ashamed to be australian, page-52

Hi Duicorp,

Agree with you 100/7 = 5.88 %.

All miners are greedy fat cats - none excluded and Australia is the fortunate country because a totally unskilled labourer with zero experience (apart from a will to work - and I can cite 100's of references where even that was not a prerequisite) can walk into a job on minimum $70,000 per year.

In non-unionised states this would be for a 2 week on (14 X 12 hr shifts), 1 week off roster and includes 21 days holidays a year.

In say the coal mines in a unionised State such as NSW, this minimum wage would be $110,000 per year for a 38 hr week and include 4 weeks holidays per year - again, this is for a totally non-skilled, non-experienced minor, unskilled labourer.

What has amazed me more though in my 15 + years in the mining industry though, is that how quickly these former pig farmers and meatworkers (in many instances, that is all they have known since they left schooling at Year 10 or earlier - some, totally illiterate) is how quickly they come to ACTUALLY believe that they are truly worth this much money and command it.

FTR, I grew up in the country and starting working in piggeries and meatworks in school holidays for pocket money as a 15 year old and work in both for 2 years before initially commencing University - so my beef ain't with these good (but awfully fortunate) peoples who now find themselves so much better off in life for the amazingly and extraordinarily overpaid positions which they find themselves addicted too.....it is with the unbalanced and unsustainable culture the leap for zero to hero it has created.

Cheers.

K