Spending Review: half a million public sector jobs to go

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

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Spending Review: half a million public sector jobs to go

worldtraveller

Last year Lord Digby Jones reckoned that 50% of civil servants should be sacked anyway, so that's around 250,000. Therefore just another 250,000 to be found from the whole of the rest of the bloated public sector. Not so bad really!

It's about time that they took some of the pain that many in the private sector have been suffering through job losses over the past couple of years.

RuthnJasper

I'd like to think that the majority of jobs in useless middle-management 'non-jobs' - "Footpath Access Strategy Development Manager", etc., will be the ones to go. But I daresay it will be the honest front-liners; admin. bods, bin-men, etc. who will suffer the most...

JimmyTheWig

It really does make you wonder, doesn't it.
In a time of recession, where you hear statistics all the time about the number of people chasing each job, this is clearly going to increase unemployment numbers by half a million.
Plus, then, you need to factor in the people who rely on these half a million people paying their wages. E.g. the people who supply the stuff that these people consume.
I wonder how much of the money "saved" will be paid out again in benefits.

chattychappy

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

It really does make you wonder, doesn't it.
In a time of recession, where you hear statistics all the time about the number of people chasing each job, this is clearly going to increase unemployment numbers by half a million.

No, these people are effectively unemployed already. They're just getting nice salaries and cushy pensions rather than the benefits that others get.

Work life balance days (= extra holiday), "working from home days", "sabbaticals", the list is endless. One mate of mine was effectively made redundant but held in a pool for several months so she could be re-deployed. Yep - several months with nothing to do, but on a full salary. Another "full time" friend of mine recently told me she couldn't be at home until 6pm because she was "working late that day" (her commute home is 45mins). Starts at 9am. Oh and my own council worker sister has been at home for 4 months on full pay because she could be suffering from stress and they don't know what to do with her. Reality is she's just had an argument with her boss about inefficiency in her department and they suggested she went home to calm down. Not been in since. Meanwhile another mate is having a kitchen fitted by firemen supposedly on duty.

Yep, there will be sparks as the gravy train puts the breaks on - but something tells me it will continue to roll.

mustrum_ridcully

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

It really does make you wonder, doesn't it.
In a time of recession, where you hear statistics all the time about the number of people chasing each job, this is clearly going to increase unemployment numbers by half a million.
Plus, then, you need to factor in the people who rely on these half a million people paying their wages. E.g. the people who supply the stuff that these people consume.
I wonder how much of the money "saved" will be paid out again in benefits.

If the TUC figures are to be believed then 39p of every £ paid to a public sector worker ends up in the private sector.

In areas of the country where a large proportion of the workforce are in the public sector (e.g Wales, Scotland, N. England, S.W. England) they are going to get a double whammy. Public sector job losses will result in job losses in the local private sector, not just contractors for local/national government. I'm talking about those shops/businesses where a large % of income comes from the wages of public sector workers or depend upon their disposable income (coffee shops, gyms, expensive hair/beauty salons etc.).

The country as a whole might not suffer a double-dip recession but localised areas certainly will.

chattychappy

mustrum_ridcully wrote: »

If the TUC figures are to be believed then 39p of every £ paid to a public sector worker ends up in the private sector.

It certainly started there!

tinshed

chattychappy wrote: »

No, these people are effectively unemployed already. They're just getting nice salaries and cushy pensions rather than the benefits that others get.

Yep, there will be sparks as the gravy train puts the breaks on - but something tells me it will continue to roll.

Unbelieveable, just unbelieveable. Such contempt. Just because you know a couple of people who are lazy, dont tar everyone else with the same brush.

I just hope you never lose your job!!!

chattychappy

tinshed wrote: »

Unbelieveable, just unbelieveable. Such contempt. Just because you know a couple of people who are lazy, dont tar everyone else with the same brush.

I just hope you never lose your job!!!

Actually I quoted 4. But the kind of thinking I referred to is endemic amongst all the public sector workers I know and that is more than 4. Not saying that every single public sector worker is like that.

Funny thing is, the public sector workers I know all seem to think they have hard lives.

Yes, I might lose my job. Looks like the government are hoping that much of the public sector job losses will be through "natural wastage". So, unlike me, perhaps they'll get to choose the moment of their departure.

RuthnJasper

What I REALLY wish is that the Government would have the b*lls to deal with the big-name tax evaders. It's disgusting the way that the privileged few get away with saying "Ah, but my primary residence is in Tobago.", or have their businesses registered in tax havens so that this country doesn't benefit from their taxes.

If those grasping little Fagins were dealt with properly, I'll bet my meagre and ever-shrinking pension that we wouldn't be in half the pickle we're in now.

chattychappy

Whilst you're disgusted, it's peanuts in the grand scheme of things.

Take care you don't libel someone.