Who works in the mines and what doing

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

When I was mining (Tom Price, Telfer, Newman) you flew out on holidays or when quitting....

Now I'm in the Offshore Oil & Gas, it's 4 or 5 weeks on/off, and if your relief doesn't show up you stay until one does lol......

dont even start me on his two showers a day bs

poor little weaksauce in comms needed a shower in the the morning to wash all his bed tears away before going to work

cheers **** head it was weaksauce in considerate ****s like you that use to wake me up at 4am

****

[Franco Cozzo]

If anything I reckon those joints would be the best place to keep all your dirty habits because no one would really GAF, you could probably go a week without a shower or brushing your teeth lol.

Poor me I get paid 6 figures for work not requiring higher qualifications with accomodation and food provided which has a TV and probably internet because I spend time away from my family.

He is there volunterily.

[DoreSlamR]

Yeah, never needed to set an alarm, the morning showers everyone had did the job.

And I agree pottery, he makes it sound like its so hard when it's not. Sure you might miss family, but so what? No one forced you to take the job, harden up and get over yourself, you're getting paid to make these sacrifices.

Working fifo has never been cushier, and in a few years times the cash cow will be gone.

If you're in it, enjoy it while it lasts I say, I know now that I've got a second opportunity back up there, I'm gonna make it last as long as I can, and save as much as I can.

[stazza]

Not really mining, I'm in Oil & Gas on Barrow Island, operating cranes.

Anyone else here up on barrow too?

As for the FIFO guy, my two cents are that no the work isn't hard or flat out like city work, but it can be really ******* depressing and mentally draining with all the bullshit finger pointing and safety crap that goes on.

Some of us just wanna rock up and do the work and take the money, but out of a 10.5hr day, I'd hazard a guess at saying we did maybe 6 or 7 hours working time. The rest is paperwork and safety meetings, EVERY day. They even do us up diagrams and pictures and 2 page essays on how to stack wooden gluts, because one guy somewhere left one slightly protruding in to a walkway or some bullshit.

It's funny how every morning meeting we have we constantly get hammered about safety this and safety that, and it's never anything positive. Yet our safety record is the highest it's ever been. It can be quite childish at times.

We do psychometric tests and also VOC's and Challenge tests on machines when we start working up here, so that they can weed out the professionals from the amateurs and they still constantly pick on us about pathetic **** all the time, day in day out. We are hired as professionals but rarely are we treated in that manner. There are 8 people to every supervisor, and 3 supervisors to every superintendent. We have 2,200 employees in our company up here, you do the math. Always being watched, always.

This whole safety game and writing every thing you do down means if you make a single mistake, you're gone. And it DOES happen, DAILY. There's no job security up here, everyone is looking over their shoulder. And it sucks for us guys that do pride ourselves on how safe we work and knowing we have common sense, because it is rarely recognised.

They tell us every job is a rush job, but the company motto is "we always have time to do it safely". It's so hypocritical it's not even funny.

And yeah alot of you guys on here will be naysayers, but unless you have worked in this industry you would not understand.

In saying that, despite the previous mentioned shortcomings, this is easily the best job I've ever had. Great pay, great conditions, great people. Gotta take the good with the bad!

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by stazza

Not really mining, I'm in Oil & Gas on Barrow Island, operating cranes.

Anyone else here up on barrow too?

As for the FIFO guy, my two cents are that no the work isn't hard or flat out like city work, but it can be really ******* depressing and mentally draining with all the bullshit finger pointing and safety crap that goes on.

Some of us just wanna rock up and do the work and take the money, but out of a 10.5hr day, I'd hazard a guess at saying we did maybe 6 or 7 hours working time. The rest is paperwork and safety meetings, EVERY day. They even do us up diagrams and pictures and 2 page essays on how to stack wooden gluts, because one guy somewhere left one slightly protruding in to a walkway or some bullshit.

It's funny how every morning meeting we have we constantly get hammered about safety this and safety that, and it's never anything positive. Yet our safety record is the highest it's ever been. It can be quite childish at times.

We do psychometric tests and also VOC's and Challenge tests on machines when we start working up here, so that they can weed out the professionals from the amateurs and they still constantly pick on us about pathetic **** all the time, day in day out. We are hired as professionals but rarely are we treated in that manner. There are 8 people to every supervisor, and 3 supervisors to every superintendent. We have 2,200 employees in our company up here, you do the math. Always being watched, always.

This whole safety game and writing every thing you do down means if you make a single mistake, you're gone. And it DOES happen, DAILY. There's no job security up here, everyone is looking over their shoulder. And it sucks for us guys that do pride ourselves on how safe we work and knowing we have common sense, because it is rarely recognised.

They tell us every job is a rush job, but the company motto is "we always have time to do it safely". It's so hypocritical it's not even funny.

And yeah alot of you guys on here will be naysayers, but unless you have worked in this industry you would not understand.

In saying that, despite the previous mentioned shortcomings, this is easily the best job I've ever had. Great pay, great conditions, great people. Gotta take the good with the bad!

I'm going to school to be one of those safety nazi's, got a job for me lol?

[stazza]

Haha I think just about anyone could wing they way in to a safety role.

Safety is a massive indsutry now.

What's scary is that these safety officers, most who have no experience in construction or their role, have a massive influence on whether we keep our jobs or not if there is some kind of safety breach, or something they deem unsafe due to their inexperience in the area. And it sucks, because I could be doing something that anyone in my role would deem perfectly safe, but because this certain safety officer has no experience, he may think it's dodgy, and he will dob us in. Worse still, is they will offer a suggestion of a different way to do it which they think is safer, but is more often than not a lot harder and poses even more hazards. But they are always right and can never be proven wrong by us peasants who are only professionals who do the job for a living and are trained specifically for that role. It is SO frustrating, you have no idea. And it is a daily occurrence.

One day I just tapped the boom of the crane on an overhead structure because my spotter said I was good to clear it, but I wasn't, and the safety guy had to interview me about it. I explained why I luffed up (boomed up), because I had no winch rope left to clear the obstacle below. And he asked why the crane has a winch I thought jesus christ, my job is on the line and you have no idea about anything to do with what I am doing.

[herbicide]

Work as an electrician in Middlemount, CQ. Fixing Hitachi dump trucks, usually pretty enjoyable, week on week off. The typical mining BS can be a little trying though.

[ILLaViTaR]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Probably because you're effectively paying someone around $7 an hour or less for the amount of money they get on the dole, which is less than half the minimum wage and less than what I was getting as a first year junior apprentice in 2010.

How about instead of pushing people to these privately owned job providers they actually connect with some employers and cut out the middle man, the middle man who wants to keep people on the books to get $$$, there is a hell of a lot of work out there that needs to be done, surely they can spare the minimum wage to have someone do it, from picking up rubbish on the side of the freeway to other things that need to be done around the joint.

Nah I'm not saying full time newstart is $515 a fortnight or something so if everyone worked 10hrs a week as labourers or something they would effectively be earning closer to $26/hr. Definitely not 40hrs because that'd be sweatshop/Rinehart labour.

I agree with connecting employee to employer but the problem there is the privately owned part, they consider it an attack on liberalism to force unbiased employment regulations upon them. They only want to hire their mates and close connections, which is the only way I or anyone I have ever known has managed to get a job, face to face contact that is. They will never ever employ randoms, seek/myjob.com applicants or talking resumes, unless we're talking casual/woolworths lol.

But yes the money NEEDS to come out of other places other than our health/welfare... maybe instead of "guaranteed employment" being funded 100% by health/welfare as I suggested, it could be 1% from health/welfare and 99% subsidized by the private employer.

How incredibly foolish of me to forget the split-class potential of suggesting health derived funds ultimately funnel into private capital :S I clearly didn't think that one through.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

If anything I reckon those joints would be the best place to keep all your dirty habits because no one would really GAF, you could probably go a week without a shower or brushing your teeth lol.

Poor me I get paid 6 figures for work not requiring higher qualifications with accomodation and food provided which has a TV and probably internet because I spend time away from my family.

He is there volunterily.

you can sit in your donga and cry woe is me like old mate, or you can actually make an effort to make the most of a situation

Gove NT, we made our own pub



scaff plank bar




we tapped in to the foxtel, hot and cold water etc



white board of wisdom - for prophetic prose and bs



made a garden



yea that was a kitchen sink



and free haircuts

[Motorbreath310]

^^ that right there

[Road Games]

[pottery beige]

^^^ hahaha pretty much it

[Polyal]

Oh damn thats funny.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Oh damn thats funny.

What you up to now days Al, all good living the dream, out on site?

I've been out for a couple of years now, had enough being away

Yea, is tough out there see a little iron ore minnow mob in SA has gone tits up

[Polyal]

Funny you should ask, I have been in Brisbane for 1.5 years, working at site on and off, now at a workshop.

Working for a Tier 1 contractor who is about to go through a massive restructure so keeping my head down and hoping to ride it out...its been in the press lately.

Im due for a full time site rotation in a few months but alot is on hold at the moment. Still loving it though; just come in at a dud time.

edit: I still remember your advice from a few years back, I hoped I thanked you, pretty sure I did!

[gcg2503]

I thank Potty for his humour.

ALWAYS makes me chuckle/laugh!

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

I thank Potty for his humour.

ALWAYS makes me chuckle/laugh!

not a VB can in sight

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Funny you should ask, I have been in Brisbane for 1.5 years, working at site on and off, now at a workshop.

Working for a Tier 1 contractor who is about to go through a massive restructure so keeping my head down and hoping to ride it out...its been in the press lately.

Im due for a full time site rotation in a few months but alot is on hold at the moment. Still loving it though; just come in at a dud time.

edit: I still remember your advice from a few years back, I hoped I thanked you, pretty sure I did!

just keep your head down, work hard, initiative, initiative and stay safe - it will get you through

not much at all out there, sights i know of are ticking over sans contractors

boom and bust and all that bs, just cant see it picking up to the crazy days again at the moment

who knows

[Motorbreath310]

Has anyone here made the transition from underground coal to underground hard rock?

[Stazza_Brendan]

Guy I work with did the opposite.
Went from underground hard rock mining in Mt Isa to underground coal in Bowen basin.
Better roster and more money in coal he said. Although hard rock is more relaxed. Not as many hazards.

[pottery beige]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-2...losses/5545820

[Franco Cozzo]

Contractors and HR/Safety people are the first people who go in any organisation.

Surprised mines haven't swapped out all of their labour force to labour hire companies, even the skilled people.

[NAK302]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

you can sit in your donga and cry woe is me like old mate, or you can actually make an effort to make the most of a situation

Gove NT, we made our own pub

image

scaff plank bar

imageimage


we tapped in to the foxtel, hot and cold water etc

image

white board of wisdom - for prophetic prose and bs

image

made a garden

image

yea that was a kitchen sink

image

and free haircuts

image

Gove huh? i did about 18 years there, some as a kid/youth then later in my adult years working for Nabalco (pre Alcan/Rio)
all dead now, except the mine i believe.

[usernametaken]

I'm the guy that comes out and saves you blokes if your planes have trouble landing or taking off...

Best job in the world.

[LyleXR8]

your saying experienced operators are fighting to get jobs at 25 bucks an hour then how come some are still getting paid heaps, ive got ex work mates that are truckies on 52 an hour still in qld

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by usernametaken

I'm the guy that comes out and saves you blokes if your planes have trouble landing or taking off...

You're a Bus driver ?

[Stazza_Brendan]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Surprised mines haven't swapped out all of their labour force to labour hire companies, even the skilled people.

Its already happening in places. Hail Creek has had redundancies recently.
Only permanents got let go. The labour hire workers stayed.
The permanents got told they should put their names down at the labour hire company.

[Jack960]

What is the easiest way to get into the mines? I'm just about to finish my mechanical engineering degree and find it pretty much impossible to get in, from what I've found it seems you really need to know people to get in.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Jack960

What is the easiest way to get into the mines? I'm just about to finish my mechanical engineering degree and find it pretty much impossible to get in, from what I've found it seems you really need to know people to get in.

Grad program is about the only way. I did a Vacation Program before I finished with a mining company (no prior experience) and that helped alot...moreso than your grades IMO.

[NAK302]

high grades are no good. lets face it, you don't want to appear smarter than the guy interviewing you.
Polyal is correct, we have plenty of grad engineers in our cpp, probably too many