Discussions

What is with jobs? Apparently loyalty means nothing to some places. These are the same places that keep posting for jobs on eBrandon.  
 
Thoughts? (Just venting)

Loyalty is long gone . Employers need to start paying people what they are worth. They don’t get my loyalty unless I’m paid for it . I’m paid a salary just for them to retain me. My job/performance bonus is extra income. That’s how you earn Loyalty.

I think I went the other way on what you were talking about . Companies don’t give a shit about who’s loyal and who’s not . Bottom line is numbers . That’s why they can’t keep people . No one wants to work a crappy wage and by looking at what they are paying people in Brandon I can understand. Employers expect more out of people for less pay .

It looks like most job postings listed on this site don't even have salaries listed. I feel like that's essential to attracting good applicants.  
 
Lots of places seem to have issues keeping staff these days. It's usually because people can get jobs elsewhere where they are treated better. Places that treat employees well don't seem to have as many issues retaining staff.

Loyalty is a two way thing and it has to be earned.  
There are plenty of poor unproductive employees in the market that are only out for themselves at the expense of others as well.  
The important thing for everyone to remember is that no one is indispensable. Ultimately though your employer is the one paying your wage and some people need to remember that!

"No one is indespensible"  
 
That's not true.  
 
To your family, you are.  
 
But for a job? Never. Employers need to expect us to act our wage.

I fear the time though when Canadian employees price themselves out of the labour market. When that happens job positions close altogether, get replaced by technology or are taken abroad where more competitive and productive employees can be found. What happens then? A lot of people finding themselves suddenly out of work will be crying “why did no one warn us” that’s what happens.

Are you suggesting that we should embrace low wages, bad bosses, and poor working conditions, lest they send our job overseas or replace us with AI?  
 
You call overseas workers more competitive and productive. I think the words you're looking for are desperate and exploited.

That is true but the fact doesn’t change that Canadians may well price themselves out of the labour market and find that one way or another they are replaced. There has to be limits and when people expect double digit percentage pay rises that is unsustainable. I’m just not sure that most employees understand that such changes can and do occur very rapidly and leave them without the opportunities that they expect.  
It scares me that many people don’t understand how precarious their position may be.  
 
Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-20 14:07:15

It's almost as if trying to achieve perpetual GDP growth in an economy that is effectively a house of cards due to the financialization of the economy that needs to create debt to fuel productive initiatives while incentivizing investors to invest in non-productive assets because they provide an easier, more guaranteed return isn't how an economy should be functioning. But yes, lets all pile on to the workers who have been disenfranchised by the political elite for decades, who cater to the wealthy and can't begin to imagine a comprehensive tax on the wealthy so that people like Galen West can maintain their billionaire status.  
If Canadian's price themselves out of the market so they can't afford food then we'll have to eat the rich I guess.  
Keep drinking the koolaid FarmerGeorge, ignorance must taste great to you.

why companies go oversees for labor, is to increase their bottom line. They can pay those employees less than what they would here because the standard of living is less. What is considered less than minimum wage here is seen as a high wage there.  
 
Funny how there are people who are against the common employee from making a living wage but are all for companies making as much profit as they can.  
 
If an employer is going to treat employees like garbage, why should the employees be loyal to the companies? The COVID pandemic has given employees a larger and more vocal voice that they are not going to pushed around anymore.

Employees need to learn that they shouldn't expect fair wages for the value they produce. They should accept what the employers offer them, because after all, it's the employers who have the money. When those same employers move the jobs overseas and give them to more competitive (i.e. cheaper) and more productive (i.e. also cheaper) workers, then they'll be able to make way more output and demand much higher profits. Then they can come back and try to sell all their stuff to... Oh wait, there won't be anybody to buy it because all the workers were replaced by cheap labour overseas. That's ok, they'll just sell all their stuff to the workers overseas who are working hard and earning a lower wage. Oh wait, those workers won't be able to buy enough for the employers to make a big enough profit. I hope the poor employers don't end up having to earn less than record profits every year.

Unfair exploitation of workers is one thing.  
Maximizing company profits is quite another. If company executives don’t achieve targets then shareholders and lender’s aren’t going to be very happy with them and those executives will in turn be replaced with those up to the task.  
If savings can be found through reduced labour costs by improved productivity, automation, improved use of technology, mechanization or shifting production then whether we like it or not that will happen.  
I remember starting my apprenticeship during a major recession when work was hard to find. I also remember mass unemployment and the pain that it caused to working families and their communities. I hoped to not see times like that again but it’s the way that things are heading.

I have not seen a more misinformed post on here in a while.  
 
I work in the trades industry and workers are at a premium. What we are seeing is workers taking on extra work to make ends meet, working 60 to 80 hours a week. Companies are struggling to fill positions, and we are seeing people move form one company to another for better conditions and better pay.  
 
I have placed a job ad several times in the last 2 years looking to fill positions only to come back empty handed. And all the conversations I am having with other companies is that they are struggling with staffing throughout the trades industry.  
 
Trust me, with the shortage of workers out there, the days of mass unemployment are far far away. We are seeing people on the picket line in all forms across North America. This doesn't happen in an unstable job market. Right now, the unions and workers hold the hammer....and the CEO's and shareholders are going to see an end to record profits.

A recent story on local radio reported that in Canada there is a shortage of people available to fill highly skilled positions but usually those workers have a lower level of education. Also they reported there is an excess of job seekers in the market with high levels of education that are unable to find work. Or more likely unwilling to fill the positions that are currently available.

FarmerGeorge , you really have to come into the 21st century one of these days...

I am not in trades, but bldg and ground maintenance. It seems that after putting out about 10 resumes, I got 4 interviews. Property managers, I had to beat them off with a stick once I got the job I wanted.  
I decided I was going to work only half days and look for a bigger wage like $25-30/hr, so I could enjoy life and more family time.  
 
Some employers were a bit upset as they needed F/T guys, but I have never seen the market where I could pick and choose. In the 1980-90's there were a hundred applicants for one job in Brandon. Today, employers are telling me they were lucky to have a handful of resumes for one job and most were not qualified.  
 
A different day indeed.

When you have been at a job for quite a while and the minimum wage keeps going up but your doesn't and prices of rent, food and generally everything around you wages start to matter. With the minimum wage as it is now a single person cannot afford to rent an apartment. Now is that fair?? Where pretty much the only place you can afford to live is your car. I do wish that employers would put wage on ads as it is more helpful when job hunting. Where you might find something that is perfect but you cannot live on that wage when you are alone. Now you are probably going to say "get a 2 bedroom and a roommate " but you cannot rely on other people and maybe you have had a bad experience with a previous roommate. There are a lot of variables out there. It is hard working 110% and getting worried that if you get sick will I be able to pay rent to buy food? Because over 50% of your monthly wage goes towards your housing. Working 2 jobs and wearing yourself out that you end up sick. Not to forget to mention alot of the jobs out there ate only offering part time and no benefits. So that means if you have health issues it is also another financial burden you are carrying. Soon you find that you feel that you are carrying a huge boulder on your back and about be crushed by it.