Crunch time for council workers’ golden pensions

bendix

The_White_Horse wrote: »

this is a disgrace!!!

http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/job/902510/head-of-equality-and-diversity/

this is for a fire service in derby!!!! !!!!!!. the country is insane!

Oh but White Horse, it's really important to the people who's houses are burning down that amongst the firepersons who turn up to put out the inferno there is at least 2 black guys, a chinese woman, a Muslim, three sikhs, two lesbians, one transexual mexican and a guy with no legs.

Surely you can see the sense in that, can't you?

It's only fair, after all.

SuzieSue

bendix wrote: »

Oh but White Horse, it's really important to the people who's houses are burning down that amongst the firepersons who turn up to put out the inferno there is at least 2 black guys, a chinese woman, a Muslim, three sikhs, two lesbians, one transexual mexican and a guy with no legs.

Surely you can see the sense in that, can't you?

It's only fair, after all.

This is exactly why we, as a country, are bankrupt.

mewbie_2

bendix wrote: »

Oh but White Horse, it's really important to the people who's houses are burning down that amongst the firepersons who turn up to put out the inferno there is at least 2 black guys, a chinese woman, a Muslim, three sikhs, two lesbians, one transexual mexican and a guy with no legs.

Wow, you've come up with quite a list there. Off the top of your head was it, or did it take a while?

movingforward2010

mmmmmmmmm if theres a gang of hot lesbians in the fire service, im setting a fire right now:p

bumpoowee

SuzieSue wrote: »

...nurses are grossly underpaid.

We keep hearing this but I don't buy it.. looking quickly on the NHS site, most non-managerial nurses jobs pay around £30k and the higher ranking ones are up to £45k. In addition to the other NHS worker's perks I'd say this is on the generous side for what is essentially an unskilled job.

Sure it may not be the most pleasant work (although I'll bet some people love it), but neither is flipping burgers, which will pay NMW. It also may be an essential job, but so is street sweeping, which pays very little. You may have to deal with abusive people from time to time, but working on a complaints line in a call centre will be much worse.

On what basis should nurses all be earning £50k+ ?

carolt

SuzieSue wrote: »

Don't those figures tell you everything you need to know about the dire state of our education system - probably fewer than 1% of the population goes to a private school, but they dominate the league tables.

Actually, about 7% of pupils are educated privately.

But that figure would be 0% if they couldn't produce better results than some state schools.

The fact is, private education produces significantly worse results, on average, than grammar schools.

What's your take on that, SuzieSue?

bumpoowee

wxmlad wrote: »

mmmmmmmmm if theres a gang of hot lesbians in the fire service, im setting a fire right now:p

they may be hot due to the proximity to fires but they won't be good looking!

SuzieSue

carolt wrote: »

Actually, about 7% of pupils are educated privately.

But that figure would be 0% if they couldn't produce better results than some state schools.

The fact is, private education produces significantly worse results, on average, than grammar schools.

What's your take on that, SuzieSue?

I think we should bring back grammer schools and then we wouldn't need private schools. If we had kept the system as it was in the 60s and 70s, the grammar schools would have excelled (motivated parents and motivated pupils) and we could have concentrated all our efforts on the failing schools. As it is now, the resources have to be spread so thinly that everyone loses.

SuzieSue

bumpoowee wrote: »

We keep hearing this but I don't buy it.. looking quickly on the NHS site, most non-managerial nurses jobs pay around £30k and the higher ranking ones are up to £45k. In addition to the other NHS worker's perks I'd say this is on the generous side for what is essentially an unskilled job.

Sure it may not be the most pleasant work (although I'll bet some people love it), but neither is flipping burgers, which will pay NMW. It also may be an essential job, but so is street sweeping, which pays very little. You may have to deal with abusive people from time to time, but working on a complaints line in a call centre will be much worse.

On what basis should nurses all be earning £50k+ ?

How much do paramedics earn?

donaldtramp

CarolT,

Unfortunately, you don't really answer my question. You moan a lot (again) about how unjustifiably overpaid and cushy you believe jobs in the public sector to be, but avoid mentioning your preferred solution.

Is it - by implication - that you think these jobs should all be privatised?

Or is it - again I'm having to try to read between the lines here - that you think that these jobs (or at least the "worthwhile" ones, to use your phrase) should remain in the public sector, but be paid less, and decent pensions removed?

If it's the former, I'd like to hear how you perceive this working and where accountability would come from.

If it's the latter, who exactly do you think will do these jobs on vastly less pay, with rubbish pensions, when they can earn far more in the private sector. Why would a graduate with a good degree spend a further year training to be a teacher, for example, when they can earn vastly more in the private sector? How many doctors would bother working for the NHS? etc etc.

You get what you pay for.

Is it - by implication - that you think these jobs should all be privatised?

No, I think half of these jobs shouldn't even exist in the first place. We now have a public sector workforce that compares with Eastern Europe before the wall came down.
Brown has taxed and taxed and taxed and employed huge numbers of people in the public sector. We were doing OK before he went on this massive increase in Health and safety, government control and "tax credits" in which a huge proportion of the money is taken up in administration and the jobs created to administer them.

should remain in the public sector, but be paid less, and decent pensions removed?
DECENT PENSIONS? Have you read this thread? It should be robbing, thieving public sector pensions.
They should put their pension in the stock market and take the same risks as the rest of us. The government guarantee must (and it will;)) be taken away.

If it's the former, I'd like to hear how you perceive this working and where accountability would come from.
I refer you back to my answer in which I explain why the state must be cut right back. This socialist experiment has failed massively If you don't understand the difference between Socialist control governments and Conservative smaller state governance, look it up. I don't have time to educate you.

Why would a graduate with a good degree spend a further year training to be a teacher, for example, when they can earn vastly more in the private sector? How many doctors would bother working for the NHS? etc etc.

I'm sick of people using cuddly jobs like teachers, nurses etc etc to defend the WHOLE public sector.
I keep hearing from the teachers and others on here that they "do it to make a difference". If truly so, and they are not hiding from the nasty real world. Stop moaning about it. I don't really care either way.
Don't even bring doctors pay into this after the HUGE settlement Clown gave them. GPs get paid far too much.

Anyhoo, Don't worry about it. You're going to learn all about what is going to happen to the public sector over the coming decade. Whoever is in charge is going to be forced into giving them a massive kicking in employment terms, financial terms and pension arrangements.
Sit back and learn;)


You get what you pay for

No that's the whole problem. On the whole, OTHER people get what I PAY for.