Chris Wedge runs Wedge Crete, a concreting business in Brisbane, and claims he pays his workers A$600 ($1018) per day plus GST. Photo / TikTok
Chris Wedge runs Wedge Crete, a concreting business in Brisbane, and claims he pays his workers A$600 ($1018) per day plus GST. Photo / TikTok
A tradie boss has claimed drugs and alcohol are the reason he can’t find staff, despite offering a signifcant daily rate.
Chris Wedge runs Wedge Crete, a concreting business in Brisbane, and he was stopped by Getahead, an app that works like Tinder for careers, matching people with jobs.
Thetradie, who said he was also still on the tools himself, claimed he pays his workers well over six figures.
“I pay my guys A$600 [$1018] a day plus GST. They can make pretty good money,” he said.
Wedge explained the A$600 a day is for those working five days a week, working out to be over A$150,000 a year.
“If you have got the guts and you can do it, sweet, you can hang around,” he said.
“Just be a tradesman if you’re a tradesman, you’re sweet. Everyone’s welcome to that sort of money, mate.”
The tradie’s comments sparked a significant online conversation, with some people arguing he should be paying more and others claiming his comments prove that young people don’t want to work hard.
“That is not really enough for such hard work,” one argued.
“We have bred the laziest generation ever,” another complained.
“Get a reliable girl/woman then,” someone else suggested.
“Stop advertising for boys and employ men,” another advised.
Chris Wedge says that as long as you work hard, you’ll be sweet. Photo / Facebook
The tradie’s comments kicked off a debate about hard work. Photo / TikTok
Someone else argued that anyone saying it wasn’t enough money proved that Aussies don’t want to “work hard” anymore.
“Stop hiring Australians, they’re the laziest, most incompetent people on the planet. Disgusting,” one said.
Meanwhile, another argued the comments didn’t ring true because they knew heaps of “sober concreters” who would work if the money was right.
While one social media user claimed they knew many tradies who drank too much but were still great workers.
The average Aussie earns just over A$100k a year. Photo / Getty Images
The concreter’s A$600 a day claim is undoubtedly more than most people earn as the Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported the average annual salary is A$104,520.
According to job search platform Seek, the average annual salary for a concreter in Australia is about A$80,000 to A$95,000 per year.
The average wage varies depending on the state you’re in. For instance, in Western Australia, the average salary is A$92,000, but in Victoria, it is A$97,000.
In South Australia, the average salary is A$85,000, and in Canberra, it is A$80,000. Meanwhile, in Queensland, the amount is A$77,000, and in NSW, it is A$70,000.
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