Contractors - Page 19

copperpot · 28-01-2012, 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcus1

hi all new to this , i have just landed a job with vm as a field tech anyone wanna shed some light on the sort of thing i aught to expect, i,ve been in the coms industry for nearly 20 years but have allways been in the commercial sector,i,m useed to doing fibre teminations cat5 cat 6 and av installs

just started myself, knew the hours were gonna be long but not that long

marcus1 · 29-01-2012, 11:15

looks like nobody is happy working for virgin media , i,ve got a start on 6 feb and have to go to brum for training ,but will bwe working in the sheffield area; at my interview i wastold long hours hard work and fast paced from the off, i heard that contractors are the lowest of the low , at the interview i was made aware of what seemed to be the bad points but also that there are plenty of opertunaties for advacement, i have been in the coms industrie for almost 20 years but have only worked for 2 companies for probably 15, reat being on contractor basis ,for the last year and a half i,ve been at bt as a frames tech working on bau and bulk migration ,bt dont seem to have theire act together as all the sheffield and links staff have all been laid off ,so it looks as tho i,m going from bad to worst , or is the genaral state of the comms industry that bad at the moment and not going to get out of the slump its been in for the lasst few years , any comments would be greatfull

beller · 29-01-2012, 12:00

less than 12 months ago when Kellys won the Bristol contract for installs they told the techs that they would be working less hours for more money.
Sounds win win but as it turns out they work exactly the same hours as before (50/60+) but get about £30 a week more. They say its not the money its the hours they have to work day in and day out that kills it

The Installer · 29-01-2012, 12:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcus1

looks like nobody is happy working for virgin media , i,ve got a start on 6 feb and have to go to brum for training ,but will bwe working in the sheffield area; at my interview i wastold long hours hard work and fast paced from the off, i heard that contractors are the lowest of the low , at the interview i was made aware of what seemed to be the bad points but also that there are plenty of opertunaties for advacement, i have been in the coms industrie for almost 20 years but have only worked for 2 companies for probably 15, reat being on contractor basis ,for the last year and a half i,ve been at bt as a frames tech working on bau and bulk migration ,bt dont seem to have theire act together as all the sheffield and links staff have all been laid off ,so it looks as tho i,m going from bad to worst , or is the genaral state of the comms industry that bad at the moment and not going to get out of the slump its been in for the lasst few years , any comments would be greatfull

Are you going to be working in-house or for a contractor? I presume the later.

If in-house, you can expect 16 service calls for a 10 hour day, and travel time between calls is not taken into account.

If working for a contractor, well lets say something like 7-9 installs a day with a mix of singles, duals and triples in there and you'll work until you are done for that day, and probably get paid per job, so no complete, no pay

marcus1 · 29-01-2012, 12:37

loevelly sounds as tho its gonna be hard going , its for fujitsu ,as they are the only ones involved ,

---------- Post added at 12:37 ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 ----------

my install skills are better than my spelling

MrIca · 29-01-2012, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Installer

If working for a contractor, well lets say something like 7-9 installs a day with a mix of singles, duals and triples in there and you'll work until you are done for that day, and probably get paid per job, so no complete, no pay

How does that work then? Have Fujitsu thrown the National Minimum Wage laws out the window then? That makes no sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcus1

For the last year and a half i,ve been at bt as a frames tech working on bau and bulk migration ,bt dont seem to have theire act together as all the sheffield and links staff have all been laid off

When you say you worked for BT, did you actually or were you a contractor?

marcus1 · 29-01-2012, 19:54

Worked as a contractor thru hays

sweaty · 30-01-2012, 16:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcus1

Worked as a contractor thru hays

Me too, got the boot just before Christmas because of the new agency regulations and BT were panicking about the cost. They asked me to go back in early Jan but the contract is only going to last a few months at the most. The contractors are treated like dirt. Most of the work being done by us whilst the BT staff watched films on their laptops! Done it on and off since 2006 and fed up with the dreaded visit from the manager when you were being stood down from the contract and being told "we might need you back soon..." The Oxford and Wales patch has all transferred to days but being sent 30 or 40 miles away from home and expected to travel in their own time. The job sucks now. After taking the dollar from BT in early 2000 the exchanges are a disgrace, with quality gone out of the window.

MrIca · 30-01-2012, 17:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweaty

The job sucks now. After taking the dollar from BT in early 2000 the exchanges are a disgrace, with quality gone out of the window.

Why did you leave BT in 2000?

marcus1 · 30-01-2012, 17:20

ye just found out all agency frames staff have gone aswell so not looking good for new year ,all in all a perfect example of managment no tlistening to the ones that matter,
saw a mate who,s been with bt 30 odd years and he is going ape about the amount of work he has to do on migration,96 circiuts a shift ,anywhoo damage done will be in liverpool monday for my training with vm , happy days

sweaty · 31-01-2012, 01:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrIca

Why did you leave BT in 2000?

Voluntary Redundancy . Saw the £££ signs and fed up with climbing poles,pulling out lead cable that according to BT didn't exist, **** managers, sneaky coaches, constant changing of patches and being so accident prone I decided to leave before my wife became a widow!!!

But saying that a nice little exchange job would have suited me but for internal BT politics at the time...

MrIca · 31-01-2012, 17:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweaty

After taking the dollar from BT in early 2000 the exchanges are a disgrace, with quality gone out of the window.

I disagree. They seem fine to me, in my area anyway.

marcus1 · 31-01-2012, 18:37

as fujitsu meant to say they are the only contractor all others in north have gone apparantly

sweaty · 01-02-2012, 11:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrIca

I disagree. They seem fine to me, in my area anyway.

Go to High Wycombe or Slough and you'll see what I mean.

bourne! · 05-02-2012, 22:30

Evening all, Sorry to jump onto this thread but dont know where else I could really ask this question. I am possibly going to be working for comex 2000 based in Essex and wondered if anyone had any info on this company? Cant really find much on them on internet. From the sounds of it on this thread other contractors are a bit iffy and I just want to avoid walking into a nightmare, any advice would be greatfully recieved. Thanks