asked in the rigt way.

 

If that was directed at me then you've missed a bit. I'm not looking for employment or to improve my pay (although more would be nice obviously) Actually, I could improve my earnings by paying less for labour, I could get it cheaper, if not even some for free, but I couldn't morally justify doing that.

I own my own house, (apart, I suppose, from the portion of it still technically owned by the loveable Royal bank of Scotland). If i wanted to, I could stop working in arb tomorrow and be working doing something else the day after, still earning a living. I'm in a great situation.

So please, get the point that it's not for my benefit, or because of my situation that I'm having a dig at low wages.

And at 42 I still love climbing trees.

[brewx1]

The minimum wage is IMO totally fair. It is after all, a MINIMUM wage. There is nothing preventing employers paying more for the right person.

 

Anyone who accepts work at the minimum wage is either desperate to work at any cost, in which case he will accept it, or he does not posess the technical or 'people' skills to warrant a higher paid job.

 

Those who accept work at the minimum wage should not grumble. If they want to earn more, then they need to market themselves and their skills to prospective employers. If they are as good as they think they are they will find plenty of employers who are currently desperate for good staff and willing to pay the right money to the right person.

 

Employers who ONLY pay the minimum are only causing problems to themselves as they will never have a happy and efficient workforce.

 

I pay my casual (one day a week) van driver £12.00 per hour, and £10.00 per hour to the person who washes the machines off prior to service. They are both totally reliable and happy in their work, worth every penny to me.

 

Well, thats my opinion anyway.

 

I agree with much of this and certainly with your views on employment. If I was in the situation, I'd work at minimum wage sooner than claiming dole. How much effort I'd put into that work though would be another matter and depend on a few more factors.

A small company with pleasant folk really maybe unable to pay more I could work for just as hard as in any other better paid job. I'd have to jump ship if a better opportunity came along, but that's the way it is.

On the other hand if It was for a company where you get the feeling that minimum wage is being paid because that's all they need to pay, I really would not be putting much effort into it at all.

I imagine most people would feel the same

[brewx1]

Very tricky subject ... Choosing my words carefully as I don't wish to upset anyone from either side of the employment fence.

 

I think the bottom line is any newly qualified climber is going to earn less with a chainsaw than they would sat on a check out. It is a very sad scenario that it has to be like that but it is what it is. My car is on it's way out at the moment (Acer roverheadgasketsyndromeacus) and I'm not going to be able to afford to replace it earning what I do. I'd be in the same position in a shelf stacking job, but that would be the situation for the rest of my time in that job. I see it as an incentive to put 110% effort in every day until I am worth more money, then I will look back and think wow I don't know how I scraped through but now I have valuable skills that make me recognised as being worth a decent wage.

 

The black and white is that people (customers) don't want to pay more just because its a dangerous job. I earnt more when I was litter picking for a landscaping firm ... at least I love what I do now!

 

Britain is on it's a**e, hence why I want to abandon ship and learn in a nicer part of the world in a lifestyle where I can actually live on a progressing climbers wage. I'm 22 years old and having to be supported by my parents when I want to work hard and be independant, its shocking ... the opportunities for college leavers are just not there in this part of the country in a sense of finding a job that can keep you on your on two feet, there is no space in the industry.

 

Precisely this.It's shameful that young folk feel they have to leave either the industry or the country to stand any chance of actually being able to support themselves.

 

Best of luck chap.

[GardenKit]

When I was 22 I loved in a bedsit .

 

as well as working 100 hrs a week. Did you have time to eat, Stevie?

[Taupotreeman]

Just as an aside; having just come back from the states and having talked to a few people there about tipping and gratuities I learnt how little some people actually earn over there. One restaurant worker explained that herself and several others she knew were earning around $5 an hour so tips were what they survived on. I don't believe they had a minimum wage though I could be wrong. Neither could they believe that in NZ a school leaver could be earning the minimum wage of $12 + an hour for sweeping floors in maccas. Sometimes you have to look at how good you have it in comparison to others.

[brewx1]

When I was 22 I loved in a bedsit and was working 100 plus hours a week shovelling coal 100 feet inside coal boats, I wanted to be 1 thing, a tree surgeon.

What I didn't realise that climbing ladders and shovelling was perfect training for a tree rat, when I did get a chance I was faster and fitter than the others so got ahead very quickly and I knew I was never going to work shovelling in the dark again!!!

Stick in there folks, stay positive and look for oppertunities to further your career.

 

[Stephen Blair]

as well as working 100 hrs a week. Did you have time to eat, Stevie?

 

My record was 106hrs by Thursday!!

But my gaffer bet me by 4 hrs lol