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Public Sector Strike


Stuart Dickson

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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. rolleyes.gif

A 72 hour working week is simply stupid in the extreme.

Honestly, the number of people playing the hero at work is getting ridiculous.

There is no glory in allowing a company to use you for 72 hours when paying you for 37.

Frankly I can think of better things to do with my time than waste it unpaid at work.

BTW you are a lying bastard.

No way are you working 72 hours per week.

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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.

I'm not disputing that. All workers should be earning a living wage. I made that quite clear.

That way they wouldn't need the handouts you are describing.

I would rather any spare cash went on rectifying THAT than going into the pockets of all workers.

If you are earning above the living wage when others are below it you have no business whatsoever striking for more personal pay in a time where money is tight. Tying this up in terms like "returning to where we were 5 years ago" is meaningless.

Edited by oaksoft
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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.

More pay will not resolve this though. Stressed out staff is a symptom of a broken system.

Your post is talking about completely different issues.

Striking for more personal money when you are earning above the living wage and others are not is just more of the me me me syndrome which pollutes our culture right now.

Edited by oaksoft
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A 72 hour working week is simply stupid in the extreme.

Honestly, the number of people playing the hero at work is getting ridiculous.

There is no glory in allowing a company to use you for 72 hours when paying you for 37.

Frankly I can think of better things to do with my time than waste it unpaid at work.

BTW you are a lying bastard.

No way are you working 72 hours per week.

Maybe he's including the hours he spends typing his made up drivel on here, when he should be working.

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More pay will not resolve this though. Stressed out staff is a symptom of a broken system.

Your post is talking about completely different issues.

Striking for more personal money when you are earning above the living wage and others are not is just more of the me me me syndrome which pollutes our culture right now.

TBH Oaky I'm not advocating huge pay rises. I know the country can't afford them, although if pointless conflicts in other countries hadn't been engaged in or the MP's weren't getting 30% (?), then maybe we'd be in a better state to offer salary increases.

Maybe 1% a year? Is that unreasonable?

It would seem to me that people respond in a more positive manner if they are given some reward, instead of being "shat on from a great height" in successive years.

Edited by FTOF
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A 72 hour working week is simply stupid in the extreme.

Honestly, the number of people playing the hero at work is getting ridiculous.

There is no glory in allowing a company to use you for 72 hours when paying you for 37.

Frankly I can think of better things to do with my time than waste it unpaid at work.

BTW you are a lying bastard.

No way are you working 72 hours per week.

I can tell you have done. 6 x 12 hour shifts covering for my colleague who works the opposite shift who has gone on holiday. I've also taken home approx 3 hours of work that has to be completed by the end of today helping out the team after one of the dayshift lads died of meningitis earlier this week at the age of 21. I've also offered to come in during my off shift period to cover for anyone who wants to go to the funeral.

I'm hardly a hero Oaksoft - just doing my job.

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I can tell you have done. 6 x 12 hour shifts covering for my colleague who works the opposite shift who has gone on holiday. I've also taken home approx 3 hours of work that has to be completed by the end of today helping out the team after one of the dayshift lads died of meningitis earlier this week at the age of 21. I've also offered to come in during my off shift period to cover for anyone who wants to go to the funeral.

I'm hardly a hero Oaksoft - just doing my job.

Over the last few months we've frequently had to work one man short due to a combination of illness and holidays but at the end of our 12 hour shift we go home and if we have to stop production then so be it. Personally I'd rather be out of a job than doing 2/3 hours unpaid overtime a day.

Good luck to the strikers and remember the only good manager is a dead manager!

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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.

The point is that there is a public sector pay freeze, meaning public sector workers are ALL losing money in real terms. There are no public sector jobs not affected. The majority of workers have skills and experience which could not be replaced.

The only point I sort of agree with you on is the Unions. One day blanket strikes tend to be extremely ineffective. We should take key groups of staff out, i.e. finance workers, court workers, indefinitely as that's when the Government would be forced to listen.

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The point is that there is a public sector pay freeze, meaning public sector workers are ALL losing money in real terms. There are no public sector jobs not affected. The majority of workers have skills and experience which could not be replaced.

The only point I sort of agree with you on is the Unions. One day blanket strikes tend to be extremely ineffective. We should take key groups of staff out, i.e. finance workers, court workers, indefinitely as that's when the Government would be forced to listen.

I don't see them taking to the streets annually when the council tax is frozen.....

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TBH Oaky I'm not advocating huge pay rises. I know the country can't afford them, although if pointless conflicts in other countries hadn't been engaged in or the MP's weren't getting 30% (?), then maybe we'd be in a better state to offer salary increases.

Maybe 1% a year? Is that unreasonable?

It would seem to me that people respond in a more positive manner if they are given some reward, instead of being "shat on from a great height" in successive years.

It's not the % amount which is the issue.

It's the vast number of people wanting that 1%.

You'll get no argument from me about politicians wage rises BTW.

Public services are a special case because they don't generally do work which brings money from other countries into this country.

It's therefore hard to justify pay rises at all.

TBH I don't know what the answer is. We are a country full of people who don't understand where their wages come from and couldn't care less as long as they get their rise year after year.

The culture is all wrong IMO.

Nobody above the living wage should be asking for a rise of any sort. Surely common sense should be dictating that?

The only alternative to wage freezes that I can see is substantial job cuts and I think the latter is inevitable anyway.

Like I said at this particular moment in time people should be more grateful that they are in work, as long as they earn enough to live on in one of the richest countries in the world at the easiest time it has ever been to be a human here.

There are people on that strike earning well in excess of the average wage in the country.

What on earth do they need more cash for? Are they completely unaware that we're almost bankrupt?

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I can tell you have done. 6 x 12 hour shifts covering for my colleague who works the opposite shift who has gone on holiday.

Take your cock swinging elsewhere. Nobody is impressed.

As for your entire post? I don't believe a word of it. not a single syllable.

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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.

as Stuart points out, they can get a job in the private sector and see what the rest of us put up with

flew into Manchester airport today, 2 guys on passport duty with a massive queue while 4 sat behind a glass screen watching it and having a chat.

these guys deserve the sack never mind a pay rise

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Much to "personal" views on this....................or has this become the referendum thread 2? snore.gif

So there you have it children. If YOU think you know what Faraway is talking about send your interpretations (in English please) on a postcard to the following address:-

Whatthef**khasfarawaybeensmoking Competition

999 Letsbee Avenue

Moonbeam City

Outer Andromeda

Kappa Belt

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as Stuart points out, they can get a job in the private sector and see what the rest of us put up with

flew into Manchester airport today, 2 guys on passport duty with a massive queue while 4 sat behind a glass screen watching it and having a chat.

these guys deserve the sack never mind a pay rise

More cock waggling.

You and Dicky are like that Monty Python sketch.

"If you think YOU work hard you should see what us REAL MEN have to put up with".

"72 hours of work"? What a mug! lol.gif

"Try the private sector"? You're both relying on another man for a job rather than working for your own company so neither of you should be bragging about anything.

It's like watching two toddlers comparing the fullness of each others nappies. lol.gif

Time to stand on your own two feet chaps?

Edited by oaksoft
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as Stuart points out, they can get a job in the private sector and see what the rest of us put up with

Put up with?lol.gif

A relative of mine works in the private sector. Hasn't had a wages increase less than 2% over the past five years, gets a £25K company car every three years with fuel paid for, and gets free private health care.

They work from home when they're not out and about, with a pretty flexible schedule and says that their job is much less hassle than when they worked in the NHS. Has all the latest IT equipment like iPads etc. free through the company.

They do get less bonuses of thousands of pounds though nowadays.thumbdown.gif

Yip, working in the private sector is always so much harder than working in the public sector.whistling.gif

Edited by FTOF
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Put up with?lol.gif

gets a £25K company car every three years with fuel paid for,

Really?

The fuel alone would cost him over £1k a year if he's on the 20% tax bracket.

If he's in the 40% bracket the combination of a £25k car (up to 2000cc and assuming its diesel as most are) and fuel would cost him around £5k a year.

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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.

if you took a job instead of sitting in the library all day using the free internet then maybe you would reduce your drag on the public finances

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Put up with?lol.gif

A relative of mine works in the private sector. Hasn't had a wages increase less than 2% over the past five years, gets a £25K company car every three years with fuel paid for, and gets free private health care.

They work from home when they're not out and about, with a pretty flexible schedule and says that their job is much less hassle than when they worked in the NHS. Has all the latest IT equipment like iPads etc. free through the company.

They do get less bonuses of thousands of pounds though nowadays.thumbdown.gif

Yip, working in the private sector is always so much harder than working in the public sector.whistling.gif

Aye, that's right, EVERYBODY gets conditions like that......................1eye.gif

Meanwhile, back in the real world.bye1.gif

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as Stuart points out, they can get a job in the private sector and see what the rest of us put up with

flew into Manchester airport today, 2 guys on passport duty with a massive queue while 4 sat behind a glass screen watching it and having a chat.

these guys deserve the sack never mind a pay rise

Tripe, I flew back from Ibiza into Manchester (T2) on Friday, and there was a full compliment of passport control staff working, got through in minutes and was out of the Airport within 20 minutes of landing.

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