civil servants strike 9th March

nikki1520

Wig wrote: »

When you go on strike you are supposed to go to work and stand outside in a large crowd to show unity and strength, you're not supposed to stay in bed and watch TV whilst leaving the few strikers who know how to strike properly, to despair at the low turnout on the picket line.

The rally wans't until lunchtime - I was having a bit of a lie in, if that's ok?

red_devil

anyone know anymore i think you just have to see on the day.

Misshomme

kindofagilr wrote: »

The staff who work at AO level and less (sometimes EO) are not overpaid, its insane how long you have to have worked therejust to move up the payscale slightly!

Agreed!! I worked as an AO for years and just before I left they moved the pay scale backwards so my wage was as much as someone who had just started.

gingerdad

kindofagilr wrote: »

How about instead of hating on us you join us if you think we have it that easy.

I have worked for the DWP for 12 years and am only on 16k a year (when I first started it was 12k) a 4k increase in 12 years isnt exactly great.

No thanks, would rather do what i do and enjoy... I hate the civil service not through the papers just through my endless, meaningless dealings with them on a day to day basis, just this morning had a phone call from someone at JCP who was unable to read the answer to a qestion in an e-mail and needed to phone....

I'm sure there are plenty of good civil servants, i have just failed to meet many....

Wig

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

No, actually - there are rules about this sort of thing.

Here's a quote from the direct.gov website:

"Normally there should be no more than six pickets outside an entrance. This is the maximum number recommended in the Code of Practice on picketing."

Bunkum,

No-ones talking about stopping access to an entrance, there's nothing (usually) to stop you going to walk up and down the pavement outside, and in this example most DWP sites have carparks along side where the strikers can congregate well away from any entrances.

FATBALLZ

All they ever prove with these strikes is how little anybody notices when they don't go to work. I'd be pleased if they went on permanent strike. Still, 2 days wages saved, result for the taxpayer.

tcr_3

Ask yourselves why we're striking.

Management are cutting the payouts on redundancy payments. They're not just tweaking about with our terms & conditions because they've nothing better to do, they're cutting them because the government is skint and they're going to close even more offices and pay the staff off.

That means you might end up having to travel another 10 miles to sign on, it might mean you'll never get through on the phone when you query your entitlements or apply for benefit.

So if you think the service is bad now, just re-visit this thread in a few years time.

As to the wages etc, I'm in the job at AO grade and I'm on £17k pa. My take home pay is approx £1050 pcm.

My mate, he's on JSA (£280 pcm), he gets his rent paid in full (£375 pcm), free council tax (£100 pcm) plus all the rest of the little freebies ... total £755.

The difference between the two, £295 pcm is how better off I am for working a 42 hour week in a job many of you couldn't even contemplate, where you've got to have the mind of a Philadelphia lawyer to navigate the complexities of legislation and ridiculous procedure combined with diplomatic skills of the FCO's finest ... all that for a measly £295. I haven't even factored in the £120 pcm in petrol costs just to get to & from work, costs he doesn't have.

And each year we get our pay rises kept way down, often the % increase is less than benefit uprating so the differential for working for DWP gets smaller each year.

It's a bloody joke.

dblue75

Erm......think you will find Civil Servants pay tax also....SHOCKER !!!!! eh !!!

They are vastly understaffed where they are needed most....most are on low incomes.....NOT the high earners the papers and TV go on about SHOCKER !!!!

Get a grip guys..no doubt there are wasters in the Civil Service....most likely on a par with every other job out there.

But hey HO !!! believe the papers/tv etc...and if you re gna moan about how crap they are at their job...blame the government...Reason: hiring casual staff..poorly training them...demanding they do a job that 3/4 people previously did.

Oooooops....thats right......lack of training.....poorly paid staff.....undue pressures...S*!% wage rises, taking crap off customers (threats and abuse)the list goes on.....

But its ok...as long as you get to watch your daily fix Jeremy Kyle and your JSA whats to worry about.

And when you do sack them all or make them redundant...how you gna get your FREE money !!! that makes this country soooo appealing....

GREAT BRITAIN ???? Hmmmmm...think again.

FATBALLZ

tcr wrote: »

Ask yourselves why we're striking.

Management are cutting the payouts on redundancy payments. They're not just tweaking about with our terms & conditions because they've nothing better to do, they're cutting them because the government is skint and they're going to close even more offices and pay the staff off.

That means you might end up having to travel another 10 miles to sign on, it might mean you'll never get through on the phone when you query your entitlements or apply for benefit.

So if you think the service is bad now, just re-visit this thread in a few years time.

As to the wages etc, I'm in the job at AO grade and I'm on £17k pa. My take home pay is approx £1050 pcm.

My mate, he's on JSA (£280 pcm), he gets his rent paid in full (£375 pcm), free council tax (£100 pcm) plus all the rest of the little freebies ... total £755.

The difference between the two, £295 pcm is how better off I am for working a 42 hour week in a job many of you couldn't even contemplate, where you've got to have the mind of a Philadelphia lawyer to navigate the complexities of legislation and ridiculous procedure combined with diplomatic skills of the FCO's finest ... all that for a measly £295. I haven't even factored in the £120 pcm in petrol costs just to get to & from work, costs he doesn't have.

And each year we get our pay rises kept way down, often the % increase is less than benefit uprating so the differential for working for DWP gets smaller each year.

It's a bloody joke.

Don't get me wrong, people who don't even bother to find employment even though they have no proper excuse not to are low lives and need sorting out, but thats another story. Most people get little or no pay rise each year, and many are taking pay cuts - public sector are not a special case.

My pay is crap for my skills, and I could get 25% increase if I got another job - which is what I intend to do once my share options pay out. Have you considered getting another job - surely if your skills warrant better treatment you shouldn't have too much trouble? Got to be better than throwing your toys out of the pram and staying in a job where you are undervalued?

Tobiwan_Kenobi

Back on the subject of the strike... I think you will be fine for appointments at most JCPs on Monday and Tuesday. It is estimated just 1 in 10 DWP employees actually voted for the strike, so there should still be many of us carrying out business as usual.

Personally I was in work today and will be next Saturday despite being a useless Civil Servant who doesn't know how lucky they are...