Civil servants vote for strike ballot over cuts

[Lokki 7]

BBC News - Civil servants vote for strike ballot over cuts

Do civil servants in this country live in a different reality from the rest of us mere mortals? Do they not read the papers or watch the news? Why should they be exempt from the tough economic conditions that the rest of us have to struggle with? Why should they be guaranteed jobs for life and bumper pension deals when the rest of us face job uncertainty and in most cases zero pension contributions from our employers? These pampered fuckers need a massive reality check. When they generate wealth for this country, maybe then they will be in a position to justify their unrealistic demands.

"Mr Serwotka urged his members to "fight like never before".
"National action with other unions is key to our strategy, which is designed to escalate and put pressure on the Government before it is too late," he said."

Too late for what exactly? Dragging you into the real world? Wanker.

 

[beorhthelm]

Do civil servants in this country live in a different reality from the rest of us mere mortals?

yes, yes they do.

 

[Acker79]

When you say most of us, are you including the tube drivers who strike to avoid cuts, and the airline staff who strike to avoid cuts and so on.

Just because they're civil servants should they not take issue with losing their jobs? If whatever industry you work in could have a strike to avoid cuts, would you not support it, would you take the job loss accept the loss of income because that's the way things are?

If you have an avenue to possibly keep your job, I reckon most people would take it when their job is threatened. That is the real world.

 

[Lincoln Imp]

You can't generalise too much and it is true that some public servants work harder, for less money, than private sector workers. But the facts don't lie - on average Public Sector workers have better working conditions, pay, job security (still) and (of course) pensions than their private sector neighbours. Whether or not the advantages can be described as 40 per cent - mentioned in the press last week - I don't know but it is a fair old whack and some of them don't appreciate it.

Cue endless posts about angelic nurses and poverty-stricken policemen...

 

[Rusthall Seagull]

When you say most of us, are you including the tube drivers who strike to avoid cuts, and the airline staff who strike to avoid cuts and so on.

Just because they're civil servants should they not take issue with losing their jobs? If whatever industry you work in could had a strike to avoid cuts, would you not support it, take the job loss accept the loss of income because that's the way things are?

If you have an avenue to possibly keep your job, most people would take it when their job is threatened. That is the real world.

The real world doesn't allow you to take sick leave for months on end, without there at least being some kind of assessment. The Civil Service world does.

 

[severnside gull]

I would love to think that a large proportion of the faceless administrators who propose this action would follow the miners and the car workers into oblivion but sadly it will be the nurses whose jobs will be cut while the penpushers continue to be massively profligate with public funds and successfully protective of their jobs and pensions.

 

[Acker79]

The real world doesn't allow you to take sick leave for months on end, without there at least being some kind of assessment. The Civil Service world does.

And? Does that mean they shouldn't take whatever action they legally can to protect their job, like anyone would? If "regular people" had these wonderful jobs, wouldn't they also fight to keep them?

Surely taking such efforts to protect their jobs is indicative that they are fully aware of what the "real world" is like and they want to avoid it.

 

[Seagull27]

My Mum works for the civil service, and she told me that the current government have (illegally) been trying to change the contracts of current workers, and I get the impression the unions/workers are pretty pissed off about that. No private business would ever be able to do that.

 

[Rusthall Seagull]

And? Does that mean they shouldn't take whatever action they legally can to protect their job, like anyone would? If "regular people" had these wonderful jobs, wouldn't they also fight to keep them?

Surely taking such efforts to protect their jobs is indicative that they are fully aware of what the "real world" is like and they want to avoid it.

I am fully aware of what the Civil Service are like. I would like to 'avoid' giving away millions of pounds of our tax money so they can have it easy.

 

[Acker79]

I am fully aware of what the Civil Service are like. I would like to 'avoid' giving away millions of pounds of our tax money so they can have it easy.

Are you having a different conversation to me?

 

[Dave the OAP]

BBC News - Civil servants vote for strike ballot over cuts

Do civil servants in this country live in a different reality from the rest of us mere mortals? Do they not read the papers or watch the news? Why should they be exempt from the tough economic conditions that the rest of us have to struggle with? Why should they be guaranteed jobs for life and bumper pension deals when the rest of us face job uncertainty and in most cases zero pension contributions from our employers? These pampered fuckers need a massive reality check. When they generate wealth for this country, maybe then they will be in a position to justify their unrealistic demands.

"Mr Serwotka urged his members to "fight like never before".
"National action with other unions is key to our strategy, which is designed to escalate and put pressure on the Government before it is too late," he said."

Too late for what exactly? Dragging you into the real world? Wanker.

Hnag on...if it wasn't for the likes of you and your speculating, we wouldnt need to be in the mess would we!

:hammer:

 

[Rusthall Seagull]

Are you having a different conversation to me?

most probably.

 

[Mammoth]

I have said this before, but most civil servants/ nhs staff/ police and armed forces pensions certainly are not 'bumper pensions'.

I am always amazed that people think they are such experts about the civil service that they think these positions could just be done away with.

Clearly Lokki 7 you are a hermit and do not need to benefit or have never benefited at all from security, healthcare, education, roads or a myriad of other services provided every day by employees of the state. Why else would you be calling these employees 'wankers'?. Are they wankers for worrying if they will have a job in six months? or if they have the budgets to look after old people in the community or fix the roads?

 

[DerbyGull]

The same wankers that moan about civil servants when they're in work are the same wankers that moan about them 'sponging of state' when the cuts result in them being out of work.

f*** OFF!!

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

How would you feel if had worked in the Civil Service for donkey's years knowing you could retire on a moderate pension then find out that you now have to stay on at work for an extra 6 years and when you do retire if you haven't been made redundant by then your pension has been reduced by a third ?

 

[sten_super]

The problem is that life is shite in the private sector. Earnings are not rising, inflation is over 4% and the economy (and therefore jobs) remain uncertain. What this government is doing is putting the public sector in the same position; while I don't want a 'race to the bottom' I do think a degree of sensible discussion is needed with regards to public sector reform, and unfortunately that is sadly lacking (from both sides).

 

[bhaexpress]

I've worked in various civil service departments over the years. For a start they are very union orientated to a point that it is very similar to that of tube and train drivers, dockers, miners and anybody else who thinks they can hold the country to ransom. It's fair to say that there are more than a few career personnel there. A lot of them seem to think that they are not subject to the financial restraints that workers in commerce are subject too, after all it's not their money or their livelihood that will be affected, or so many of them think. To be honest little short of murder will get you fired from the Civil Service. However you will have a nice fat pension to retire on. There's little in the way of incentive for staff that's true but neither is there any serious performance evaluation either. At a time when the country has to tighten it's belt why do they think they are any different ? I could be very tedious and mention just a few of the incidences of total jobworthiness I have experienced whilst working with them let alone as a tax payer but I would imagine most of us have some experience of this in any case.

They want to take industrial action ? For a lot of them merely trying to be industrious would be a good start.

 

[beorhthelm]

I have said this before, but most civil servants/ nhs staff/ police and armed forces pensions certainly are not 'bumper pensions'.

find out how much a typical prevate sector worker gets (assuming they even have a pension), compare, then come back. NHS, Police and Forces pensions are well desevered, but lets not pretend they are not very, very good. civil servant's are arguably undeserved: let them have the option of private sector pay rate and pension, see how many take it up.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Do civil servants in this country live in a different reality from the rest of us mere mortals? Do they not read the papers or watch the news? Why should they be exempt from the tough economic conditions that the rest of us have to struggle with? Why should they be guaranteed jobs for life and bumper pension deals when the rest of us face job uncertainty and in most cases zero pension contributions from our employers? These pampered fuckers need a massive reality check. When they generate wealth for this country, maybe then they will be in a position to justify their unrealistic demands.

They might not 'generate wealth for this country' in the way that you interpret it, but they sure as hell never brought about its complete financial collapse either.

Unless you live in a different reality from the rest of us, 'these people' educate your kids, police your streets, empty your bins. When you're eighty they'll be wiping your bum. In the main, they get paid a pittance for it. Like 'these people' in every Western country brought to the point of bankruptcy by stupid greedy spivs, they're not best pleased about it. They are worried about their jobs and keeping a roof over their family's heads. Why shouldn't they fight for that?

 

[Albion Rob]

The problem is that life is shite in the private sector. Earnings are not rising, inflation is over 4% and the economy (and therefore jobs) remain uncertain. What this government is doing is putting the public sector in the same position; while I don't want a 'race to the bottom' I do think a degree of sensible discussion is needed with regards to public sector reform, and unfortunately that is sadly lacking (from both sides).

Interesting point about the 'race to the bottom'. I know it's a could cuckoo assertion but would it not be better for everyone if the private sector lobbied harder for improved conditions rather than decrying the public sector and calling for their pay/benefits/job security to be slashed?

I'm not advocating a form of communism but when a company makes a multi-billion pound profit, would it hurt them to chuck £150m back into pension pots for their workers? Or maybe offer them a pay rise?

Public or private sector, it's worker being pitched against worker and while we all fight and squabble and try to justify ourselves while taking shots at the 'opposition' we're letting billionaire tax dodgers, corporate giants and the like bend us over and stick their gold-plated willies up our bottoms.

Life is pretty crap at the moment for those of us at the bottom, public or private sector, so the best way for us to be kept quiet is for us to be turned against each other. Not that this is a new thing of course.