Pros
Get to work on many different mine sites
Meet lots of different people
Most of the time everyone works great as a team
Continuous learning
They supply tools, equipment and uniform.
Can book time off whenever you want
They do offer opportunities to upskill and also obtain RPL.
Kontras
They don't pay superannuation on all hours worked.
Hourly rate is not justifiable for the work and conditions. No penalties for doing High Risk Work, working weekends and public holidays, and working in extreme heat or cold.
If you allocate days off on your calendar, they no longer seek to accommodate the empty days.
It is also very common that they will withdraw work from your calendar that is already booked.
Some of the leadership will expect you to work through your lunch breaks.
The buddy system has no regulation. New starters with absolutely no experience in the mines are thrown in the deep end much of time.
Team leaders are given extra responsibilities with no pay incentives.
They send you for free training but the skills don't get updated on your USI transcript and they won't give you the certificates. So you'll be stuck working for linkforce if you don't do the courses in your own time at your expense.
Accommodation is usually not cleaned properly. Mattresses will often sink to bed frame and pillows under the covers are stained from the sweat and grime of all the previous users.
Food at the camps during shutdowns is very poor quality most of the time.