Council strike: support it or not?

Plasticman

IvanOpinion wrote:

This is the point .. 5% does not cut it .. it is not going to provide enough. The advice I am getting is somewhere between 15-20% (although I am half way through my working life). None of us can guarantee that there is going to be a state pension when we retire .. yet we still have to pay into it.

People must be given credit for the proportion of their working life that they have been contributing into a scheme... but the rules need to change and the sooner the better. People striking demanding this that and the other is not going to pay the pension scheme ... putting more money aside will ... by all means strike .. it is time that the deadwood was cut out of the civil service (after all it wastes up to 70% of every penny it is given ... according to its own audit office).

Ivan

I believe that it is actually 6% but I agree that it probably needs to be higher. Even the unions agree that the rules should be changed - but for new people entering the scheme, not those who have paid in and were promised retirement at 60. The comments earlier in this thread don't seem to indicate that the pension schemes concerned are struggling for funds - if they are then maybe it's related to the fact that Gordon Brown raided them in the same way as he did with private pensions.


For info Ivan, I don't think that people in the civil service went on strike - they have already been told that these changes won't apply to them. Surprise :rolleyes:

m2712s

yes the council strike is valid . i myself work for a local council collecting rubbish . how many off the objecters are willing to walk the streets at 60pluse walking appox 15 miles a day in all weathers and working bank holidays for £250.00 pw out of that is stoppages and £15.00pw pension contributions .i know we have choices but some body has to do the job .to put it the council is at the bottom of the food chain so we are first to be picked on . next it will be the health workers pension and so on . ido not see westminster saying lets sort out our pension no you will not. at the end off the day we are paying for there retirement and it is twenty fold to what local goverment get plus my contributions go in the same pot as theres

Snapelover

I have actually paid into a local government pension but haven't worked since 1993 so my money is lying in wait for me. I was led to believe that I would be entitled to it when I was 60 so I don't blame the current workers who are still paying into it under the conditions that they could retire at 60.
However, from another point of view, we missed having our green general household rubbish wheelie bin emptied because of the strike and, as our green and blue (recycled waste) bins are emptied every other week, we now have to wait another two weeks for our green bin to be emptied and that is NOT healthy. We have been told we can take it to a local waste site if we want!!! I pay full council tax (26% of which, apparently goes towards staff pensions) so why should I have to do that!

s66blade

You want to work for a Local Authority - apply.

You don't - apply in the private sector.

However, if your employer decides to change your terms and conditions on something as important as your pension during your working life you are entitled to be annoyed about it and express your annoyance anyway (legally) you like.

Private sector workers have the RIGHT to join a union as much as anyone else - many choose not to - if you don't, don't expect any sympathy when your employer messes you about and no one listens to you.

Private sector workers can also choose their pension scheme and how much to put into it same as everyone else.
Don't mention "paying their wages" as ALL LA employees have to pay council tax which means they are paying contributions towards THEIR OWN WAGES as well as getting taxed on everything else.

ethika

I have no sympathy for the striking council workers.
Many employers have made unilateral decisions regarding pensions and pension funds, often leaving employees with little or no pension, e.g. ex Maxwell employees.
At least council employees will have their pensions at age 65.
I am over 60, old enough to be in the position of having worked for several companies, contributed to their pensions, then not allowed to contribute after I left, nor carry the pension to my new employer. I have been trying to get a job for a couple of years - I get on short lists, even get interviews, am praised for my experience, knowledge and innovative ideas - but as soon as my age comes up - suddenly the opportunity disappears out of the window.
They should count themselves lucky they can work till they are 65. :mad:

m2712s

ducatiman wrote:

I will absolutely not support these selfish b**stards. I'm fed up of Council Workers etc... disrupting my life because they are not happy about decisions made from above. How would they feel if their rubbish didn't get collected or they couldn't get to work just because I was unhappy about a decision my boss made! If they don't like it, get another job, they're just a bunch of layabouts anyway, looking for any excuse to walk out on strike to have another day off.

bunch of layabouts a fat boy come and work with me for a day on the bins if you can manage it .

claireak1

The strike is not about protecting the status quo of the pension scheme, but about protecting it for people who are already contributing to the scheme.

It is not about complaining about having to work longer or contribute more

The action is on behalf of those currently in the scheme, for whom all their financial planning has been based upon the existing conditions, and therefore may not have adequate time left to make compensatory alternative provisions.

You have to plan for your retirement, and changes such as these make this is extremely difficult.

The action has been taken to protect those already in this pension scheme - to protect what they signed up for and what they have based important life decisions around.

Please do not assume the motivation is based on either laziness or unecessary greed.

Somerset

claireak1 wrote:

The action is on behalf of those currently in the scheme, for whom all their financial planning has been based upon the existing conditions, and therefore may not have adequate time left to make compensatory alternative rovisions.

You have to plan for your retirement, and changes such as these make this is extremely difficult.

The action has been taken to protect those already in this pension scheme - to protect what they signed up for and what they have based important life decisions around.
.

Join the club ! I don't disagree with any of the above, but the reason there isn't much support for these strikes, is because everybody in the private sector is equally in the same boat. Do you think the above doesn't apply to a bus driver working for a private bus company or a Tesco shelf stacker ??? While we're told we HAVE to adjust our expectations - there'll be no support for government workers who refuse to adjust theirs.

Snapelover

But why do I now have to wait a total of four weeks until my household rubbish bin is emptied?

m2712s - do you think that I should have to put up with that when paying over £800 per year in Council Tax?

m2712s

not all councils are the same you voted for your local councilers
you reap what you sow. in the end they decide how it is run.
my coucil tax bill has only risen £20 this year . and the price to pay a once a fortnight rubbish collection a small price.