My major problem with the way FAST is currently operating stems from payment policies and how these differ between the countries of origin of the employee. I will discuss these many issues in detail below.
1.
I am Canadian. I was hired onto a Canadian site and was paid in CAD. When they asked me to move to the U.S. I was initially offered my CAD salary converted to USD. The exchange rate would have left me with ~30% less than I was being paid in Canada. This is an issue because the new employees on the sites in the U.S. get hired making USD (80,000 USD vs. my 80,000 CAD). The company was asking me to move to a US location where employees with no experience would be making 30% more than me. I had to fight (slow and frustrating) to get closer to parity. I know of a few people who didn't fight.
2.
I have heard of multiple instances where the company doesn't give employees their new salary before you move. Example:
Company: "Would you like to move to Poland?"
Employee: "Maybe, how much will I be paid?"
Company: "Don't worry about that right now, we won't screw you over, would you like to move to Poland?"
I have talked to employees who had their flights booked long before the company gave them their new salary information.
If I'm deciding on whether or not I want to change countries or even cities, I need to know how much money I'll be making if I move. The cost of living varies greatly from region to region and this matters even more if being asked to change countries (different currencies). When it comes down to it, this is a job. It's a great job with a family feel, but it's still a job. It is work done in exchange for monetary reward. Not fair to ask someone to move without first giving them their expected salary.
3. At AGM I heard that some employees from the US are moving to Canada. I heard that the Americans are still being paid in USD. This comes back to point 1. You have Americans making 30% more than Canadians simply because of where they were born. When the Canadian is asked to move, they have to fight to 1. be paid equal to Americans on foreign sites. 2. learn how much they'll be paid before committing to move. This is also an issue when moving to 'International sites' (sites outside of Canada and the US). If I move to Poland and someone from the U.S. moves to Poland, and they offer me my CAD salary and they offer the U.S. employee her USD salary, I'm still being paid 30% less.
The above issues also likely apply to people being hired locally on international sites (Jamaica, for example). Who knows how much they're being paid? How much will they be paid if they are asked to move to the US?
I understand it makes sense for employees in different regions/countries to be paid more/less depending on those regions, but this job requires us to move across borders. Now abroad, the only thing that distinguishes me from a US employee is my passport. I have the same education, skills, responsibilities, etc.
One of the biggest things that leads to employees being unhappy is a perception of unfairness. This payment system seem very unfair.
