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Ron Brind Posts: 19041 Joined: 26th Oct 2003 Location: England | quotePosted at 09:30 on 19th June 2011 In theory we all work our backsides off to get a better standard of living and a better pension for when the time comes. So why should Civil Servants (who generally start work at 9 am, finish at 4 pm with a lunchbreak) expect to get a bigger pension than the rest of us? I say NEVER, NEVER, NEVER! And if you want to go on strike in a couple of weeks time, then do so. When you get back to work things will be exactly the same, and you will have lost a days pay that you can never regain. Go ahead STRIKE fools!
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| Ron Brind Posts: 19041 Joined: 26th Oct 2003 Location: England | quotePosted at 23:22 on 30th June 2011 Didn't get a single response, does that mean that POE is made up of Civil Servants? lol Bottom line is that if they continue with their strikes, the UK will end up like Greece and THEN you will have something to bellyache about! Get real Civil Servants, ask yourselves why you should get more than the Private Sector, you'll be unable to justify it so shut up, go back to work and give us all a break. Remember, the money you lose striking will NEVER be made up. I also happened to notice via the television news that the 'worried' strikers were all smiling, laughing and joking with each other as they marched! Hmmmn... |
Brenda Harvey Posts: 297 Joined: 28th Mar 2011 Location: USA | quotePosted at 05:16 on 2nd July 2011 I did read your post, Ron, and wondered what is going on in England with the strikes and who the civil servants are who are striking, what types of positions they hold. See, I was a civil servant for the Commonwealth of PA for 27 years here in the States. I worked for the PA State Parole Board, 18 years in the field office and the last 9 in the state correctional institution (No, not as an inmate although sometimes I felt like one). For my job, I had to test and be in the top 3 on the civil service list to get hired originally, however, there are also some civil service positions, particularly those who work for county government, who are hired through patronage or nepotism. There are a lot of people here who feel as you do that civil servants have cushy jobs with big salaries and while that is probably true in some cases, as it is in the private sector as well, I worked a full day and worked very hard at my job. It was a particularly stressful position working inside a correctional facility. We were "locked up" for the day just like the inmates were. Our benefits were good and I was fortunate to have them. We never went on strike while I was working. Several states in the US lately, though, have had strikes going on and there's been an anti union sentiment becoming more prevalent. I'd be curious to know how things work in Britain. I have no idea if it's similar, different or even if your workers are unionized. I'd love to have you tell me. |
| Ron Brind Posts: 19041 Joined: 26th Oct 2003 Location: England | quotePosted at 13:25 on 2nd July 2011 Hi Brenda. Basically anyone employed by the Local Authorities, Councils etc are considered 'Civil Servants'. From those who pay out Government benefits/pensions to millions, to Pest Control Officers, Teachers, Prison Wardens etc. The list is endless! That said, the private sector is beginning to take over some of the jobs so who knows where it will end up? It's a hot potato thats for sure, and I have only scratched the surface here, but I just don't see why we tax payers should have to support Civil Servants when their 'lifestyle' (hours worked daily) is so much better than 'Mr Average' who works his backside off and gets nowhere! Unions in my opinion (and yes they are powerful in numbers) are a complete waste of time because of their one man, one job policy. What the employer needs is a member of staff who will turn his/her hand to anything, thus avoiding having to employ unnecessary additional staff, thus making the company profitable to pay the taxman, to give us all a decent living. I say let the Civil Servants continue to strike, don't give in to them in any way whatsoever, and when at given time they refuse to go back to work, dismiss them! Then fill their jobs with people who will work for what the Civil Servants are getting today, regardless of how much they will receive in pensions. |
Paul Hilton  Posts: 2605 Joined: 21st Nov 2004 Location: UK | quotePosted at 13:34 on 2nd July 2011 I was just going to add for Brenda that the main issue at the monent is Pensions. After 19 years when i left my firm that had a Final Salary pension scheme where you had to pay more and more for less and less. So, when i left, I took my pension out and also drew it as well, early. !9 years service of paying thousands into a pension plan has paid out peanuts, and is taxable to boot at 20% as I'm still working. For Brenda, here's who is moaning about what......... |
| Ron Brind Posts: 19041 Joined: 26th Oct 2003 Location: England | quotePosted at 13:36 on 2nd July 2011 Thanks for that Paul. |
| Paul Hilton Posts: 2605 Joined: 21st Nov 2004 Location: UK | quotePosted at 13:50 on 2nd July 2011 Our local paper reporting on the schools that were closed because of the strikes began the story with----children loose a day's education. The paper didn't seem very concerned that in April, schools were closed for 3 weeks; they went back to school for 3 weeks then had another week off. So, schools being closed for 4 weeks out of 8 for these two months wasn't an issue. Children loosing 5 hours education in one day apparently now is an issue to headline the story with. |
| Paul Hilton Posts: 2605 Joined: 21st Nov 2004 Location: UK | quotePosted at 14:35 on 2nd July 2011 And both Labour and Conservativ governments love pension funds too; there wasGordon Brown's £5 billion raid on pension companies a few years ago. Thatcher's Conservative government was a bit more sublte during her Privatisation years of the mid-1980s. When the National Bus Company was privatised--which made a few people extremely wealthy and probably why 18 of the 22 train operating companies are now owned by bus groups formed after privatisation---what wasn't privatised was the NBC pension fund; indeed it just seemed to vanish ( into government coffers). Strangley, it took ages for anyone to realise what had happened and the Conservatives weren't giving it back when they got found out. After years of wrangling it finally ended up the the High Court where the outcome was the government had to hand back the pension fund they had made disappear. |
| Brenda Harvey Posts: 297 Joined: 28th Mar 2011 Location: USA | quotePosted at 06:14 on 3rd July 2011 Thanks for the information, guys, and Paul for the link. It's interesting to see what's going on. One of our states just shut down the state government due to worker strikes and lack of a budget. We'll see what happens with that. In Pennsylvania, the union has made quite a few concessions and new employees are no longer getting the benefits that employees used to get and they pay more in to have the ones they do keep. I can see both sides of the issue, but it's a tough one. |
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