Reply To: Pay cut due to the economic downturn. Why?

Maybe the companies are hoping to get a bunch of guys hired for less than the market price and hope they won’t tell or find out how much everybody else is being paid ?

This is often the case. I know of one agency that states, in the joining instructions, Do not discuss your day rate with others!! If you don’t talk with others about your rate you will never know whether you are on a winner or being seen off. Just what they want I would suggest.. I have always discussed my rate with others and survived quite nocely on it.

I will also add…. in 23 years offshore I have never worked for less than the previous years. I never will.

Yep me too.. It’s good to talk about pay.. That way if everybody is on the level it’s harder for the companies/agencies to try to shaft guys.. Not to mention the many times we’ve had some numpty come out on a high rate cos of lack of personel.. Been a good way to push other more useful guys rates up to match. That ‘don’t discuss’ nonsense used to be cos agancy types were making more than company guys.. Now they don’t want you to talk cos many of the company guys are making more than the agency guys even though they have the full time staff benefits..

Many of the agencies don’t represent us as well as they should now, they are more concered with getting ‘mass body’ contracts at fixed rates.. Not much room for negotiations these days… Keeping stumm about your rate only makes this worse…