Jobs cuts in Australia’s mining industry have really taken their toll: Australian Mining reports that one man has offered to give a bottle of rum each week for six months to the person who can find him a job in mining.
Raymond Burnham, the man in question, estimates the total value of his offer to be about $800. The unemployed trade’s assistant has been out of work for one month.
Burnham is not the only one taking desperate measures to secure employment. Australian Mining reported that one man posted an online advertisement offering $1000 cash to whomever finds him a job in the industry.
Australia’s mining sector has suffered greatly in the past few months with the coal sector cutting 11,000 positions in July – analysts believe this figure may triple.
Rio Tinto recently cut 78 positions at its Argyle diamond mine.
According to a study by the Grattan Institute, Australia’s mining boom, which began around 2002, helped drive unemployment below 6% over the past 12 years.
4 Comments
Derrick8253
Hudbay in FLin flon Manitoba .. Lalor lake mine
mickeyt
The problem with Australian mining jobs (and, indeed, most other Australian jobs) stems from the Australian mindset: the culture of “mateship” and “fair work” which is inculcated from birth by the nanny state. Very few of the Australian workforce know how to look after themselves and are literally like fish out of water when what they regarded as their right (their job and all that it entails) is jeopardised by market volatility.
HardWorker
How stupid are these people, paying for a job,
All the hard work the Unions, workers groups, etc have done since the days of slave labour, yes over a hundred years of it, and you are offering to pay for a job, why don’t you tell the companies you are willing to work for half the entitlements, that will get you in.
Realistically, How about you go and spend the money on gaining meaningful qualifications and then work your way through the Industry like the rest of us have.
Puffadder
If the Aussie mining fraternity out-of-work employee thinks things are bad back home, try southern Africa mate. There are probably more highly skilled and experienced people in the region out of work for months and even years, than those working. This unfortunate state of affairs is driven by commodity prices, operating costs, politics and wait for it, unionism. Instead of improving the lot for all employees, unions have fingered their own members by ludicrous demands, which ultimately costs members their jobs. Mining companies have no option but to cut back to pay for the critical core set of employees. I’m not an out-of-work mine worker, instead, I am an employer, and trust me, my biggest cost contributor, is the union. My newly forged motto is “give more and receive less.” Good on you Qualified Hard Worker and mickeyt. Well said either way.