trout Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Having been a "fish-factory" worker for many years in the past I truely believe that the stigma attached to that industry (in the past - yes definetely it was when I worked in it? Is it now - I would think so?) was unjustified. In Scandinavian countries it's seen as a job like any other and an honourable one ... it is a shame that our own "British" culture does not see it as such. What is even more depressing is that in an Island community like Shetland such intolerance perpetuates especially with the history of fishing that Shetland has. Anyway - to get back to the above post ^^ ... this is above the minimum wage, no? It is also not a "skilled" job per se (unless you are filleting, pin-boning, etc.) - and it's not like you are in danger as such like you are when you are at sea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 No perhaps you are not in danger , but you are doing most fishfactory jobs in cold conditions , some tasks have the risk of repetitive strain injury & nearly all are very tedious . Its nearly 14 years since I was full time working in fish factories and if anything the wages are definately poorer today due to the price of everything going up considerably. 20 pence an hour in todays climate , it is insulting in the extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Kin. Yeah - It was like £5.something when I was in it ... and you had to do 40+ upto 50/60 hour weeks to get any resemblance to a decent wage. Ghostering was the way forward. That or to get some resemblance of potential "normality" was to work Friday .. .getting totally plotted in the lower Excelsior - working Saturday - getting absolutely plotted in the Jubes - working Sunday - getting minging in Posers at night! It was the standard script for some time ... it's a wonder about anything when you look back to the past Yes, the current economic instability and cost of living really is a jarring experience. I would see very little exposure to wage increases above and or in line with the past in many industries for some time. The next 18 odd months is going to be a very interesting time I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Yes the good old days in shetland snatch , I did put in over 100 hours in a week a couple of times , my best was a 36 hour shift , night day and night again with 12 hours clocked every other night , with a combination of filleting mackeral and humping in overtime as a labourer you could take home about 600 a week , of course you only got home to sleep , and there was many a good morning knockin on the thule door at 8.00am sat after a long night . Yes fish factory work has a bad stigma attached and that shouldn't be , we had a really good crack that season a good team of people meant there was always a bit of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Didn't get up to 100hoors - 80 odd was my max on a stretch - 36odd straight I can mind?!? day + night and a stretch for a full day flat oot on either "da blast" or "da mother f'in verticles" - ... gadge! Maks me want tae puke joost tinking aboot hit! Hell of a gud laugh do. Searching tae mind foks names in my mind - but some 'o da boys dat wirked flat oot aa Shetland Simmer tae liv in Thailand aa Thailand Simmer ... hats aff I say!! Da Catch wis an excellent place tae wirk ... a lot o folk might disagree .. bit wee rose tinted specs on .. it wis gud!! Changed days .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooks Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Looks like we have all been there. The wages were pretty good back in the day and it is a complete sham that they are still the same now as they were over 10 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Kin .. wirkt in SAGA as well. LFT I managed tae miss - though heard it wisna dat'n a bad place tae wirk "bak den" (whether it is now or not I'm not questioning in the slightest!) ... da craic is do ... wirking athin "da fish" even if you're no at sea isna dat'na bad profession! ..... factories !!! Yeah- it smells, it's lang hours. Jeebus - bit so is biggin da stinking sheeite factory at da Nort Ness o Lerwick and I wis involved we dat absolute shambles o a project too .... (hmm ... whit plan do we wirk tae .. dis wan or dat? Crikey do you tink we have tae dig yun pipes up again for a 3rd time, no .. surely no?!?!?) ..... Money is a fickle ting ... yeah folk should earn maer .. but so should i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabiaTerra Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Da sheeit plant in da oald quarrie near Rova heid? Peirse contracters? I worked dere. Wha wis du? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Yo mo fo! PM sent ... 'cor blimey - Shetlink's joost lik friends-reunited - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmon Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Oh the good auld days, Shetland Catch was a great place to work, if you go back a decade and a bit....... One of the best " Man Managers " i ever worked for ....... Jim Ridland..... made them an employer you were happy to work for,we were not paid a lot but if we were offered overtime we gladly did it, it was a lot of fun and the staff were loyal......now it may be a bit different. Lerwick Fish Traders will never aspire to the same level of Staff/Management mutual respect as auld Shetland Catch... I have heard of shop floor staff with 7 years and more experience with LFT after handing in their notice to leave...response being from the company...."Sorry to see you go"... i kid you not, such a short sighted respect for the companies backbone workforce i have never seen before in any other employer. "We can run with Northern European Employees on minimal wages" , jerks that's all i can say....wait and see, within six months of the new factory opening the MD will leave the company and the machine will grind to a halt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulb Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 (** mod edit - thread merged - please use the search facilities to check for existing threads before starting new ones **) http://www.shetlandmarine.com/2009/04%20Aquaculture/sea_lice_shut_down_aith_salmon_farm.htmcan someone explain this to me. i thought shetland salmon farms were ok because they were not in lochs.the end bit is worryingGrieg Seafoods, who own Shetland’s biggest salmon producer Hjaltland Seafarms, reported to the Norwegian stock exchange this year that they had lost 2,500 tonnes of salmon, around 600,000 fish, through sea lice in the last three months of 2008, predominantly in Shetland. what happens to all these lice now do they just die off or do they kill off the natural fish stock. this from there web siteIn 4 quarter 2008, Grieg Seafood realized an EBIT before IFRS adjustments of biomass of -245.6 MNOK, compared to 5.6 MNOK in 4 quarter 2007. The result has been charged with considerable write-downs on asset values in Finnmark as well as biomass values, predominantly in the Shetlands. In total the write-downs amount to 246 MNOK in the quarter. The Group’s operating income increased with 23% to 354.7 MNOK in the quarter. EBIT per kg before IFRS adjustments of biomass values was -3.7 NOK, compared to 0.55 NOK in 2007. The latter figures do not include the write-down of asset values in Finnmark. thats a loss of £24,469,815.65 . from there 2007 reportThe financial results were disappointing due to several factors. The first being a sharp drop in the prices for the company's products, due to market unbalance. The second being health and environmental issues in some of our regions, with a net write down effect of MNOK 19,0 in the quarter. In addition, major extension work on two of our harvesting plants during the summer and fall, has further reduced the harvesting. A total of MNOK 5,0 of these costs are expensed duringthe quarter. After the end of the quarter the market conditions have improved somewhat, and we expect the market balance to improve during 2008. The health situation on our farms has also improved. The investment programs for smolt, sea production and harvest plants progress as planned. The company's smolt supplies for 2008 are secured, and the company aims to be self sufficient with smolt in 3 of 4 regions in 2009. In the fourth region, UK, long term contracts secure the supply. The company has made an agreement for refinancing of all the groups debt, and extending the credit and loan facilities with MNOK 400 to MNOK 1.400 in total, with a consortium of Norwegian banks.£139,510,953.90 there share value is a quater of what it was then. are they just shutting down because of infection/bugs or they are making a loss. As shetland seems to be a loss leader to them expect worse news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 are they just shutting down because of infection/bugs or they are making a loss. I don't think Mainstream Scotland (who'd've thought it was a norwegian company?) is part of Greig Seafoods, it is owned by one of the multinational feed companies. The sites in Aith are not in the control zone for ISA, so it is a commercial decision, as they say themselves in the article. Hopefully the closure of the Aith sites along with the fallowed sites in the ISA zone will improve the lice situation on other west side farms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulb Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 yep mainstream is not owned by the same company. but they are in a simular condition. large losses bad animal health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoogler Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Mainstream is owned by the feed company Cermaq, whose biggest shareholder is the Norwegian state. The losses and bad health that company is experiencing is mainly in Chile, rather than Scotland, Canada or Norway. The owners of the Scottish and Shetland operation have not had a bad health record but have struggled with high operational costs over recent years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellsbells Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 So the Aith site is being closed because of high operational costs then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.