Reply To: Posting jobs with day-rates

[turtle]

Hi BT

It’s true that the agencies, because they take a percentage of the day rate, are cutting their own throats by nibbling day rates down. It is not correct to represent this scenario as "biting the hand that feeds them". Agencies are fed by the clients they supply bodies to. (When there is a dispute on expenses, travel pay, etc see how quickly your agent chooses to support the "feeding hand"). Raptor is spot on — with so many agencies competing to catch the business from the client the competition to supply the cheapest product to market is overwhelming.

The single advocate and force to maintain or improve current day rates is the ROV guy. No other entity in the system has a priority to do so. The only real tool you have to exhibit this force is by exercising the option to refuse to work for a lousy rate. Your only ally is a market condition when demand for ROV manpower exceeds current supply. So while we may see a temporay bump when times are busy, the long term track on day rates will continue south because there are so many forces stacking the cards that way.

Now back to the original issue — agencies MUST send a lot of emails back and forth to be assured that the day rate is absolutely nibbled down to the bone so they can stay in that lovely seat between you and your paycheck.