Looking to work for free in a gold mine in vic

[Paul13]

Hi miners!
Im looking to work in a mine for fun and see whats going on inside .. any type of mine alluvial or hard rock and Im available every Wednesday or Thursday (or both)
Well Im not sure someone will reply but .. just try
Im live in Daylesford but can move anywhere in the triangle.

 

[aussiefarmer]

Are you willing to be blindfolded and stuffed in the boot of a car ?

 

[Paul13]

:lol: Im not claustrophobic so that should be fine!

 

[grubstake]

:lol: Im not claustrophobic so that should be fine!

You wouldn't want to be, if you're contemplating going down a mineshaft.

 

[AussieChris]

"work in a mine for fun"

Working long hours (with hardly any breaks) in the dirt operating heavy machinery or god forsake underground for zero pay.....it's really not that romantic.

 

[AussieChris]

Additionally, unpaid work in Australia is a no go.

Even "unpaid work trials" are very very grey, an employer who goes down this path can find themselves in hot water pretty quickly.

I have a story, it's long winded yes but some of you might find it enjoyable..............
Also this is not directed at you Paul, or suggesting you are up to any tricks, it's just some insight.

About 5 years ago a guy approached me on a job site asking for work at 7 am in the morning, I'll call him Joe.
Joe was in his mid-forties, he looked reasonably fit, the type of work he would be doing was outdoors in construction but it was somewhat specific.
I was not really looking for someone new at the time but he was very persistent to the point of begging and offered to do half a day free just to show that he was skilled enough and suited the work, he then suggested at the end of the day we could sit down and first of all see if he was suited/liked the work and if we could agree to a position for him. I felt sorry for the guy and figured if he really is pushing this hard for a chance he must be dedicated.

I was a bit unsure about the whole unpaid work thing at the time and called a friend for advice. They guided me through the rules as per The Fair Work Ombudsman and after some stuffing around I agreed to give it a go.

I grabbed myself some breakfast and even grabbed Joe a bacon & egg roll and a coffee then personally ran Joe through a thorough workplace induction process and got him to sign off on a few standard forms I used for new employees, OH&S, basic information etc. One thing of note was any prior medical conditions that might affect his ability to work and any worker's compensation claims.

Joe signed off on all the OH&S forms, no medical conditions, no workers comp claims etc. Joe was all set with the required PPE/white card etc for the worksite.

As a part of the verbal agreement with Joe, I asked him to shadow me for the morning, get an idea of the work, I figured he could just give me a bit of a hand with what I was doing but I was not going to ask him to do anything out of the ordinary. I just said to him that we would work til lunch if I liked his attitude and ability and he liked the work we could just use lunch to talk about a position/wages etc. I'd more than likey buy the guy lunch too.

The induction took up quite a bit of time in the morning so we were really only looking at a couple of hours work before lunch.

Then ***** went south........

Only about 45 mins into actually being on site and helping me out with some light duties at best, Joe in an Oscar-winning performance threw himself onto the ground in front of myself and my site manager flailed around like a toddler chucking a tantrum to get himself in my understanding bruised and as dirty as possible?? I was stunned I actually said "You have to be kidding me right?" he just looked up at me and said "No mate this is for real, I have hurt myself really bad I think my knee and shoulder are stuffed"
He then got up and walked off the job site got into his car and drove away. I tried to call him but he would not pick up. I filled out the incident report book and signed off on it along with the site manager. We were both like....here we go.

Next morning I get calls from an employment agency saying they represent Joe, then Workcover saying that Joe had made a claim, then the insurance agency wanting to send an investigator to the site. I produced as much information as I could for these people, but knew I was being taken for a ride.

Joe as an unskilled or no prior experience worker came under the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2010 Level 1 (CW/ECW 1) (level a). At the time it was under $20/hour for the first 3 months. Off the top of my head, it was around $17.70/h, but I like to start at $25/h to keep blokes loyal and work from there.

Joe claimed to both his employment agency and WorkCover that we had verbally agreed to a position starting that day at $38/hour. They accepted that number and accepted that he was an employee, the unpaid work trial was in my imagination apparently. $38 bucks an hour! not a bad number to pull out of thin air.

I submitted all the documents Joe had signed, they dismissed that he had signed off on having no prior medical conditions or WorkCover claims.

Joe sat on WorkCover for the next year, before making a claim via his specialist doctor for knee reconstruction surgery, all up it cost somewhere to the tune of $150,000 for all the medical, with his "wages" on top of that.

I actually never seen hide nor hair of Joe again. He did his 2-hour induction with his coffee and bacon and egg roll and 45 mins of "work" for a little over a year's pay and full knee reconstruction surgery, followed by physio etc.

Turns out after Joe filled for a negligence claim when WorkCover reduced his "wage" after 52 weeks. It then all came out that Joe was a serial dodger who had not worked a full week straight since he was dismissed from the Army in 1998 under a Medical Discharge (his knee and shoulder) actually received some kind of pension under the Military Superannuation and Benefit Scheme and had pursued several other WorkCover claims over the years, and had succeeded in a negligence claim for his shoulder only 3 years prior, against some other unwitting employer. It also came to light that he was longtime friends with his specialist doctor and possibly was put up to it by the doctor suggesting it was a good means to an end. Oh the employment agency was fully aware of his past and his bad knees/shoulder and his history of insurance scams claims they actually tried to claim they put him into the job so they could get their fee from the government go figure!

In most parts he got away with it, he finally got his titanium knee reconstruction and got to enjoy Dr Phil for at least 52 weeks of 2012/13.


Anyone hook me up with some work? You can pay me in coffee and bacon & cheese rolls! (not fussed on egg lol)

 

[7.62marksman]

when can you start mate ] ] ]
man what a nob that bloke was i hate people like that and i have seen a few of them

 

[Occasional_panner]

I could sit in a deck chair sinking cans and you could shovel dirt into my banker all day in the sun.
That's all I could offer.

 

[AussieChris]

I could sit in a deck chair sinking cans and you could shovel dirt into my banker all day in the sun.
That's all I could offer.

You know OP with the right Doctor and the know-how, we could get you at least $38/hour, while I shovel and you kick back in that deck chair

 

[Way2go]

Hey AussieChris,

I am very sorry to here that story. Being an ex army myself, I would not expect this type of behaviour. It puts a bad wrap on all of us.

I hope that the authorities catch up with this person and his fraudulent ways.

If you believe in karma, lets hope it comes to be.

In the work I am in now, I have had a similar story, but this one was not backed up by his doctor. The gent in question claimed to have hurt his ankle prior to going for lunch. Given the nature of the injury, I questioned why he had not reported the injury until 3pm more than 2 hours after lunch. I then had a full investigation put in place. The incident location required the worker to walk up two ladders, up 6-8 flights of stairs and down a long steep stairway.

Long Story Short. His doctor explained that he would not have been able to walk on the injury let alone walk up a ladder or any stairs without feeling pain or requiring assistance. The doctor said the injury was consistent with a sporting injury. I checked and found out that he played lunchtime soccer. I talked to his team mates who told me that he tripped on the ball and was stretchered off the field, that very lunch time, on the day of the injury.

We were lucky in this one. The insurance company did take out investigation into account and the worker was not provided workers comp.

Now lets get back onto the gold subject. Unfortunately I do not know anyone who owns a mine or anyone needing any workers. I would suggest just getting out and panning/detecting. If you are looking for mine work there are a few employment agencies out their, which work with the mining companies.

 

[Guest]

There are members on this forum who have been coming to my mates house asking for places where they can get gold.
He's old and these guys come knocking on his door unannounced.
Being old and vulnerable, he said what am I supposed to do.
You go figure

If I find out you or your mates have been there again, I'll call the police for hassasment.

 

[Paul13]

Thank you for the time and your story...
I got a full time job in hospitality and cant leave my position until 21october next year(visa reason)
Im not looking for a job.

I spend most of my free time detecting for gold and I love it.

I just want to see a local mine and maybe talk to the person or people working there to know a bit more about it.

I can sign a paper in case something happens the company will not be responsible.

I will force nobody or come back on site without
The autorisation of the owner or person in charge

Now my job in hospitality is boring and I dont really like it..
I got 31 yo and next year I want to quit with this industry.
Problem is the only thing I like is looking for the yellow metal.
Im trying to see what type of job is around the search of gold and maybe if I find something I like Ill step in as soon as my engagement with my current company is over.

As I said Im not sure someone will answer.. but lets see

 

[aussiefarmer]

"work in a mine for fun"

Working long hours (with hardly any breaks) in the dirt operating heavy machinery or god forsake underground for zero pay.....it's really not that romantic.

Sounds like true love to me :Y: ,
i would do it for a week , the only payment i would want is *bacon and egg breaky * bbq lunch * steak and vegie dinner and 3 longnecks per night .
:lol: thats getting close to a $100 a day :lol:

 

[aussiefarmer]

Thank you for the time and your story...
I got a full time job in hospitality and cant leave my position until 21october next year(visa reason)
Im not looking for a job.

I spend most of my free time detecting for gold and I love it.

I just want to see a local mine and maybe talk to the person or people working there to know a bit more about it.

I can sign a paper in case something happens the company will not be responsible.

I will force nobody or come back on site without
The autorisation of the owner or person in charge

Now my job in hospitality is boring and I dont really like it..
I got 31 yo and next year I want to quit with this industry.
Problem is the only thing I like is looking for the yellow metal.
Im trying to see what type of job is around the search of gold and maybe if I find something I like Ill step in as soon as my engagement with my current company is over.

As I said Im not sure someone will answer.. but lets see

In the right mine with the right people the education could be worth $$$ so its more of a case of being paid with knowledge than doing it for free :Y: :Y:
I hope someone gives you a go and you can live the dream :Y:

 

[Paul13]

Thank you aussiefarmer!
Really appreciate a bit positivity :Y: :Y:

 

[user 4485]

Hi Paul - look up & try getting in contact with some mines nearby. Talk to them about being keen to get into mining & ask about getting a quick tour of their site to see how they operate/what's involved etc.
Some small scale operators may be a bit guarded of their operation & may not want to have people looking around their site but others may be happy to show you around + talk about it.
Due to insurance requirements, WHS, etc. I don't think many/any mines would let an inexperienced, unskilled worker on site to do "free" work. Getting a foot in with some type of organised site tour would be your best bet IMO.
If you can show them your keen they may even be able to offer you legitimate work if they need some extra arms & legs occasionally or even suggest ways locally to get some training/experience in the type of skilled labour they might require or what's needed to get into mining. Maybe look at doing some plant machinery training if offered locally? This may help once your tenure with your current employer is up to start looking for mining work?
Larger scale operations can have open days/periodic local information sessions but there's no harm in approaching a larger operation outside of these if there's one close by. They can usually also be helpful in providing information on the skills etc. they would be looking for to.

 

[Paul13]

I take note :Y:
Thanks for all those informations!

 

[Eski]

Paul13 if you are on a visa then would you not be self insured? Meaning if you are injured there is no workcover?

But realistically, i think any miner running a business would not let you on site due to liability issues (employment and liability)

Exactly the same as construction - I wouldn't and dont run the risk.

 

[Paul13]

Im permanent resident since a year.. I dont have an obligation to work for my company anymore but they will be happy if I stay one more year and Ill do my best to make them happy
Its more a moral obligation.

 

[Golden Emu]

You guys have really put the dammper on Paul13 here all he wants to do is learn a bit about minning. Maybe give him a visitors pass.

I think Paul13 youll just have to look & listen......UTube is good for that!

:rainbow: