Cadet Pay

[engrfc]

I am a qualiifed 3rd Engineer and like to have a look round the forums to see if I can asssist anyone with there studies or situations thay have found thereselves in and can't help but notice that everyone seems to moan about the pay!!! Dont get me wrong I'm not 100% sure what people pay now but I bet its better than the ?120 that I got.

Firstly, I dont think anyone should be signing up for MN training purely for the wages on offer, you should have a genuine intrest in the discipline chosen and be grateful to be offered a position. You also have to remember that the we are going through a global recession and jobs are at a premium theses days (possibly the reason for a lot of you joining).

Secondly, how many other courses would you be paid to complete at college? I have know apprentice's who get under ?100 per week and are treated like slaves, you guys (and girls) get everything spoon fed to you and have the cheek to complain about it.

Dont get me wrong everyone, everywhere whill feel they should get more money but to be honest job security is more important than an extra ?10-30 a week.

Rant Over

[steamer]

Re: Cadet Pay

I think you'll find that the Union is more concerned with this issue than cadets. The issue is not necessarily the rate of pay-but the disparity.

[Beef1992]

Re: Cadet Pay

i get less than your 120 . at the moment i get 92.50

[engrfc]

Re: Cadet Pay

?92.50 is quite bad, do you still have to pay accomodation (or transport if at home) out of that?

[dawg]

Re: Cadet Pay

I think you'll find that the Union is more concerned with this issue than cadets. The issue is not necessarily the rate of pay-but the disparity.

I'd say that it's not so much the pay, but the being forced to spend it on prison-like accommodation, and mechanically-reduced pigslop during your first phase at college.

I dunno if the disparity is such a bad thing... the opposite is socialism, were we pretend that everyone is equal =P

[MEJG]

Re: Cadet Pay

Firstly, I dont think anyone should be signing up for MN training purely for the wages on offer, you should have a genuine intrest in the discipline chosen and be grateful to be offered a position. You also have to remember that the we are going through a global recession and jobs are at a premium theses days (possibly the reason for a lot of you joining).
Rant Over

Oh pur-lease... which training company are you posting on behalf of...

We're all very grateful that our respective companies and organisations offered us positions but does that mean we have to put up with the crap... i think not.

We're bundled together having to share accommodation whilst being subjected to being treated like young offenders in some cases and worse in others. Bad food, bad beds bad "etiquette"... educational standards that can only be described as "mixed".

I'm one of the lucky ones... i'm with a company that sees it's Cadets as being more than just tax relief and bragging rights and actually thinks we're the future of the company - i don't know how many others can say the same.

[dawg]

Re: Cadet Pay

I'm one of the lucky ones... i'm with a company that sees it's Cadets as being more than just tax relief and bragging rights and actually thinks we're the future of the company

[chris]

Re: Cadet Pay

dawg-you've not posted in quite a while

[Red Fox]

Re: Cadet Pay

Oh pur-lease... which training company are you posting on behalf of...

We're all very grateful that our respective companies and organisations offered us positions but does that mean we have to put up with the crap... i think not.

We're bundled together having to share accommodation whilst being subjected to being treated like young offenders in some cases and worse in others. Bad food, bad beds bad "etiquette"... educational standards that can only be described as "mixed".

Spot on!

I bet trainee airline pilot aren't on ?120 a week or less! Trainee police officers are on around ?20,000 a year in training same for the fire brigade. Trainee train driver ?18,000. In fact you'd be hard pressed to find any profession that pays less and expects so much. We're being shafted and all in the name of 'that's the way its always been'!

I'm one of the lucky ones... i'm with a company that sees it's Cadets as being more than just tax relief and bragging rights and actually thinks we're the future of the company - i don't know how many others can say the same.

My sponsoring company has the same attitude however my training company sees me as just a way to improve this years balance sheet.

[Chiefy]

Re: Cadet Pay

So leave.......

No one forces you join a company or ship, if you dont like it leave.

You want a better deal, join the Union, take action and get on with it.

This sort of thing just gets me a little peeved, most people on most ships wont join the Union but bitch when it comes to an agreement that it isnt good enough or high enough....mainly because the Union has no mandate and why? Because the company can turn around and say...hey look of our emplyees you only represent LESS than 20%

Whinning other careers have better starting wages....whoopty-do, they also pay tax and are stuck in the UK all the time. If you are in this solely for the money you are in the wrong job, learn how to kick a football...

[alistairuk]

Re: Cadet Pay

I bet trainee airline pilot aren't on ?120 a week or less! Trainee police officers are on around ?20,000 a year in training same for the fire brigade. Trainee train driver ?18,000. In fact you'd be hard pressed to find any profession that pays less and expects so much. We're being shafted and all in the name of 'that's the way its always been'!

A trainee airline pilot will end up massively in debt with a huge (10's of thousands) "bond / loan" to repay to their airline - if their one of the lucky ones!

Of course, most of the people bitching fail to realise that your cadetship costs in the region of ?40,000 (when you include all the short courses/paperwork you need/medicals/vaccinations/exam fees/tuition fees/etc.) - now don't get me wrong - the companies aren't loosing money out of the deal - but if you would rather take our a loan, to pay your own training costs just to get paid a little more each week - be my guest - but I doubt many would follow you!

This also really annoys me on ship with people bitching about what they get paid... no one forced you to sign the contract... nothing was hidden from you up front, so if you don't like the deal - go somewhere else / do something else... plenty of people will happily replace you.

[Chiefy]

Re: Cadet Pay

SNIP plenty of people will happily replace you SNIP

some are even european

[Red Fox]

Re: Cadet Pay

So leave.......
No one forces you join a company or ship, if you dont like it leave.

The thought had crossed my mind...

You want a better deal, join the Union, take action and get on with it.

I am a member of the union, I have talked to them about it, many others have too, result - a questionnaire about pay and conditions. We even had the board of directors onboard our ship and a group of us asked them, they seemed genuinely unaware and shocked at our pay and that we had to pay for things like accommodation.

Whinning other careers have better starting wages....whoopty-do, they also pay tax and are stuck in the UK all the time.

It was a simple comparison, perhaps a little too simple then. Not everyone will be out of the country for more that six months to be tax free, I have no issue with being in the UK all the time, infact if I get to the end I would prefer to be short sea or on domestic routes.

If you are in this solely for the money you are in the wrong job, learn how to kick a football...

Yet the pay is so often put forward as one of the reasons to join the merchant navy....

Of course, most of the people bitching fail to realise that your cadetship costs in the region of ?40,000 (when you include all the short courses/paperwork you need/medicals/vaccinations/exam fees/tuition fees/etc.) - now don't get me wrong - the companies aren't loosing money out of the deal

Which is paid for with SMART funding and tonnage tax concessions, in many cases companies are actually making money out of having cadets.

but if you would rather take our a loan, to pay your own training costs just to get paid a little more each week - be my guest - but I doubt many would follow you!

Or get the SMART funding independently like some cadets have actually done.

nothing was hidden from you up front

Actually the paying for accommodation out of our 'training allowance' was and this has been taken up with the company.

[Beef1992]

Re: Cadet Pay

im not bitching about my 92.50 . as i only have to get dinner out of that. the rest is beer for the week

[jc173]

Re: Cadet Pay

I'm on 91.50 a week at best, however I'm not bothered to be honest... I feel as though the Training is where we're crushed and remoulded into people with the right skill base to work where we've all opted to work - AT SEA.

Money shouldn't be a motivator but a contributory factor, for young'un's like us it's very easy to go to sea because very little ties us down, where as most of the older folks have a wife/partner, kids a house and a life to leave behind slightly more costly/complicated.

Also remember when you graduate from college you'll be more valuable than someone with a BEng (if you're an engineer) from university because of the work exp and additional bits a and pieces that makes up the training...oh and you're being paid and employed to do it... go look at most uni courses and compare a clean slate with money in the bank to ?30K + debits with interest.... go figure!