AGENCY'S shape up or ship out.

dexter said:
I like the fact that agencies don't pay holiday pay but make £3 per hour I think we're missing the point here! What right do they have to come in our industry and dictate our pay rates! Because that's what this scum is doing! They go to firms and promis scaffs at £15 per hour and then try pay us £12 it's a joke but they get lads because of the bad economic times. God help our trade!!!
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Its an old fashioned idea called business. The way it works is that you have something and you get someone to buy it for more than it costs you.

---------- Post added at 05:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:58 AM ----------

Businesses operate on P&L which is profit and loss. Obviously if you have more P than L you are doing ok.
 
Thanks for the p&l lesson (just let me take this egg out my gob) agency business comes at the cost of scaffolders wages as as scaffolder I thought you might see that!
 
Decent thread and debates for a change.
What does it cost for a company to employ someone with add ons. Say 20ph +stamp+hol pay+ sick + pension+ Paternity leave etc. I worked for a guy in oz and his figures were wages equaled one third of his hourly charge to turn a profit.
With these figures it wouldnt be out of order for agencies to charge 30 per hour.
These companies employing agency subbies still getting a way with murder.on true liablities.
 
My point is that agencies are a result of contractors and businesses cutting their overheads when employing direct labour.
On paper it would make sense for us to employ agency workers. Unfortunately you have to consider that employed workers perform better and more efficiently than temporarily hired labour.Therefore our costs are more but our productivity is higher using employed men. So it all evens out. Agencies are not scum but fill a requirement which occurs because of the high costs of employing direct labour.
 
And thats a valid point Fred, You cut overheads as the job doesnt warrant a full time position. Still beneficial for subbies and employers alike to negotiate a decent hr/day rate. Agency associations should recognise this. Seems theyre in their own cutprice wars
Not all company men give their best,met loads of shikers over the years.
 
These agency's are laughing all the way to the bank, what do they charge the company for the supply of labour £20ph , and then we get a rate of £15 if were lucky , and then you have to pay a pay roll company at the end of the week to get PAID !! another £20 . Where is it going to stop ...THE RICH GET RICHER, THE SCAFFS GET POOR.
 
Dexter in my opinion you are wrong. I have used agencies in the past and I have always been told what the scaffolders are getting and I also know what the agency is getting. The scaffolders get a wage at the going hourly rate for their experience and qualifications and the agency has got an additional few quid on top for their fees/wages/overheads. When I speak to the labour directly I always make it my job to find out exactly what their rate is so that Nobody is skimming or taking from a scaffolder. The system works exactly the same if you book a holiday through a travel agent. A hotel needs to sell rooms in their spanish getaway so the travel agent gets someone to buy the rooms and makes money to pay his staff and the rent in his shop. That is capitalism and economics and pretty much stands for nearly everything you buy and do in you life.
 
Tom you just don't get it! If we didn't have agencies our wage would have gone up by now and if they pay the going rate why do the only pay selfemployed or umbrella why don't they pay holiday pay they are a joke! And they make a joke out of this industry.
 
The best way to deal with this is don't work for agency's in the first place.

All too often we see people coming on the forum looking for agency work. Why would anyone in their right mind WANT to work for an agency?

I always associate agency labour with the bottom end of the labour pool, but I can already hear the howls of abuse about 'putting food on the table' and 'not everyone is as lucky as you' blah blah. You can save me all that because I've heard it all before. The reality is that I don't know any quality scaffolders that have ever had the need to work through an agency, nor any who have struggled to find work during this ecenomic downturn.

My advise - If you can't get a regular start directly for a scaffold contractor, then it probably says something about the quality of your work and/or you as an individual.

If you ARE a brilliant scaffolder with a top work ethic and can only get low paid agency work with no employment rights or benefits, then I would consider retraining in something that offers a better future for you and your family.
 
phil181 said:
The best way to deal with this is don't work for agency's in the first place.

All too often we see people coming on the forum looking for agency work. Why would anyone in their right mind WANT to work for an agency?

I always associate agency labour with the bottom end of the labour pool, but I can already hear the howls of abuse about 'putting food on the table' and 'not everyone is as lucky as you' blah blah. You can save me all that because I've heard it all before. The reality is that I don't know any quality scaffolders that have ever had the need to work through an agency, nor any who have struggled to find work during this ecenomic downturn.

My advise - If you can't get a regular start directly for a scaffold contractor, then it probably says something about the quality of your work and/or you as an individual.

If you ARE a brilliant scaffolder with a top work ethic and can only get low paid agency work with no employment rights or benefits, then I would consider retraining in something that offers a better future for you and your family.
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Bang on Phil just don't work for them ,and I too associate agency's with dead end ,bottom of the barrel stuff.
I too know lots of scaffolders who have never been any where near agencies
If you do your job right ,follow the rules and don't mouth off ,you will always have a job
 
Well said phill pebble kickers on the phone all day looking for the big money jobs!
 
phil181 said:
The best way to deal with this is don't work for agency's in the first place.

All too often we see people coming on the forum looking for agency work. Why would anyone in their right mind WANT to work for an agency?

I always associate agency labour with the bottom end of the labour pool, but I can already hear the howls of abuse about 'putting food on the table' and 'not everyone is as lucky as you' blah blah. You can save me all that because I've heard it all before. The reality is that I don't know any quality scaffolders that have ever had the need to work through an agency, nor any who have struggled to find work during this ecenomic downturn.

My advise - If you can't get a regular start directly for a scaffold contractor, then it probably says something about the quality of your work and/or you as an individual.

If you ARE a brilliant scaffolder with a top work ethic and can only get low paid agency work with no employment rights or benefits, then I would consider retraining in something that offers a better future for you and your family.
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Excellent post from phil818 who has redeemed himself in my eyes somewhat.Although Swifty is a quality scaffolder who has worked for agencies in the past.
 
Funny how agencies can post jobs but not one can come on here and tell us what good they have done for our trade. And don't say get us work we did that ourselves for years before you came along!
 
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