New Job

[old_mate]

hmm well its 1am just thought i'd share

Found myself accepting a new job today. Starting november im going to be one of the first to undertake an Accelerated Adult electrotechnology apprenticeship (2 years or less rather than 4) with an electrical and data/communications contracting company here in Brisbane. The whole deal fell at my feet, took a bit of legwork on my behalf but well worth it.

Some of u know im currently a final year apprentice aircraft maintenance engineer with a large airline. I'll be completing the competencies for this trade before the end of the year then walking into the new job. Im going to miss working on large aircraft, but i'll be going from something in the mid teens per hour to something in the late twenties with 4 payrises over 2 years (and continuing as qualifications are attained). Not only will i be an electrician, i'll aim to pick up all the data/telephone side of things too

one thing i am going to have a lot different is i will be signing a AWA. Never have i had any experience with this, but from what i am told its allowing my new employer to junk meal allowances and annual leave loadings and other bits and pieces into a higher hourly rate. Something i dont mind. One thing I am interested in however is I am aware the Electrical Trades Union posted me a flyer the other day of the 3 year EBA they have in place that shows a 30% increase in wages over the next 3 years (for construction contractors). Is this something an AWA should reflect also? Or is it something you have to negotiate? I'd like to get an idea of what i should be looking at before i sign my life away. Any other pointers? I know there are a couple of electricians on the forums.

Big thanks (not) to the major airlines around the world for skimping on maintenance engineers. I know we/they can be expensive but look at the work we are doing, keeping the planes and the people on board in the air. I am effectively going to double the salary i though i'd be on in 5 years time, with less responsibilty, no shift work, less exams etc. With the amount of guys looking to get out of it now there are going to be some real problems soonish

/end rant

[DJR MAN]

Hope you enjoy your new job, congrats!
If your boss is going to pile in all the loadings and allowances , find out at every wage adjustment exactly what your hr base is without the junking. Then you'll know if you're comparing apples or oranges.
Some bosses junk it all together when you first sign up and it all seems sweet, but after a year or two, its easy to lose track if its not itemised especially if its rolled into the CPI rises also.
I'd be interested to find out more about going with the Elect Union too, they are awake to the shonky stuff employers try to pull esp on new younger employees.

Good luck!

[GreenMachine]

Congrats on the new job, mate!

Essentially, you will have to negotiate your AWA with your employer. Some unions can and will act as bargaining agents to negotiate on your behalf for individual agreements - might be worth checking out.

The employer doesn't HAVE to include any pay-rise stuff in the AWA, it's all about what you can negotiate. Try to find out what conditions other people doing the same work are getting, then be firm about them matching or exceeding that. It's not easy, because they've got all the power in the negotiation, but it won't hurt to ask.

[deesun]

Just so you know how pear shaped these AWA's can go and I'm not saying yours will but recently Spotlight put all new and some existing employees on a new AWA. They traded ALL penalties,breaks,overtime,time in leu,expenses etc for a grand total of an extra 2c an hour yep 2cents an hour. To read the thing in total was a real eyeopener. Oh and good luck with the new job.

[4.9 EF Futura]

Old mate... new job!

Congratulations on the accelerated apprenticeship. Ive never heard of one, but sounds like a great idea - particularly considering the country needs more tradesmen on the ground.

Re: the AWA's... dont get too worried about the horror stories, but then again - dont ignore them. I've been on one for the last 3 years and couldnt be happier. We have the framework for remuneration reviews built into the AWA... frankly i'd be a little uncomfortable if the AWA was silent on the matter. There should at least be reference to how remunaertaion will be addressed IMO.

When all is said and done - dont sign something you're not comfrotable with. Dont get too hung up on the union's advertisement regarding payrises in EBA's. There's all sorts of quirks and fine print that they will not have mentioned... for starters, it may only be for a specific class of electrician... if you really want to make a comparison, ask them for information on your SPECIFIC role.

[Ruger]

Originally Posted by old_mate

Accelerated Adult electrotechnology

when i first read that i thought it was some technologically enhanced porno industry job lol

more on the serious side good luck with the job and i knew someone that was working in the fibreglass/carbon side of things for quantas and he randomly got axed with a whole bunch of other workers. why? just because.
the airline industry sux from what i hear

[old_mate]

Ruger - its spelled Qantas

there is definately no 'u' in qantas