6th November 2012, 03:47 PM
(This post was last modified: 6th November 2012, 03:49 PM by trowelfodder.)
It's an interesting one and something I have wondered myself. My self employed work has almost all been paid at a level way above the day rate suggested by BAJR and has been negotiated up over the past two and a half years (and like you I pay my taxes and have full insurance).
When doing our own commercial projects if we need extra staff for a project we operate a little like a collective and no extra money is made on the day-rate of those who work for us - everyone from diggers to specialists are charged at or near cost and they pocket the cash. This works for us as we can pay a fair wage without the ongoing financial commitment of paying additional salaries. I am not sure how this translates to larger units with large overheads but surely it has to be in everyone's interest to stop slashing and slashing at costs. If there is a baseline for staffing costs which no-one goes below then differences in tenders must come from somewhere else - hopefully Planning will ensure corners are not cut in standards by not signing off on poor work.
If we are going to raise wages it has to be industry wide - there are some "bad eggs" out there who don't pay what they should and/or rely on newbies & the desperate to work for them but we can't let them dictate the pay structure. The threat from these units whether real or imagined can only be countered by people refusing to work for them and they will continue to operate outside the system until this happens. Take some responsibility for yourselves and take a long hard think about how your actions will impact on you down the line. You need money/opportunity now - I understand this but do you want to be trapped in this situation forever? This will be a vicious circle (cycle?) until we as a profession say no
And as for directors raking off profits I am not sure how true this is - and as most are on a salary then an increase is an increase for everyone. I do however think we should be looking at ways to redistribute the pay grades - as in there is a lot of bunching at the lower end of the pay range with little reward for time served and little to show for the extra responsibilities of supervisors and project officers (but maybe that's a discussion for another thread).
When doing our own commercial projects if we need extra staff for a project we operate a little like a collective and no extra money is made on the day-rate of those who work for us - everyone from diggers to specialists are charged at or near cost and they pocket the cash. This works for us as we can pay a fair wage without the ongoing financial commitment of paying additional salaries. I am not sure how this translates to larger units with large overheads but surely it has to be in everyone's interest to stop slashing and slashing at costs. If there is a baseline for staffing costs which no-one goes below then differences in tenders must come from somewhere else - hopefully Planning will ensure corners are not cut in standards by not signing off on poor work.
If we are going to raise wages it has to be industry wide - there are some "bad eggs" out there who don't pay what they should and/or rely on newbies & the desperate to work for them but we can't let them dictate the pay structure. The threat from these units whether real or imagined can only be countered by people refusing to work for them and they will continue to operate outside the system until this happens. Take some responsibility for yourselves and take a long hard think about how your actions will impact on you down the line. You need money/opportunity now - I understand this but do you want to be trapped in this situation forever? This will be a vicious circle (cycle?) until we as a profession say no
And as for directors raking off profits I am not sure how true this is - and as most are on a salary then an increase is an increase for everyone. I do however think we should be looking at ways to redistribute the pay grades - as in there is a lot of bunching at the lower end of the pay range with little reward for time served and little to show for the extra responsibilities of supervisors and project officers (but maybe that's a discussion for another thread).