725,000 public sector jobs face axe, economist warns

ILW

Wookster wrote: »

Everyone is working smarter nowadays. That is everyone except the public sector.

I think it is a legacy from Gordon Brown, keeping the employment figures up was more important than actually getting anything done.
Also the last government did tend to fill their pants if a large union started looking a little unhappy.

ILW

Saw an ad in my local paper a few weeks ago from the prison service.
Two positions to fill, one was an officer to escort prisoners to and from court, the pther for a press officer.
The escort job was a little dangerous and very stressful, salary £19-24k PA
The press officer (pen pusher) salary £28-34k PA.
Sort of sums up the priorities and where all the money goes.

marklv

ILW wrote: »

Saw an ad in my local paper a few weeks ago from the prison service.
Two positions to fill, one was an officer to escort prisoners to and from court, the pther for a press officer.
The escort job was a little dangerous and very stressful, salary £19-24k PA
The press officer (pen pusher) salary £28-34k PA.
Sort of sums up the priorities and where all the money goes.

You surely need higher academic qualifications for the press officer job, or have you not managed to work that out yet, brainbox?

marklv

Wookster wrote: »

Everyone is working smarter nowadays. That is everyone except the public sector.

Some, but not everyone. My commuter train into London is still packed with suited types who could easily work from home instead of taking up costly desk and office space.

I agree that smart working is still unusual in the public sector, but this is largely because of an outdated management culture that still believes in control rather than empowerment.

marklv

Wookster wrote: »

Mark - perhaps I should have clarified - he left every Friday day to play golf.

Anyway I think you have proved my point exactly: Disconnected from the reality which we private sector workers deal with every day.

So what? Have you not heard of flexitime?

marklv

mbga9pgf wrote: »

Military. They gave us the same scheme that the CS whined like little b*tches to the high court about. We took it like men. They took it like nancy socialists.

Up yours mate. You took right up your anuses because you are a bunch of pompous self-important twits. Don't forget that you are just civil servants in uniform - we are not in 19th century Prussia.

marklv

ILW wrote: »

I said well funded, not wastefully overfunded. Two different things. I believe the public sector could have its funding cut bt 15-20% and still be well funded if it cut its expenses and overheads to the sort of level of well run private companies.

A very sweeping statement. Where are the figures to back up what you say?

ILW

marklv wrote: »

You surely need higher academic qualifications for the press officer job, or have you not managed to work that out yet, brainbox?

What has qualifications got to do with it.
I would consider escort job to be more important and useful.
Again you are showing up another public sector attitude, " I have more qualifications, so I should be paid more" even if the job is of a lower value to society or the organisation.
You just don't get it.

Wookster

MG - what is CS?

ILW wrote: »

I think it is a legacy from Gordon Brown, keeping the employment figures up was more important than actually getting anything done.
Also the last government did tend to fill their pants if a large union started looking a little unhappy.

This is a bad problem in the UK, but much worse in France. The 35 hour week is entrenched in their psyche and I fear they are cutting their nose to spite their face in the medium term.

nearlynew

Isn't it funny that the same people who knock the public sector and their generous working conditions are against people in the private sector (BA staff for example) striking to preserve their generous working conditions.

If the private sector employees had more balls, maybe they wouldn't have let their bosses strip away their final salary pensions.

Don't get me wrong, I believe in small government and a much reduced public service but people have a right to try and preserve their "perks" whether in the private or public sector.