EddScott

Mate of mine works for the council. Got nothing to do all day as the phones are off.

He came into work today becuase he gets an extra day off later in the year. He also gets a sh4t load of time off compared to private sector workers.

All these people bitching about thier pensions because the government as stiffed them and the council workers on strike today have also announced today (hide very bad news under other bad news) that the local hospital is likely to close within the year.

For some this means over an hour journey for things like car accidents (of which this area has several a week) pregnancies cannot be handled here anymore and again farmed off upto a hour away. Also we have 2 oil refineries and a new LNG plant coming online in the next year. If that LNG plant explodes this area will be truly shafted. When the oil refinery went up it took out windows over 5 miles away

The country needs a revolution.


PS - and while I'm at it what the f*ck is going on with Tax Credits!!!!!!! Me and my partner have worked since we have been old enough and apparently we have owed them money for 3 year+. Our neighbour who had never done a days work in her life and doesn't intend to and is a complete burden to society has recieved a £4,500 payout. A work colleague who earnt 35K in the last year to date has just received £7,000. We have a joint income of 25K and we are paying them money back?

W


T


F

Hate this sh*t hole country.

and breath

little'un

iTrader: (9)

We all have to work! (well majority of us anyway ) I probably will have to work until I'm 65-68 so why should'nt others?

There are plenty of people who work just as hard as a refuse collector (to a point), however I doubt they will be able to retire at 60

Our company pension had the goalposts had changed and could not do anything about it - the pension finished early or you paid more in. Is it really worth taking out a private pension - shall I just get taken care of by the state when I'm that age

LG John

Oh I know! I've been trying to break into the private sector for over a year now but nobody will touch me without commercial experience. I welcome the challenges, the committment, longer hours, difficult tasks and responsibility and the rewards that can come with it.

The real problem with the public sector is this

Tomorrow I will get up and go into work for 10:00. It'll probably be 10:10 but nobody will notice! I'll doss around a bit and catch up with what people did today before doing a little work. At lunchtime I'll eat at my desk, surf s2ki.com and pistonheads and then shuffle paper and drink tea in the early afternoon. A few more reports and I'll have another surf at 4:00. Somedays I might go on site in the afternoon taking the 'fun' roads rather than the quick roads. I'll leave at around 5:30 and go home. For this I will get paid at the end of each month and enjoy all the normal benefits.

I could go in at 8:00 and get stuck into work stopping only for 15 minutes at lunchtime to eat a sanny before getting stuck in again until 6:45 before preparing for the next day and going home at the back of 7. The option to do that is open to me. But why would I? Will I get a bonus? No. Will I get a promotion. No (as you usually need to wait for someone to leave for a spot to become available). Will it be even noticed? No, probably not. Will the extra graft really be reflected in my reference? No, because council's will generally always give you a good reference unless you take the utter p*ss. Will I get any other bonus, reward or perk other than some form of self-satisfaction? NO

So hands up if you'd honestly go that extra mile?

If you bust your *** like that in the private sector you get noticed. You'll probably get a healthy bonus, you might get headhunted, you might leapfrog someone for a promotion or you might find yourself able to negotiate more pay. With the grading structure of the public sector you can't wake up one day and think, 'I've worked exceptionally hard this last year and deserve more' and expect to be able to brake the mould. Your pay is mapped out for you and there is NOTHING you can do about it.

lozgti

I have to take it all back.Wife tells me they came to get our bins this morning.Must have forgotten they are on strike and are now cursing themselves

StickyMicky

fecken arseholes

my staff have been unable to get in today due to metro and bus strikes so i gave them paid holidays

then one of the "strike massif" tried to get a valet done today and i had to turn him away due to no staff

roads around here and all fecked up with the tyne tunnel being closed

lordretsudo

Have to agree with other comments. Whilst I can understand people striking over pension rights (the government have bolloxed up pensions for everyone in an unbeliveable way), the fact remains that most 'civil servants' are the laziest, least conscientious group of workers (if that word can be applied in this case) on the face of the planet. My wife and I are the only private sector workers in our families, and the stuff we hear about our relatives' jobs is beyond belief. Things are tolerated in the public sector that just wouldn't stand for a day in the private sector. I don't see why my taxes should go on protected pension rights for a bunch of idle, sick-leave obsessed lefties in mostly made-up jobs of no worth to society.

Glad I've got that out of my system...

MrReee

I fully back their stance

Council workers get crap pay and took the job on low wages knowing that the overall package was good

You can't tear up a contract, just because you now don't like it!

Imagine buying a car with a guaranteed residual of £12,000 only to be told, 3 years later, that you are now going to have to continue paying for an extra 5 years as the residuals have dropped so far!!

Same thing!

MrReee

mpr

they may have a point about their pension, welcome to the long list of people who got fcuked by this government. i didn't hear them complaining when many in the private sector got shafted out of theirs tho', so why do they think they're special?

they now get paid more on average than the private sector, with more benefits and a better pension (which will still be better after the changes)

they still have the option of going and getting a job in the private sector.

they could vote labour out, but then without labour, the majority of them wouldn't be in their non-jobs anyway.... what a quandry for them all to ponder while they're sitting on their ***** doing fa.

Luan Pra bang

On average public sector pays 7% more than private sector. 26% of council tax goes towards paying pensions.*



*Figures quoted from the Daily mail who state that the figure come from 'respected company' Hymans Robertson they seem true to me but bear in mind nothing ever written in the daily mail has been accurate or honest ever.

mart360

so that begs the big question...

why do it??

one school of thought would say, you havnt exactly pushed yourself, and given the time youve been there and the level youve attained, would make some employers think twice about employing you,

the other is that your in the comfort zone, nothing changes, its always done this way, and its safe, predictable and booring.

the word my old boss would say is your hardly "dynamic" are you

Mart

mart360

Hopefully were going to have a summer of discontent, and billy will get a bloody nose,

i see he,s now spinning on his own retirement date..

ffs!! what next when he finally pop his clogs, a dummy taken round and spin to say he,s fine???

i cant wait for the day he,s kicked out...

I want to see how he spins his way with the "buck stops with me" stance on his pseudo loans debacle.


want to bet a scapegoat will be found!


Mart

ewanrw

If I had spent 30+ years paying (in some cases extra) into a pension fund under the premise I would be retiring at 60, only to be told I have to work an extra 5 years, I'd be royally fecked off.

The way I see it, let them retire at 60 and cut benefits to ******* that don't work a day in their life like the **** we were posting about 2 weeks ago.

my 2 cents

ewan

brumdaisy

like f***!

I started in local gov (with a degree) on 12K
Average private sector graduate salary at the time 18K

Took me 8 yrs to get to £30k plus through HARD GRAFT

Private sector mate earns DOUBLE what Im on

I DONT get:
annual bonus
xmas bonus
company car
jollies (mate got a day at a spa for free for doing nothing)
xmas party paid for
overtime
perf related pay

In fact I get absolutely nothing whatsover over my salary and ALL I ask is that my employer honours the T&C that I signed up to when I joined.

Whats the problem?

nathanb

iTrader: (1)

Bloody M56 was jammed solid this morning cos the Mersey tunnel was closed!!

unclebuck

.................................................. .




















...sorry, was just enjoying that thought.

LG John

The first 2 years were to cut my teeth. The 2 years following that were because, owing to my personal life, I needed some stability and 'comfort' in my place of work. The last year to year and a half have been spent making 2nd interview stage nearly without fail and being told the ONLY reason they are going for the other guy is because he has 'x' years of private sector/commercial experience. I'm at the edge of an abyss and if I fall in I'm public sector for life hence why I'm pressing hard to get some other relevant experience.

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

Sorry SB, if you happen to end up in a dream job somewhere that may be the case, but in 99% of places that simply isn't the case. You'll be expected to do the extra hours, etc. but don't expect to get any reward out of it - if you try to get away with the absolute minimum you can guarantee that will be picked up on.

After I got my degree I started in the private sector on £10k, after 5 years I made it up to £25k. My sister on the other hand went into the public sector on IIRC £18k and within the same period was up to well over £30k having worked less hours every week, had many more days holiday every year.

Luan Pra bang

The problem is that everyone in the private sector had to deal with cuts in pensions. You pay 1.5% towards your pension and the tax payer pays 12.5 percent. If the private sector is so good go and work there.

brumdaisy

that Im afraid is absolute cwap!

I pay 6% my employer pays 6%

brumdaisy

Sour grapes perhaps? Every month I pay into a union. That union then lobbies on my behalf.

No one in the public sector is saying that private sector people should work longer - we're just organised enuf to fight for things

Dracoro

AFAIK, you can pay as much into your pension as you like, 1%, 10% 20% 80% whatever. However, the tax break is up to 17% I think (i.e. you can contribute 17% on your gross salary and it's not taxed - this includes your company's contribution btw).

Dracoro

Also a perk of the public sector is (or has been) job security, this is worth a bit, albeit intangibly.

MJB2

good on them i say!

brumdaisy

'or has been' I'm redundant as of Friday

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Jesus, its amazing how much sour grapes there is on here, sure enough there is a fair ammount of laziness and ineptitude in local government but to be honest it does occur in the private sector as well, I currently work for Local Government but I could earn a fair amount more in private industry, the terms and conditions are ok but are being erroded, I didnt strike today as I am off for 2 weeks anyway and to be honest I cant be arsed and just vote with my feet if I dont like something, I am in the union but mainly because a mate at work was a bit naughty and I thought I was implicated in his wrongdoings (even though I had done nothing) and felt I needed representation, not because I am some kind of lefty bolshevic.

I agree with SB but seem to have a bit more of a work ethic left, I get in early when no other ****** can be arsed, I will stay late if required, I will pitch up at 4am to sort a problem out as basically I dont want to slip to far into apathy as when I return to the private sector it will be to much of a shock to cope with !

I dont see what the problem is with Bin Men ?, Local Government services consist of a lot more than blokes who empty bins and to be honest most refuse collection is outsourced to fairly ruthless private firms, watch Life of Grime and that gives some idea of the thankless tasks that some people have to do to keep society running, pest control, morticians assistants, crematorium workers, canteen staff, groundsmen, Environmental Health, dog patrol, grave diggers, security, street sweepers, coroners liason, doctors receptionists (ever been handed a stool sample in a brown paper bag ?), day centre workers for the elderley and disabled etc etc and generally on fairly crap money.

So my point is, sure local government can seem like a big waste of money but give a thought for the unseen men and women who do unpleasant jobs stoically for low wages (typically 18 grand or less) only year in year out and then receive a meagre pension which they have paid for over their working life.

The problem is the money wasting that goes on, think tanks and too much pandering to one section of society or other, marches for this and that, spunking 100 grand on a new logo to illustrate the diverse yadda yadd yadda in the twenty first century blah blah, whatever. What needs rooting out are the pointless positions created like the sixty grand a year diversity officer at our place, 60k to tell us not to be racist, sexist or homophobic, we get told that every day, its sinking in, honest.

Case in point, due to the comparatively low pay in our area we are paying for 5 contractors at three times the money, so thats PRIVATE sector companies taking from the public sector and it goes on all the time, big cash cow for a lot of companies local government, then they moan about having to pay tax on their income.

Then things get outsourced, for example security guards at the airport could earn 18 grand a year (woohoo), the security gets outsourced, they lose their pensions and other t and c's, they are either re hired on 12 grand or have to look elsewhere so people who were previsouls buying their own modest home ended up in council accomodation, now theres a big saving, I suspect some Business Consultant did some spreadsheets and saved a couple of hundred grand a year, a private company came in, either re hired existing staff as they had no choice or employed any old muppet to protect airline security.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Ps, got an interview tomorrow, contracting for local government, oh the irony !

Ninnybobs

I've worked in Local Government for the past 25 years and certainly havn't 'dossed' around like some people.

I work bloody hard for my money, normally putting in 50 hours a week (whilst only getting paid for 37 hours)

The only thing that I look forward to, is the day that I can retire with a reasonable pension. I have always maintained that I would retire after 40 years service at the age of 60. Now the B@stards are saying I can't.

It's my money I have paid in......... I want it when it suits me !!!!!!

Martin

mart360

and ive covered many of the professions mentioned in your post for bugger all money, it was my job... yet the council version got to go home on time enjoyed good holidays, were protected by a union, and worked religiously to rule!!!

people are generally acountable in private companys, local goverment, its a teflon coated who,s who!!

mart

LG John

I'm currently applying for a step up within another local authority and it will include longer hours, more responsibility and crucially - for me - a greater sense of ownership over my work which I feel has largely been part of the reason behind my 'apathy'.

My experience of LA's is that they can be quite backward. There are a few dinosaurs at the top and their old school, backward policies filter down. My boss for example is a control freak and everything that happens in the department filters through him. In many ways the staff under him feel like 'children' and with no sense of ownership or true sense of achievement it's hard to get motivated. This is why I'm looking to move to another LA and having talked to the previous post holder I know its more akin to private sector work.

I can understand why the attitudes towards public sector workers exist but not everyone is like that and even some of those that are don't want to be

Leslie

Its sounds to me that people are really fed up that the Government should renege on the original work contract. I don't find that surprising personally! Especially when you see the pension arrangements for our gallant leaders and also the money that they can claim for running their normal homes while they are in London. The fat controller apparently has has claimed some £70 K in a year for the running expenses of his home while he has a Grace and Favour apartment in Admiralty House!

I think its called "leading from the front"

Les