Stuart Dickson Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I know no-one will have noticed anything different today but apparently much of our Public Sector is on strike today. Does anyone have any sympathy with them? If they are really all so skint, why take a day off without pay? It seems really counter productive to me and it's a sign of just how shit the respective Unions are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Don't do it folks. You know it isn't worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pod Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Don't do it folks. You know it isn't worth it. Thank Drew. I was almost tempted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I know no-one will have noticed anything different today but apparently much of our Public Sector is on strike today. Does anyone have any sympathy with them? If they are really all so skint, why take a day off without pay? It seems really counter productive to me and it's a sign of just how shit the respective Unions are. Surprised you're out so soon....... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-28226652 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2becks Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Surprised you're out so soon....... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-28226652 Was that 'grass-roots' street-fighting? We need to be aware that there will be no support for this kind of vital activity if we vote "Yes". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Dickson Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Surprised you're out so soon....... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-28226652 You missed the better story from yesterdays paper about Wishaw. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/repo-men-find-10k-worth-3830967 You need to be a special kind of stupid to leave a cannibis farm behind you when your house is being repossessed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Dickson Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Less than 5% of public sector workers went on strike today. Did you notice? Did you care? Maybe if the country can get by without those 500,000 workers without too much effect we could look at starting any round of job losses right there. Just think that's £20Bn worth of savings every single year right there. Almost enough money to set up an Independent Scotland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedflanders123 Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Less than 5% of public sector workers went on strike today. Did you notice? Did you care? Maybe if the country can get by without those 500,000 workers without too much effect we could look at starting any round of job losses right there. Just think that's £20Bn worth of savings every single year right there. Almost enough money to set up an Independent Scotland Not going to bite but as someone who spent 27 years in the public sector try and read a bit more on the main reasons why a strike took place. People struggling to make ends meet don't go on strike and lose a day's pay without some justification. You Sir, are clearly a Tory. Don't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oaksoft Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 You need to be a special kind of stupid to leave a cannibis farm behind you when your house is being repossessed. Ach well you'll learn next time eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callum Gilhooley Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Not going to bite but as someone who spent 27 years in the public sector try and read a bit more on the main reasons why a strike took place. People struggling to make ends meet don't go on strike and lose a day's pay without some justification. You Sir, are clearly a Dick Don't Sorted . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I know no-one will have noticed anything different today but apparently much of our Public Sector is on strike today. Does anyone have any sympathy with them? If they are really all so skint, why take a day off without pay? It seems really counter productive to me and it's a sign of just how shit the respective Unions are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Dickson Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Not going to bite but as someone who spent 27 years in the public sector try and read a bit more on the main reasons why a strike took place. People struggling to make ends meet don't go on strike and lose a day's pay without some justification. You Sir, are clearly a Tory. Don't I am indeed a Tory voter - and i did my reading. Firefighters - Strike cause they want more money and their gold standard pensions protected PCS - Strike for more money, to protect their gold standard pensions and to stop privatisation Unision - Strike for more money GMB - Strike for more money Unite - Strike for more money NUT - Strike for more money Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance - Strike for more money RMT - Strike for more money and pensions. So basically they went on strike cause their a bunch of greedy bastards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girdiorn boy Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I am indeed a Tory voter - and i did my reading. Firefighters - Strike cause they want more money and their gold standard pensions protected PCS - Strike for more money, to protect their gold standard pensions and to stop privatisation Unision - Strike for more money GMB - Strike for more money Unite - Strike for more money NUT - Strike for more money Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance - Strike for more money RMT - Strike for more money and pensions. So basically they went on strike cause their a bunch of greedy bastards. aye but so are torries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TPAFKATS Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Public sector workers have seen a number of changes to their terms and conditions over recent years which, when combined with pay freezes has seen them around 12-15% worse off. Not sure that matches a definition of greedy that I would recognise. MP's just accepted a pay rise of about 30 % I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Yeah, but they deserve it, ts. Don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Dickson Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Public sector workers have seen a number of changes to their terms and conditions over recent years which, when combined with pay freezes has seen them around 12-15% worse off. Not sure that matches a definition of greedy that I would recognise. MP's just accepted a pay rise of about 30 % I think? We are all only worth what another company will pay us. If they don't like their new terms and conditions they should leave and go to those public sector jobs where the pay and conditions are so much better. After all it's not like we couldn't replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oaksoft Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) Public sector workers have seen a number of changes to their terms and conditions over recent years which, when combined with pay freezes has seen them around 12-15% worse off. Not sure that matches a definition of greedy that I would recognise. Sorry Tony I simply don't agree with this position. Where did we get the idea that we must earn more next year than the year before? When did that become a right or an expectation and who is expected to pay for it? The problem for public servants is the sheer number of them AND how relatively easy it is to replace most of those people. A 5% pay rise across the board would be financially extortionate. Having said that, all public service jobs should be on or above the living wage and nobody should be on zero hour contracts. The idea however that people deserve a pay rise each year allowing their real terms income to increase is wrong IMO. This smacks of people taking their jobs for granted. Edited July 11, 2014 by oaksoft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) They're not looking for an increase in real terms, oaky, they're looking to match what they had 5 years ago in real terms after adjusting for inflation. Edited July 11, 2014 by salmonbuddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Oh dear.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Dickson Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) They're not looking for an increase in real terms, oaky, they're looking to match what they had 5 years ago in real terms after adjusting for inflation. So what makes public sector workers more deserving recipients of more taxpayers money than, for example, pensioners, or the disabled or in plugging the growing financial gaps in the NHS? If their current working conditions are really so bad and they really can earn more in the private sector let them move on. That's the nature of a competitive jobs market and right now there are more people in work in the UK than ever before. That should also have been the advice of Union leaders to their members but no - instead they press the nuclear button on purely political strike action at the cost of 500,000 of their members in lost wages. They've got no chance of winning, especially when the strike action was supported by such low numbers of their membership. Edited July 11, 2014 by Stuart Dickson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTOF Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 They're not looking for an increase in real terms, oaky, they're looking to match what they had 5 years ago in real terms after adjusting for inflation. One of the main reasons that a sense of injustice prevails is that within councils they are cutting jobs and not replacing the staff. This inevitably leads to an increased workload whilst, at the same time, people have seen a decrease in their income due to a combination of pension contribution increases and rising inflation. I know I'm going to have to ask my staff to do more this year as we've lost three senior managers this year and are only replacing them with one staff member. This will inevitably lead to more work for me, which will filter down to my staff. My staff are young and enthusiastic and fantastic at their jobs. However, I find myself increasingly trying to shield them from potential "burn out" through physical exhaustion Even with my efforts to protect them, I can see that even they are struggling at times to deliver the quality of work that they're capable of. Also,my mate who works for land services, in another council,has seen similar changes, having lost three managers in the past few years, with no replacements. He is really good at what he does, but he's at the end of his tether regularly working 2 or 3 extra (unpaid) hours a day, just to keep up with the basic demands of the job. On the plus side we have a job, but it's very difficult to stay positive and deliver the best that you can, when there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TPAFKATS Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Sorry Tony I simply don't agree with this position. Where did we get the idea that we must earn more next year than the year before? When did that become a right or an expectation and who is expected to pay for it? The problem for public servants is the sheer number of them AND how relatively easy it is to replace most of those people. A 5% pay rise across the board would be financially extortionate. Having said that, all public service jobs should be on or above the living wage and nobody should be on zero hour contracts. The idea however that people deserve a pay rise each year allowing their real terms income to increase is wrong IMO. This smacks of people taking their jobs for granted. If you'd care to re-read my post you would note that I didnt say there was an expectation that people should earn more each year. I was pointing out that over a 4 or 5 year period there was no increase in wages. There was however a significant increase in pension & NI contributions. Over this time inflation would also have a compound effect even at around 2% a year. I didn't give a opinion on the strike, just trying to put more information out there regarding reasons why its happening as opposed to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Dickson Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 One of the main reasons that a sense of injustice prevails is that within councils they are cutting jobs and not replacing the staff. This inevitably leads to an increased workload whilst, at the same time, people have seen a decrease in their income due to a combination of pension contribution increases and rising inflation. I know I'm going to have to ask my staff to do more this year as we've lost three senior managers this year and are only replacing them with one staff member. This will inevitably lead to more work for me, which will filter down to my staff. My staff are young and enthusiastic and fantastic at their jobs. However, I find myself increasingly trying to shield them from potential "burn out" through physical exhaustion Even with my efforts to protect them, I can see that even they are struggling at times to deliver the quality of work that they're capable of. Also,my mate who works for land services, in another council,has seen similar changes, having lost three managers in the past few years, with no replacements. He is really good at what he does, but he's at the end of his tether regularly working 2 or 3 extra (unpaid) hours a day, just to keep up with the basic demands of the job. On the plus side we have a job, but it's very difficult to stay positive and deliver the best that you can, when there's no light at the end of the tunnel. 2 to 3 unpaid hours a day......FFS try the 72 hour week I've just put in and I've got work home with me now. Trying to protect staff from burn out - that's a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stlucifer Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) Sorry Tony I simply don't agree with this position. Where did we get the idea that we must earn more next year than the year before? When did that become a right or an expectation and who is expected to pay for it? The problem for public servants is the sheer number of them AND how relatively easy it is to replace most of those people. A 5% pay rise across the board would be financially extortionate. Having said that, all public service jobs should be on or above the living wage and nobody should be on zero hour contracts. The idea however that people deserve a pay rise each year allowing their real terms income to increase is wrong IMO. This smacks of people taking their jobs for granted. The reasons behind the pay freeze would be plausable but, at a time when this is happening and, as they reduce front line workers local government is constantly increasing the number of middle and upper management posts in an effort to improve efficiency ??? There is NO excuse for this trait. Government should lead by example. The war cry is for a decent living wage but some of the staff employed to handle claims for low wage benefits are actually in need of that very handout themselves. I know of one person who had to augment her income with a second job to put food on the table and keep a roof over her head. As for the pension. Contrary to popular belief, this is not non contributary. Every pay negotiation I was involved in was calculated using the pension as a weapon used to reduce any increment on the basis it was part of the salary. Effectively adversely affecting this is taking previous wage settlements away retrospectively. For someone like Dicko, (who I have on ignore but have the dubious pleasure of reading his inane ramblings via others "quote" facility), to have the audacity to claim they are greedy just because they want enough to live without only existing is ridiculous. Edited July 11, 2014 by stlucifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Dickson Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 The reasons behind the pay freeze would be plausable but, at a time when this is happening and, as they reduce front line workers local government is constantly increasing the number of middle and upper management posts in an effort to improve efficiency ??? There is NO excuse for this trait. Government should lead by example. The war cry is for a decent living wage but some of the staff employed to handle claims for low wage benefits are actually in need of that very handout themselves. I know of one person who had to augment her income with a second job to put food on the table and keep a roof over her head. As for the pension. Contrary to popular belief, this is not non contributary. Every pay negotiation I was involved in was calculated using the pension as a weapon used to reduce any increment on the basis it was part of the salary. Effectively adversely affecting this is taking previous wage settlements away retrospectively. For someone like Dicko, (who I have on ignore but have the dubious pleasure of reading his inane ramblings via others "quote" facility), to have the audacity to claim they are greedy just because they want enough to live without only existing is ridiculous. As i've said already - if they can get better paid jobs elsewhere with the same benefits let them go get it. If they can't then they should shut up and get on with it. If they resign their posts there won't be a shortage of applicants that's for sure. Public sector positions are still very well paid, they carry a final salary pension scheme that most private sector workers can only dream of, and they have the kind of job security that lets them take their jobs for granted. If 500,000 greedy bastards weren't missed yesterday then lets not miss them every other day of the week. Let them go and channel the £20Bn in saved wages into more deserving areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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