Australians are in a spin after a fly-in, fly-out employee disclosed how much money she makes working odd jobs at the distant mining site.
Lisa Bailey used TikTok to show her followers what a normal day of cleaning the small, demountable accommodations that employees sleep in—dongas—and mining camps looked like.
As a FIFO utility worker, Ms. Bailey said she may make up to $340 per day, though many of her supporters admitted they had expected her to make considerably more.
Just $340 for the entire day? One person wrote, “I assumed it would be more than that.
Ms. Bailey was quick to answer, informing the follower that it was her lack of competence that was to blame.
‘If you had a trade, it would be much more,’ she wrote.
In the now-viral TikTok, Ms Bailey showed herself waking up in her simple room, taking a sip of water before getting ready for the day.
Ms Bailey revealed she earns up to $340 a day as a FIFO utility worker, with plenty of her followers admitting they thought she would’ve been on much more.
‘Only $340 for a whole day?! I thought it would be more than that,’ one wrote.
Ms Bailey was quick to respond, telling the follower it was because she was an unskilled worker.
‘If you had a trade, it would be much more,’ she wrote.
In the now-viral TikTok, Ms Bailey showed herself waking up in her simple room, taking a sip of water before getting ready for the day.
After brushing her teeth, Ms. Bailey goes outside to wash her clothing at the camp using the free detergent that is provided.
The two walk from room to room performing “pre-arrival checks” for the arriving FIFO employees after she reunites with her colleague.
The two then clannishly clean the wash rooms before Ms. Bailey cracks a joke about ‘not getting fired’ and films her ATV leaving muddy tracks throughout the camp.
After that, she prepares linen packets for incoming FIFO workers before going to the mining camp’s buffet meal.
Ms. Bailey finishes her workday by piling the chairs from the enormous dining room onto tables so that other employees can sweep and clean the floors.
Her earnings of $340 a day, while lambasted by some of her followers, are nothing to scoff at.
The wage equates to around $1700 a week, and $85,000 a year, if she was working there full time.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, average weekly earnings are just above $1740.
But FIFO workers can earn upwards of $99,780 each year, with some experienced tradies raking in $134,618.
Though entry-level positions like Ms Bailey’s can start at around the $340 wage.
Miners, employees in the hospitality industry, tradespeople including electricians and carpenters, machine operators, drivers, and cleaners are among the FIFO employment in Australia.
Social media users were curious about Ms. Bailey’s job search and how she convinced her partner to work FIFO shifts with her.
Ms. Bailey claimed that she discovered the utility worker position on Facebook through Seek and that she started her first shift four days later.
How did she convince her lover to work on the same mining site as her, a follower enquired.
When the business was hiring new employees, Ms. Bailey claimed she had gushed about her partner, and he was employed shortly after.
She said the shifts were flexible, the training for the utility worker role was extensive and said the day she filmed this was a less strenuous one.
‘It was an easy day compared to some, that’s how I had time to do some recordings,’ Ms Bailey said.
