I work in a trade that involves working in sewage and stormwater. I have to get into manholes to repair them and all kinds of horrible stuff. Started out on minimum wage and now I’ve gone up $5 over that year which is pretty good but, I still get paid more in my part time hospitality job. I get asked to do night shift sometimes but they never offer us any extra pay. The night shift really fucks with my schedule, I’ve got kids and 2 other jobs (gave up the full time hospitality to do a trade I thought would pay way better). Even the other workers like traffic management and people in similar jobs get paid time and a half for doing night shift and I can’t help but feel like I’m getting really underpaid. I’m a female too and had no experience before starting, it’s not an apprenticeship either. It’s a very specialised job and I can do it well.
I’m basically getting $2 more than the living wage here, still get paid more to work at a bar yet my job involves some really tough encounters. How do I explain this to my boss and ask for a pay rise or at least compensation for working night shift and suffering for days afterwards? I know others at my company get paid more too. Am I right to ask for more or should I have to wait it out until I’ve been there longer? Just seems underpaid for the work I’m actually doing, not many would and it’s an extremely risky and gross job