Christchurch

jacksie66

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Tilly Bear

Hi guys,just wondering did any one get any job offers from canstaff lately.Had the interview on 16th feb and although it went well we havent heard anything back yet.Any one here know how long the job offers take to come through?
Tilly.

splanagan22

@ jacksie66

have you sourced a plumbing job before you are leaving or waiting till you get out,,there was a company from wexford mass recruiting plumbers last year,,went for interview and got the job but i had too mush stuff going on here and needed time to wraps things up,,

im thinking very strongly about it too as there is plenty of work as people are saying but the incentives for overtime are non existing from what i can gather,,

Calgary22

yea i really am thinking here soon any infor on sparking if i go it would be asap probs mid june

Splanagan22 i hear there is overtime alright and that money is good agency work offers no overtime from what i have heard. when you thinking of going?:D

splanagan22

i heard there is plenty of overtime available and its nearly manatiry to take it but i was saying there is no real incentive to just get really stuck in 10-12 hrs a day 7 days a week,,you get the standard rate throughout and no time and a half or anything,,

im not complaining or anything as overtime etc is hard to come by but it would make the decision alot easier if i knew you could make the same type of money as oz or canada

i have no plans of yet to go,,its hard to make the commitment,,id be going alone and its a whole world away,,id just be afraid of the usual saying "far away hills are never greener"

FearDark

Overtime is a complete utter waste over here. For me 45 hours is as many as I do. I could work another 15 and come out with about one hundred dollars more after a weeks wage. Hence the problem here.

splanagan22

what are you working as over there fear dark

daveblinkbass

Lizaberry,

I have no personal experience with Canstaff or any of the agencies as I'm an Engineer but the common consensus here is to stay away from them. My advice would be to look for a job through www.trademe.co.nz, www.seek.co.nz and look through forums for other websites. He can expect to get between $20-30 p/h generally based on his experience etc. I know plenty of lads who work in a trade and earn on the higher end of that. Perhaps a good idea would be for your husband to head out alone first and after 3 months and he will know whether it's worth bringing the whole family out here. It's a massive move so my recommnedation would be to do it slowly. As for admin jobs again be bet is to look through some of the links above. If they are available, they most likely will appear on those websites.

Another thing is the government is closing and merging alot of schools in the city. Classrooms are spread across the city in some minor cases and class sizes are now very big, although I don't know the exact pupil:teacher ratio. On the earthqukae side of things, there hasn't been even a small one for a while now and even when they register moderate - I barely feel them. The train gives my house a bigger shake most of the time and the earthquakes never feel any worse. That's not to say there won't be a big one again but fingers crossed.

Other useful sites that may provide good links and articles are www.thepress.co.nz and www.stuff.co.nz.

If you do make the move over, you will love the country. Christchurch takes a bit more getting used to in my opinion but weekend trips around the country really make up for that.

Hope this gives you a little help

kimy1

BeeBumble wrote: »

DG22 - I worked for canstaff (tho not in construction) based in Ashburton for the past few months and found them helpful and nice enough to work for. I just noticed tho that you said you're moving to Ashburton... I've just moved from Ashburton after living there for the past 5 months or so ... do you know your work location yet? Just asking cos I wouldn't recommend it as somewhere to settle for the next year or so... are you moving over with friends/family?

Hi BeeBumble,
My Husband has a job offer for Asburton through Canstaff, can you tell me what the town is like, we have a 15 year old son and a 4 year old girl, was the accomadation ok that was set up for you, would it be possible to commute from Christchurch to Ashburton daily, or would that be mad, i would love to hear any advice that you can give us, as this is a big move. thanks

stone_cutter

did anyone here find that in general , kiwi employers are particulary poor in how they view and treat their employees

in general , ive found kiwis to have an extraordinary attitude to complaints of any kind , they simply dont want to hear them , if you fell off a poorly constructed scaffold ," whinge to someone else "

Calgary22

yea i read a case where as irish worker was bullied constantly by his kiwi employer and he brought him to court i think he got 8 or 9000 euro out of it. as it was mistreatment or something i will try and find the link.

Link

---

http www.irishcentral.com/news/Carpenter-bullied-for-being-Irish-awarded-10500-in-New-Zealand-164707806.html


Were comeing to help rebuild there city and this is how were treated:(

stone_cutter

Calgary22 wrote: »

yea i read a case where as irish worker was bullied constantly by his kiwi employer and he brought him to court i think he got 8 or 9000 euro out of it. as it was mistreatment or something i will try and find the link.

Link

---

http www.irishcentral.com/news/Carpenter-bullied-for-being-Irish-awarded-10500-in-New-Zealand-164707806.html


Were comeing to help rebuild there city and this is how were treated:(

compensation culture in new zealand is like the polar opposite of america , doesnt appear to exist at all , in keeping with thier aversion to complaints of any kind

Calgary22

Its crazy are you in NZ i was really think abouting CC as i finish my electrical apprenticeship soon but i have heard by quite a few people of racial comments and been told to **** home. i am all for the banter but theres a point where it must stop.

stone_cutter

Calgary22 wrote: »

Its crazy are you in NZ i was really think abouting CC as i finish my electrical apprenticeship soon but i have heard by quite a few people of racial comments and been told to **** home. i am all for the banter but theres a point where it must stop.

kiwis are a pretty tactless bunch , i read that article about the irish guy who got a small sum for being a victim of bullying , had to laugh at the comments below

one said bullying in the workplace is taken very seriously in new zealand , :eek: , couldnt be further from the truth

someone else called him a sissy which is the most common reply to any kind of complaint in new zealand in my experience

you dont have to scratch that far beneath the surface in new zealand to find casual anti irish attitudes , it may be lighthearted most of the time but its seen as perfectly acceptable , especially in the south island where the scottish influence is so prevelant

WUFF

Have been offered a job with a building company in CC called Buildtech, anyone over there know anything about them?
Have to make my mind up pretty soon.

Mrs OBumble

stone_cutter wrote: »

did anyone here find that in general , kiwi employers are particulary poor in how they view and treat their employees

Lads, I moderate the Work and Jobs forum - and can definitely say that employers in Ireland are far, far from lily-white as regards how many of them treat employees, and especially immigrant employees.

Overall, I'd say that NZ employers are less likely to be explicitly racist, and more likely to be aware and respectful of cultural differences simply because ethnic issues have been big in NZ for longer than in Ireland.

Of course there will be some who are right bollox, that's just universal, and why every country needs its Labour Court equivalent.

But you're right, there's not a big complaining culture. If you see a problem, instead of whining about it, find a solution. If you see scaffolding that's unsafe, don't climb up on it. Etc.

Calgary22

haha your obviously a kiwi;)

CatFromHue

I was over there for a year and I can't say I noticed any difference or any poor treatment from my various employers to myself or other other employees.

brendansmith

WUFF wrote: »

Have been offered a job with a building company in CC called Buildtech, anyone over there know anything about them?
Have to make my mind up pretty soon.

Buildtech are the main players with the EQR programme.
They are known to be a bit dodgy as operators but may have cleaned up their act.
Phil Cooper is the main guy in there. http://www.buildtech.co.nz/commercial/our-team

They used to be a cult. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10568227


http://christchurch-earthquake.com/topic/69122/page-1/anyone-used-buildtech
http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/news/apn-banned-for-five/6772/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/8192836/Job-in-New-Zealand-like-winning-Lotto

Mrs OBumble

Calgary22 wrote: »

haha your obviously a kiwi;)

You recognized me from the atavar, huh?

WUFF

Thanks Brendansmith.

danielstook

hey folks,

i'm back, so got my job and got my visa sorted, now to get on that plane.

so, Christchurch here I come! Any updates on life in chch ?:)

Son

Thinking of heading that way myself in the new year.

I don't have any construction experience,is there many jobs for unskilled workers in relation to the rebuild?

danielstook

hi son,

ha ha, didn't think id be saying that for another while yet.

I will be able to fill you in more Son when I get my feet on the ground in CHCH. I should be there by the end of the month and be working by the start of October so I will suss it out for you and try keep you posted.

jacksie66

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Son

@Danielstook - Thanks,that would be great

Havn't booked any flights so havn't made any real decisions yet

aicushen

Do you have a job over there to go to?

jacksie66

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aicushen

Thks just wondering if you had gone through Canstaff who were recruiting a few months ago but the jobs didn't pay so well and overtime was at normal rate. i figured working for 60 + hrs per week would not be worth it

jacksie66

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