I should have taken pictures. Basically a bunch of chicks from the u of a are walking around with chalk writing "consent is sexy", "no catcalls", "don't say 'hey beautiful"', " don't tell us to smile", "don't ask to walk me home", the list goes on. Across both sides of the pavement from 101st to 109.

Ironically there was a really cute girl with a small skirt outside of Billiards Club scrubbing off one of the signs from the entrance of the club with a bucket of soap and a brush.

ROFLMAO !!!!!!! /// Im wiping tears from my eye,s as I type . Corey Im really proud !! I bused it with the " Hound " too . I partied in Port Colbourne before I left, after the Canal Days . I left on a Sunday morning from PC , had to camp for 12 hours in T.O. The run was the transfer Winnipeg and Calgary .

I drove cab for 18 years on/off . The driver you described sounds like this dick that works outta the airport ( YHM ) most of the time . Almost had a smackdown with this guy lol . Glad to see your settled in . It was essential you got rested after a trip like that, even from E-town .


We will definitely get together soon in between rotations , do up Whyte ..... does it not kinda remind you of Hess on steroids? ,heehee

How is the 'general labor' market right now in Edmonton?

Are ye guys noticing a lot of casual jobs in construction, landscaping, driving etc.? Or is it quiet.

Just got canned at the Husky Sunrise site in Fort Mac by a husky safety guy for not wearing my seat belt, no warning or nothing. My company Morgan Construction however was cool enough to place me at AOC but it's only for a month, so I'm making other plans. Alright company by the way, with opportunity to gross 80gs annually.

Summary of a Noob's Experience in the Oil Sands as an Unexperienced General Labourer

Working in maintenance at a production site I have to say it's the easiest labour job i've had in my life to date. During night shifts I would literally sleep or chill for 90% of the time in the truck and during days about 50% of the time I would surf the web on my phone in the truck.

Anyways I got called in by pretty much every safety watch company from the March Spring Job Fair in Fort Sask, (united safety, hse, and 2 others). I got an info sesh to attend on Monday and based off of what I've heared from a previous coworker United Safety doesn't give their workers consistent work. So I figured since they also have operations in the Middle East I will try to see if I can make working there a possibility.

Can anybody confirm what range the pay scale is in the Middle East for safety watch? What else should I know about working in the Middle East?
The daily temps there appear to be extremely hot reaching over 45 degrees i'm finding, which is way hotter than I've ever experienced living in Miami for 4 years, wonder what that's like.

The daily temps there appear to be extremely hot reaching over 45 degrees i'm finding, which is way hotter than I've ever experienced living in Miami for 4 years, wonder what that's like.
[/quote]


I'd take 45 degrees C in the middle east over 32 degrees C in Miami. It's all about the humidity. Worked there in 45+ and as long as you stay hydrated and out of the direct sun it's not too bad. I'm in the Flips now and 35+ with high humidity and I can barely think and dripping with sweat when working even when in the factory.

(04-22-2015 12:38 AM)PALEO DUDE Wrote:  Just got canned at the Husky Sunrise site in Fort Mac by a husky safety guy for not wearing my seat belt, no warning or nothing. My company Morgan Construction however was cool enough to place me at AOC but it's only for a month, so I'm making other plans. Alright company by the way, with opportunity to gross 80gs annually.

Summary of a Noob's Experience in the Oil Sands as an Unexperienced General Labourer

Working in maintenance at a production site I have to say it's the easiest labour job i've had in my life to date. During night shifts I would literally sleep or chill for 90% of the time in the truck and during days about 50% of the time I would surf the web on my phone in the truck.

Anyways I got called in by pretty much every safety watch company from the March Spring Job Fair in Fort Sask, (united safety, hse, and 2 others). I got an info sesh to attend on Monday and based off of what I've heared from a previous coworker United Safety doesn't give their workers consistent work. So I figured since they also have operations in the Middle East I will try to see if I can make working there a possibility.

Can anybody confirm what range the pay scale is in the Middle East for safety watch? What else should I know about working in the Middle East?
The daily temps there appear to be extremely hot reaching over 45 degrees i'm finding, which is way hotter than I've ever experienced living in Miami for 4 years, wonder what that's like.

Man sorry to hear that you lost your job, that sucks and especially since it was over something so minor as not wearing a seat belt but that just goes to show you how retarded those safety dickheads can be, you should have received a warning. Imagine a guy with a mortgage, wife and a few kids has to go home and tell his family that he lost his job over something like that, fuck off safety! Anyway, now you know, you have to keep your shit tight at all times, especially in a down economy like we're in, safety guys will be head hunting for guys. I never liked that site anyway, it was the most TFW infested place I ever worked and was surprised when I heard that it was up and running, I worked there in 2012 while they were doing the in-ground civil work and the place was a mess, that contractor Snampergetti or whatever they're called fucking suck.

Do what you gotta do to get work, even if it includes doing safety watch for a bit but I recommend that you eventually get into a skilled trade. Its busy as hell right now in Edmonton, every ticketed tradesman I know is flat out and the company I just got hired on with told me that they're the busiest they've been in over a decade, so much for low oil causing havoc in Alberta!

(04-21-2015 05:08 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  How is the 'general labor' market right now in Edmonton?

Are ye guys noticing a lot of casual jobs in construction, landscaping, driving etc.? Or is it quiet.

It's very busy around the city at the minute with all the usual suspects drywalling, landscaping, general labour etc. There are plenty of companies hiring right now especially for road crews. Christ, anyone else disappearing into these pot holes? I only began calling companies last Wednesday and had two jobs lined up for Monday. It's certainly not Oil Sands money ~$20/hr but it's still decent pay and you get to enjoy Summer and city life.

Edmonton is booming right now, there's tons of shut downs going (power generation, refineries, etc) on which are keeping tradesmen busy, the NW Upgrader in Redwater is ramping up and will employ about 3000 workers in the next couple of months, the big huge arena downtown is underway and there's about 30 cranes dotting the downtown which are building massive condos and high rise office towers (Stantec building is gonna be huge). Then there's lots of civil work, as Seanchai mentioned, there's a couple of major bridge repairs going on (lower and high level bridge, both backed up over a year) and also the expansion of the LRT system. As I mentioned above, apparently this is one of the busiest years that the new company I"m working for has had in recent memory.

If you were to believe the Toronto media, Alberta is basically Venezuela north and there isn't any work going on in the province, which simply isn't true, of course, its a lot less busy than last year, but Alberta based guys with tickets and experience are all working, I don't know a tradesman who is out of work right now. The exploration guys (drillers, frackers, etc)are slow as they always are when oil is down and a lot of Calgary based office guys (engineers, drafters, planners, etc) got pink slips, but anyone involved in maintenance and civil/commercial construction is keeping busy. This is why I always stated on here from the first few pages is for guys to get into a skilled trade that is employed in industries other than oil and gas, so you'll have options outside of Alberta if you have to go look for work elsewhere, fortunately it hasn't gotten to that point though and I'm confident that it won't, oil is up by $13 over the past six weeks or so.

^Yeah new construction is booming. I go to a new site or two every time I go to work. Big projects in the brewery district. The new arena. Refineries in gibbons. Big truck/heavy duty shops in nisku. condos galore. Commercial spaces. millions of square feet of warehouse's

All of theSe places need framers drywall guys concrete electrical plumbing ironworkers and of course safety Dicks! !!

like scotian said you're not going to be making oil money but you can still pull 20+ an hour for long hours all summer. If you're working a dead end job you'd still be better off here than there. Worst case scenario you're working the same dead end job for a couple bucks more an hour

So when oil goes back up the switch gets turned right back on? How high does it need to be?

Whats the minimum they want for construction labour? CSTS?

(04-22-2015 03:54 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  So when oil goes back up the switch gets turned right back on? How high does it need to be?

The switch was never turned off, Canada is still producing and exporting (99% to the US) the same amount of oil as it was last year, its actually supposed to increase by about 3% this year. Apparently oil is at the minimum price that many oil sands producers can turn a profit at ($50-60/barrel), if it had stayed in the $30-40 range then we would have seen more drastic cuts but it has picked up. Obviously, the higher the price the better, $70-80 would be really nice to see by the end of the year or even during 2016, I don't think that we'll see $100+/barrel anytime soon but who knows.

(04-22-2015 03:54 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  So when oil goes back up the switch gets turned right back on? How high does it need to be?

60-65$
http://info.drillinginfo.com/halliburton...ing-ahead/

Drilling is always down this time of year anyway due to lack of access to remote sites. End of summer will be the real test for where things are at.

Eventually drilling companies will have to make up for all this lost time. The oil that is being sold right is from wells that are already producing. Every year this production rate drops off and less oil comes out.

They don't drill at the moment because its like breaking open a piggy bank when whats inside is worth half price. Its not like people are using less oil or some new technology exists so it will right itself soon enough when production drops off. What I am thinking about is the 100s of guys who are behind in their mortgage who will be screaming and back stabbing for as much work as possible once it starts back. Guys turn real fast in the patch when their job and income is on the line.

(04-22-2015 08:46 AM)scotian Wrote:  Man sorry to hear that you lost your job, that sucks and especially since it was over something so minor as not wearing a seat belt but that just goes to show you how retarded those safety dickheads can be, you should have received a warning. Imagine a guy with a mortgage, wife and a few kids has to go home and tell his family that he lost his job over something like that, fuck off safety! Anyway, now you know, you have to keep your shit tight at all times, especially in a down economy like we're in, safety guys will be head hunting for guys. I never liked that site anyway, it was the most TFW infested place I ever worked and was surprised when I heard that it was up and running, I worked there in 2012 while they were doing the in-ground civil work and the place was a mess, that contractor Snampergetti or whatever they're called fucking suck.

Do what you gotta do to get work, even if it includes doing safety watch for a bit but I recommend that you eventually get into a skilled trade. Its busy as hell right now in Edmonton, every ticketed tradesman I know is flat out and the company I just got hired on with told me that they're the busiest they've been in over a decade, so much for low oil causing havoc in Alberta!

Yeah thanks man, it's no big deal for me though, I enjoy jumping ship, keeps things interesting. It is stupid how strict they are with seat belts especially when you consider the max speed on site is 15 km/h, pretty sure i've gone faster in bumper cars at Playland in Vancouver.

Yeah it's a big mess just two days before I started in March the entire extremely overstaffed SAIPEM workforce including 1000 tradesmen got booted off site on same day notice. The job was too much of a joke to take seriously so I got too complacent. You're right though I gotta get my shit together.

Food was alright at the Lighthouse camp, not as good as the executive Beaver Lodge in Fort Hills, but not bad, they sprinkle sugar on everything for fuck sakes. I would often sneak into the OPS camp on occasion to eat top of the line food and raid their entire lunch section.

Anyways I'l keep the thread updated if the Middle East thing happens.

(04-22-2015 04:14 PM)Laurifer Wrote:  Whats the minimum they want for construction labour? CSTS?

H2s
CSTS,
First Aid+CPR
OSSA Regional Orientation (largest sites require this)

Best thing to do is search indeed or an oil sand job site, pick your target and go from there.

Have any of ye guys here ever tried the temp work agencies?

If so can you explain how it works and what the experience was like please...

- Payment rates and method
- Work conditions and times
- Gear needed or provided
- Enjoyable or sucked
- Anything else

I did some work for labour ready while I was waiting for things to fall in place.

Most of their work pays minimum, some slightly above. But there's also the odd job out of town that pays $15+ an hour, payed hotel (shared with one other guy), and a small LOA.

They pay at the end of each day by cheque.

The gear needed for most jobs is Hard hat, glasses, gloves, boots, and vest.

Overall the place sucked to work at. Besides one cute girl working in the morning that was a actually pleasant, the rest were ignorant and stuck up pigs that seemed to thibk they had the hardest job around and would give the workers attitude all the time. On the other hand, a lot of the people I ended up working for ended up being pretty cool and slack, they seemed to know we were making pennies and didnt expect the world of us.

Just got my Absentee ballot in the mail. Saw the Election debate and was pretty disappointed that Jean and Prentice fucked up and made that NDP bitch look good. Now NDP is leading in the polls.

I guess I'll wait until the last minute before I send it in so I can make the best choice based on the polls. Strategic voting. I would vote for Hitler to keep out the NDP. Weird how so many people from other provinces come to Alberta for jobs like Ontario and BC because the NDP or liberals fucked up their economies, yet they still vote left.

Too many people are going to vote with their emotions because of the low oil prices have stagnated the economy. No long-term outlook.

Alberta is on a crash course to becoming a have-not province at this rate!

(04-25-2015 01:42 AM)komatiite Wrote:  Just got my Absentee ballot in the mail. Saw the Election debate and was pretty disappointed that Jean and Prentice fucked up and made that NDP bitch look good. Now NDP is leading in the polls.

I guess I'll wait until the last minute before I send it in so I can make the best choice based on the polls. Strategic voting. I would vote for Hitler to keep out the NDP. Weird how so many people from other provinces come to Alberta for jobs like Ontario and BC because the NDP or liberals fucked up their economies, yet they still vote left.

Too many people are going to vote with their emotions because of the low oil prices have stagnated the economy. No long-term outlook.

Alberta is on a crash course to becoming a have-not province at this rate!

The problem is the Conservative party has gone to shit since Ralph Klein left. We went from a balanced budget with a surplus to unsustainable spending.

^i know man. I had high hopes for Danielle Smith but all those gay and global warming comments screwed it up. The PCs are just Liberals in blue.

Still... The NDP just makes me shudder. Brutal!

Wish Alberta had a guy like Brad Wall...

Canadian voters have been lurching dangerously to the left in respect to economic policy desires. This is not good for the future of the country.

Everything east of Saskatchewan is turning into an economic indebted quagmire with deep entrenched interests and a self perpetual over bloated civil service.

(04-22-2015 09:02 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  Have any of ye guys here ever tried the temp work agencies?

If so can you explain how it works and what the experience was like please...

Corey Trevor covered it all ready for most part, here's my experience. I worked two days at a temp agency prior to my first hitch on the rigs. I was hired by two drilling companies at the same time and I was going to go with whoever sent me out first. As I'm sure you know it can take anywhere from a day to a couple of weeks to get sent out. Having just bought a truck and moved into an apartment, I was steadily slipping into the red.

At the time there was a lot of work in construction, landscaping etc. But the problem with those jobs is you have to do an interview get hired and usually work two weeks in hand before you get paid. By then I could be out on the rigs and still have no additional funds. I needed casheesh fast, so the temp agency seemed like a decent option.

- Payment rates and method
Fucking shocking, worse than I thought it would be, I got $78 for 8 hours work so ~$8/hr + $10 for using your vehicle to transport someone else to and from the job site. This $10 drops to $5 after your first payment. You get paid by cheque upon returning to the temp agency office, which as I'm sure you know you can deposit immediately at an ATM and have access to it.

- Work conditions and times
Your advised to arrive between 05.30 - 06.30 to ensure you get sent out, there's still no guarantee, but if you show up by 6.00, have your own vehicle and aren't strung out you should be working. I only did two days at the same building site, doing some cleaning up and organising the job site, general labour duties. Nice site and decent people.

- Gear needed or provided
General PPE, CSA approved boots and a hard hat are all that are required. If you don't have these items the temp agency will generously rent them to you for a nominal fee of $10. They're fucking you coming and going.

- Enjoyable or sucked
I actually enjoyed it funny enough, the work was easy, the site foreman was sound and shocked at the fact that I was not a complete retard or criminal. I was working with a girl for the two days who was a scaffolder up North waiting to go back out. She was sound, we had a similar taste in music and shit talked about festivals and psychedelics for two days, and she looked like what would expect a female scaffolder to look like.

- Anything else
Ultimately like all experiences in life I don't regret it as I took something away from the experience, but Christ there's better ways to make money. I only did it because I was in a tight spot, a drilling company called me at the end of my second day and I put that place in my rear view. It's good to experience shitty situations like that if only to know that under no circumstances am I going back.

And now I have a question for you, why do you want to know about temp agencies? I can't imagine you working there, so I must assume your thinking of opening your own. Shame on you it's basically slave labour, companies pay the temp agency $18 - 20/hr for your labour and they skim ~$10 off the top. I'd feel more honest selling blow which in Edmonton is recession proof.

(04-26-2015 09:53 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  

(04-22-2015 09:02 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  Have any of ye guys here ever tried the temp work agencies?

If so can you explain how it works and what the experience was like please...

And now I have a question for you, why do you want to know about temp agencies? I can't imagine you working there, so I must assume your thinking of opening your own. Shame on you it's basically slave labour, companies pay the temp agency $18 - 20/hr for your labour and they skim ~$10 off the top. I'd feel more honest selling blow which in Edmonton is recession proof.

Maybe there is a way of doing it and keeping everyone happy...

(04-26-2015 10:04 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  

(04-26-2015 09:53 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  

(04-22-2015 09:02 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  Have any of ye guys here ever tried the temp work agencies?

If so can you explain how it works and what the experience was like please...

And now I have a question for you, why do you want to know about temp agencies? I can't imagine you working there, so I must assume your thinking of opening your own. Shame on you it's basically slave labour, companies pay the temp agency $18 - 20/hr for your labour and they skim ~$10 off the top. I'd feel more honest selling blow which in Edmonton is recession proof.

Maybe there is a way of doing it and keeping everyone happy...

The Bissell Centre
Address: 10527 96 Street, Edmonton, AB T5H 2H6
Phone:(780) 423-2285

Has a temp work program. You have to show up at 7:00 am
And they demand that the employer pays at least $12 per hour
I don't believe that the Bissell gets a fee for doing this.
You have to attend an orientation session first.
Payment is cash at the end of the day.