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yes

14 (30.4%)

no

29 (63%)

undecided

3 (6.5%)

Total Members Voted: 38

Voting closed: 29 November 2011, 19:36:51

[cem_devecioglu]

Sack the strikers.

I'm afraid that many in the public sector have had it so good for so long (on pensions) that they find it very difficult to accept what most of those in the private sector have had to tolerate in the last 15yrs.

So I do feel for them, but do believe they need to understand that the current pension arrangements are unsustainable. To be honest, even the proposed arrangements, that the strike is over, is unsustainable, and still represents an excellent pension scheme.


Despite me (and my company) paying in several thousand pounds this year, my pension pot is 2 grand less than it was this time last year  . Thats a reality check, maybe our public sector need that

I'm a public sector worker and your wright  we got a better pension until that wa*kstain clegg got his hands on it to pay for roads and railways (£20 billion)
The public sector were paid less than private  sector workers doing the same or similar jobs but we(public sector) got a better pension than the private to compensate.
So before all you do-gooders jump on the band wagon slating us what if your pension company said 'screw you' were cutting your pension Oh and you'll pay more what would YOU do.Ive not had a pay rise in the last three years but the cheif execs/councilers in most councils gave themselves a 12% rise

I well remember the ltter from my employer several years ago when the govt wrecked private pension schemes. "The company pension scheme has been closed with immediate effect.your accrued pension entitlement will be transferred to a personal pension plan of your choice.The company will be glad to offer advice if required". Thats how it works in the real world Im afraid.
Pay rise - whats one of those ?
Bottom line - you need to make the connection between what you hope to recieve and where the money will come from.The country is in deep financial trouble, the private sector (whose taxes pay for the public sector) has shrunk drastically,the public sector has grown dramatically, and retired people are living longer than they used to.
I know its hard to swallow if your directly affected,but thats the reality were living in unfortunately.

I have a solution 

[cem_devecioglu]

Some interesting, if not rather one sided views here, and as I don't do political arguments I just want to make a couple of comments, as a public sector worker.....I am NOT trying to score or even make a point, just a ramble, you have been warned......

I have worked both sides of the fence, worked in, Military, sales and industrial and even done some driving, HGV and PSV over the years.
Moved into the public sector in 1987 going from Private company, private medical treatment, non contributory pension, company car and expenses, earning £9k basic up to about £12k with commission   I got fed up with sales, I earned more than the sales manager and had to work harder each year to stand still, nothing wrong with that but, found myself working all hours, as indeed many people do today....

In 1987, out of the blue an opportunity came my way to work in a 'vocational' way but meant a drop of everything and a salary of £5k I was lucky enough to be able to do this, taking on driving work to help pay the bills. Over the years I have developed, trained and went to University aged 39 to get the qualifications for the Job I now do.......I recently got a promotion which gave me an extra £800 per year, other than this I was getting paid the same in 2004 as I was to a few months ago, we have also seen a £1200 net pay cut over the last 3 years, in stages ending in march next year.......... There are few private sector Job that carry the same responsibilities and risk balancing that I do on a daily basis, those that are available, pay considerably more, I could walk into one of these Jobs tomorrow, I choose not to because of the security and benefits I have as a public sector worker.

There are times when I want to have a moan and a groan, feel over worked and put upon by management, but I remember having those complaints in the private sector.......

On the whole do I love my Job, despite being shat upon at times.....YES

Am I on strike? NO

Our bins will not be emptied tomorrow, I can live with that, what is forgotten on here, unless there is a nice juicy story is, the less obvious, but essential, work that is done by public service workers to provide essential services that some on oof would complain about if they were not available, and that my friends is fact....

yes

[Varche]

I read today that a lot of public sector workers in Spain had had a 15% pay cut as part of the austerity measures (that was implemented by the outgoing labour government.  I wonder how that would go down in Britain?. The politicians could lead the way with their gold plated pensions and pay.

This topic seems to have polarised into "private sector paying for public sector" and yet it is a truth that all workers in both sectors among many other things pay for the publkic sector.

[Marks DTM Calib]

We all pay for the public sector, nothing is free.

|Reality of it is we have a huge debt which has to be serviced, there are few options for this. One is to tax us all more (not a good thing at the moment), the other is to cut costs (given the increase in public sector jobs in the last 15 years and the increased cost of them I feel there is room here to do something).

The thing realy grates to me is the reality that we are ALL facing ahrdship, I myself had effectively a 20% paycut last year and no rise since, in fact during the 00's I only had 4 pay rises.

I am willing to accept cuts and impacts on myself but there are some (and its only a few looking at turnout figures for the strike polls) that are just to bloody minded and selfish.

Thankfuly, the school my children go to is still open as normal .

The terms of these pensions have not changed in decades despite the reality of the changes in the life span of the individuals, that has to change, its totaly impossible to ignore this FACT.

 

[STMO123]

They changed in 2008 actually

[cem_devecioglu]

We all pay for the public sector, nothing is free.

|Reality of it is we have a huge debt which has to be serviced, there are few options for this. One is to tax us all more (not a good thing at the moment), the other is to cut costs (given the increase in public sector jobs in the last 15 years and the increased cost of them I feel there is room here to do something).

The thing realy grates to me is the reality that we are ALL facing ahrdship, I myself had effectively a 20% paycut last year and no rise since, in fact during the 00's I only had 4 pay rises.

I am willing to accept cuts and impacts on myself but there are some (and its only a few looking at turnout figures for the strike polls) that are just to bloody minded and selfish.

Thankfuly, the school my children go to is still open as normal .

The terms of these pensions have not changed in decades despite the reality of the changes in the life span of the individuals, that has to change, its totaly impossible to ignore this FACT.

Mr DTM, you, as a good citizen ready for some sacrifice.. thats ok.. but if you analyse the money spend by the previous and current govts , you will see some people dont sacrifice anything , instead they earn more from govt..  same is true for here and there..

[cem_devecioglu]

instead I would expect people analyse where this debit came from..

[Nickbat]

Just looked at the Heathrow departures board and it would appear that there are no delays of any significance. What happened to the 12-hour delays? Maybe they're just letting everybody in with a wave of the hand...

[mantahatch]

Just looked at the Heathrow departures board and it would appear that there are no delays of any significance. What happened to the 12-hour delays? Maybe they're just letting everybody in with a wave of the hand...

Nothing new there then 

[Kevin Wood]

The thing realy grates to me is the reality that we are ALL facing ahrdship, I myself had effectively a 20% paycut last year and no rise since, in fact during the 00's I only had 4 pay rises.

Yep. me too. Been paid for a 4 day week since all this began, just been working a 5 day week.

Alternative would probably have been no job at all.

The public sector moan about pay rises as soon as they drop below a couple of % above inflation - well, a 20% cut plus what inflation has done to it will take some clawing back.

[Vamps]

Forget what the news says, in the Local Authority I work in much was running as normal, certainly other departments that I needed to contact were open, I drove past the main central office on the way in today and only 3 pickets, I felt sorry for them so gave them a toot and a wave....
The 'courier' came as usual and said that only 2 smaller buildings were closed, ......

It has been a quiet day in the office and I was able to catch up with all sorts of things whilst waiting for that 'blue light' call that never came.......

[Andy B]

......

Yep. me too. Been paid for a 4 day week since all this began, just been working a 5 day week.

Alternative would probably have been no job at all. .......

No idea at what you do for a living, but at what point do you tell your boss he's taking p1$$? 3 & half days pay for a 5 day week, 3 days or even 2 & half days pay?

 I take it you're not a member of 'a bullying union' (ref another striking topic)

[tunnie]

Just looked at the Heathrow departures board and it would appear that there are no delays of any significance. What happened to the 12-hour delays? Maybe they're just letting everybody in with a wave of the hand...

Either way I'm happy, no knock on effects. Cameron was right, was a bit of a "damp squid"

[aaronjb]

No idea at what you do for a living, but at what point do you tell your boss he's taking p1$$? 3 & half days pay for a 5 day week, 3 days or even 2 & half days pay?

Probably at the point you can find a job elsewhere with better conditions..

[STMO123]

Just looked at the Heathrow departures board and it would appear that there are no delays of any significance. What happened to the 12-hour delays? Maybe they're just letting everybody in with a wave of the hand...

Either way I'm happy, no knock on effects. Cameron was right, was a bit of a "damp squid"

Most squids are damp, they live in the sea   

Now sqibs......they're a different cuttle of fish