1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Ok, heres how it is, the fool that gave us a job and sponsored changed wages and then job from bricki to carpenter/labourer. then went off his rocker when hubby asked why. hubby gone and found another job with another builder, he is working but no ,mention of wages and 9 hrs per day even tomorrow on aussie day, in fact there is this thing in the back of my minda that say he will get a week work out of the hubby and then not pay us...

sorry to say this but so far i hate australia i think the builders are a bunch of wa****rs... they are nasty, foul mouthed, idiots with low IQs, they dont want to pay you, they want to work you into the ground... they wont promise a long term job and could fire you at any moment...

can anyone tell me if this is the way al brickies get treated??? or are we incredably unlucky with the town we choose MILDURA...

can someone shed some light on this god awful country...

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Moved you from the Update section to the Barbie. Doesn't seem to be an update, more a query about working conditions.

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Hello...I'm sorry you are having such a lousy start...can I ask, coz I'm not quite sure, are you on a employer sponsored visa? If so, surely the guy has some responsibility to you, or at least to honouring the terms & conditions? It sounds to me like you might need some proper advice from a professional maybe.

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

I don't know the full circumstances but I know a lot of builders are finding it tough at the moment compared with the glut of work a couple of years ago. We have boys working as labourers who are tradesmen sometimes but they are pretty easy going because at least its work and there are ups and there are downs. Maybe he is trying to honour his promise and keep your husband in a job but doesnt have enough work for another builder. I think you will find a lot of builders without work and on salary drops at home too but obviously its easier when you have your own network and understand the psyche

In QLD you need to be licensed to call yourself either builder or carpenter and it takes ages to get a license. I am sure you will find a lot of disgruntled tradies from this neck of the woods who could tell you all about it ........

Good luck and I hope it improves for you
Viv

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Well, it's a step up from Loughborough.

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Hi,both my brothers are builders in S.A.One of them went to work in Mildura for about 3 mths a long time ago.He returned to Adelaide and swore he would never go near the place again!!!! Maybe's its just Mildura!:lol:I know there is a fair amount of work(building)going on closer to Adelaide (pm me if you like),so it might be a better option to try and get closer to the city?Not sure what the sponsor thing entails.Do you have to stay there for a year or something?Good luck and keep your chins up!

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

So your hubby came out here on a sponsored visa, quit the sponsors job and went working for another builder without even checking the pay rates and you think that Ozzy builders are "wa****rs" ? :)

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Maybe you should have read her earlier thread about the first employer assaulting her husband when he asked about working conditions before you jump to conclusions.

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

thanks dorothy... I bet he had not seen the full story and assumed i was in the wrong... winging pom thing...

i think the chap who sponsored us never had a bricklaying job he now says which seems daft since thats what the hubby is.. and hubby didn't walk off the job he walked away from being hit rather than hit back which would have achieved nothing. it would have been less of a issue if the employer had the decentcy on the first day to say sorry got no bricklaying for you and may never have, but i can give you sweeping and labouring for less money than I promised you. but instead he waited till hubby had done 2 weeks thenwe asked what was going on then hence the attack.

I really did fancy adelaide so I may take the other poster up on there very kind offer..

hubby did 9 hours yesterday and is working today australia day and worked sat in order to show new guy how hard working and commited he was... and so far the new guy has not mentioned pay, or if hubby will get paid, so we are crossing fingers...

seems like all the builders round here hate each other as well, very dog eat dog..

we want to be here so are making the effort to make it better for ourselves without help from anyone... but we know we will have to let DIAC know about the change thats if this job ends up a regular thing...

Adelaide here i come!!!

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Hi Dorothy,

Thanks for your input, though I seem to have caught you on a bad day :)

I wasn't aware that I was jumping to conclusions, I believed I was replying to a 'stand alone' post and my response was phrased accordingly.

If either you or the original poster believed that an earlier thread was relevant to this thread, surely it would be a simple matter to either combine the two threads or to provide a link to the original source material. I'm sure that you don't expect members to troll though every single post by the thread starter before responding to what appears to be a 'stand alone' thread :)

I realise that many of the new forum members might not have the internet 'savvy' of you and I, and I'm sure that the help and guidance you provide to the 'newbies' is much appreciated.

Thanks again, Happy Australia day, I hope you have a great time at the celebrations :)

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

You jumped to the conclusion that her husband was sponsored then quit his job and was therefore a wanker for that. Your words here: So your hubby came out here on a sponsored visa, quit the sponsors job and went working for another builder without even checking the pay rates and you think that Ozzy builders are "wa****rs" ?

I would call that jumping to conclusions, wouldn't you?

Oh, and no, I'm not having a bad day. Actually I'm having a rather good day. I've come into work to get some things done around my office while nobody's here and jumped on the 'net while I have my morning tea.

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

ok... i really didn't want this to be a war of words i have already done the stress thing... me and the hubby have just sat down and are going to decide whether to go home.. its such a shame so many dreams but we dont want uncertainty here 4 2 years when at least at home we could have friends around us to help out when it was tough...

watch this space we may have been cracked in 1 month.:(

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

NO! Don't give in. You've had a rotten start but please look at trying another firm. Someone said Adelaide?

My husband (student visa) works for a good company in Perth where he gets excellent wages, they'll allow him to work as much as he can with his college stuff plus he gets today off! Ok, he doesn't get paid when he doesn't work but it is all family time as I see it. There are good building firms out there - you just need to find it.

All the best whatever you decide to do. You've come this far....it would be a shame to throw the towel in.

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Building industry in OZ is dog eat dog, even when its booming.

Working saturdays wont impress anyone, its pretty normal to work sats and public hols or do longer hours than you get paid for.

The reality of the building industry here has been commented on many times, however I dont know if many choose to accept the message. Stories of $1000 a day are easier on the ear.

Buidling industry is also not what it was 2 years ago, BIL in melb is now paying workers $25 an hour instead of $50 back then. Up here most of the 300 workers on one site are about to be 'let go'...

However dont assume all builders are thick or mean, you dont just become a builder here like the UK, immigrants and aussies alike need licences and qualifications to become builders. How does 6 years of study grab you, thats what my builder partner did. A dentist would have done less.

Yes some employers in OZ will take advantage when there is a glut of workers for jobs, that wouldnt just be the building industry.

Only way round it is to get the quals, experience, insurances, licences then throw yourself into the shark pit that is quoting and undercutting for work.

Re: 1 month in - what the jeepers...
 

Called subbing or sub-contracting

WW