Public Sector Strikes

[L00b]

I hadn't been aware that I had narrowed the field of the workers contribution to only their remuneration.

That's not surprising, since that is not what I said

I wondered more broadly about the overall contribution our mythical public sector worker might make to society.

And I queried the extent to which, in the context of public service salaries (Cyclone's post), one (example) public sector worker might contribute more (or less) to society than another (example) public sector worker (your reply post to Cyclone), with both (example) public sector workers at substantially the same cost the taxpayer.

[ChrisT70]

having to laugh at the amount of people quoting the rubbish often spouted in the daily mail etc about private sector supporting and adding to the economy as tho there is no need whatsoever for a public sector as they dont "create wealth"

lets see how a privatised fire service responds to calls, or how private police/security deal with burglaries, or a private health care supports you when you are ill, at no additional cost to you other than your taxes, while still having to make a profit to satisfy shareholders.

[Tomataheeed]

It’s a reasonable assumption that Cynic’s company is struggling if it hasn’t given its employees a pay rise in the past five years, yes his employer could just be greedy and don’t want to give him a pay rise despite making millions.

I haven’t given myself a pay rise for years despite my costs increasing, because I would become uncompetitive and ultimately become unemployed.

 

Thats not a fair assumption.

 

My company made $25Billion in profit last year....yep Billion, not million. And we've not had payrises for ages. We're also having jobs shifted to India to maintain the same profit margin on deals. We're "having" to do it allegedly because the deal with the government we made on this contract gives the gov the same service for a lot less money. Greed?

[Tomataheeed]

Anyone else here the interview this morning with Evan Davis, Mark Sewotka and Francis Maude? I don't especially like Sewotka, sounds like an idiot most of the time, but he was right about the defecit projections in the Huton report, and Maude was all over the place...

[sharrowman]

If private sector colleagues think public sector employees have it better - how come they are bad mouthing here and not getting themselves set up with a cushy number in the town hall?

[Cyclone]

having to laugh at the amount of people quoting the rubbish often spouted in the daily mail etc about private sector supporting and adding to the economy as tho there is no need whatsoever for a public sector as they dont "create wealth"

lets see how a privatised fire service responds to calls, or how private police/security deal with burglaries, or a private health care supports you when you are ill, at no additional cost to you other than your taxes, while still having to make a profit to satisfy shareholders.

 

Nobody has suggested that the private sector should perform every function of governement or that there aren't tasks which are better suited to management by government... So who are you laughing at?

[Cyclone]

"they're a net cost, they can never be anything else"

 

Cyclone, you're being silly now. The public sector is a hugely varied employer of workers in many roles. Some of which I am sure I would agree could be seen as frivolous. Many of which will serve vital functions in society.

 

What cost rubbish piling up in the street? What cost protection from fire? etc etc etc

 

In purely fiscal terms, without considering whether the benefit is greater than the cost or not, they are purely a net cost. A teacher generates no wealth (directly) for the country, nor does a nurse, or indeed an MP.

 

Which doesn't mean that I'm saying that they don't perform vital roles, they do, and it's right that we pay for these roles to be filled and when we get it right the cost to the taxpayer is no more than equal to the value that they add (in non fiscal terms).

[L00b]

If private sector colleagues think public sector employees have it better - how come they are bad mouthing here and not getting themselves set up with a cushy number in the town hall?

Because some (not many, granted) believe that there needs to be enough of a healthy private sector to pay for the public services that we value and enjoy. I do.

 

Noone has ever heard me moan about the level of taxation, direct or indirect, in the UK.

 

But there is plenty to gripe about how tax revenue has been (mis)spent, for a good while now, and how there is little to no accountability in the public sector for that.

 

The point at which the equilibrium breaks (insufficient current tax income to pay for current public services), which was reached in Greece a good while back, is the point of no return, at which there isn't even any point in having the present discussion at all.

 

Private vs public sector arguments are, by and large, redundant and comparisons essentially worthless, because fully equivalent jobs in both sectors (on which to base a fair comparison) are so rare as to be statistically irrelevant. The issue, so far as I'm concerned, is simply one of value for money. Essentially, what Cyclone referred to in the above post.

[Oddgitt]

WHo do you reckon my office should send the bill to for all the hours we've not been able to get any work done today due to the noise and terrible singing outside?

 

Funny that the public sector are whinging about final salary pensions that the private sector are funding, when theirs (mine!!) has been stopped, with no recourse for action?

 

Pathetic. We're broke.

 

What I wouldn't give for a water cannon full of manure.

[Mecky]

WHo do you reckon my office should send the bill to for all the hours we've not been able to get any work done today due to the noise and terrible singing outside?

 

Funny that the public sector are whinging about final salary pensions that the private sector are funding, when theirs (mine!!) has been stopped, with no recourse for action?

 

Pathetic. We're broke.

 

What I wouldn't give for a water cannon full of manure.

 

Calm down dear