Spending Review: half a million public sector jobs to go

ppolly

The public/private sector debate is very tired indeed. I have worked in both and in a number of different places.

I agree that alot could be cut from the public sector, but whether it will be cut in the right places remains to be seen. I suspect not.

Also many people work in the public sector not because it is easy or well paid or well managed but because they really want to do something that contributes to society in some way. Many people also work there who are no good at their jobs and should be made redundant.

It is far too simplistic to say that everyone in the public sector deserves to have the threat of unemployment hanging over them, that just because this is what has happened/is happening in the private sector it somehow makes it 'fair'. The two sectors are interrelated, as we shall see.....

chattychappy

ppolly wrote: »

Also many people work in the public sector not because it is easy or well paid or well managed but because they really want to do something that contributes to society in some way.

In my experience that is true of many people in the private sector too.

Winter_Jasmine

worldtraveller wrote: »

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.

I work in the public sector - my department has already lost over 30% of its staff over the past five years. I'm not a whinger and I fully accept that the government departments need to be streamlined and made more efficient but, believe it or not, our jobs have not been cushy or particularly secure for a long time.

Don't forget that in many places around the UK, the public sector has offered the vast majority of decent jobs paying a living wage (I'm talking about positions with full-time salary below £25K). When you're wishing pain on public sector workers, you're wishing it on thousands of ordinary people who work hard to pay the bills, not just 'fat cats' and 'pen-pushers'

chattychappy

saffstar wrote: »

Don't forget that in many places around the UK, the public sector has offered the vast majority of decent jobs paying a living wage

This is real problem in the UK. We've got to break the dependency culture whereby whole swathes of the country are doing little of economic value.

real1314

chattychappy wrote: »

This is real problem in the UK. We've got to break the dependency culture whereby whole swathes of the country are doing little of economic value.

What we definitely have to get away from is the idea that public sector work has little economic value.

A whole raft of Council services are essential for the ecomony - refuse, roads, street lights, etc

A whole raft of Central Govt servcies are essential - Justice, Police, Welfare, Regulatory Bodies

As someone said above, thinking that simple Public/Private lines make sense is rather tedious and generally something done by those that do not really udnerstand how the economy works (and they often work in private sector jobs, where they make lots of "economic value" - which could also be described as profit at the expense of others, rather than adding to the economy)

chattychappy

In the end, wealth is not generated by welfare, street lighting or the police etc. Some of these may benefit private enterprise, true. I was commenting on "Don't forget that in many places around the UK, the public sector has offered the vast majority of decent jobs paying a living wage ".

In the end, it's wealth generation by profit making businesses that pay for all this. If those areas lack wealth generating business, then they are dependant on those that do.

real1314 wrote: »

and they often work in private sector jobs, where they make lots of "economic value" - which could also be described as profit at the expense of others, rather than adding to the economy

Well, if you take that view ...

Googlewhacker

RuthnJasper wrote: »

What I REALLY wish is that the Government would have the b*lls to deal with the big-name tax evaders, like Lord Ashcroft and the Barclays, etc. 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.

Its a balancing act though because alot of these richer people provide jobs for hundreds, p1ss them of to much and they'll do what the barclay brothers did when they shut down all their businesses putting about 75% of an island out of business (I think this was done for other reasons though but the point is valid)

dave4545454

chattychappy wrote: »

This is real problem in the UK. We've got to break the dependency culture whereby whole swathes of the country are doing little of economic value.

i totally agree but these people will always be dependent on others money and will never do anything of economic value in their public sector non jobs.

RuthnJasper

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Its a balancing act though because alot of these richer people provide jobs for hundreds, p1ss them of to much and they'll do what the barclay brothers did when they shut down all their businesses putting about 75% of an island out of business (I think this was done for other reasons though but the point is valid)

Fair point. It just seems so wrong that the UK is losing out on literally millions of pounds-worth of tax by those claiming they or their businesses are "non-domiciled" - and it's done openly and flagrantly. I'm a public-sector pen-pusher with an IVA, who has never claimed any benefits, who pays all my taxes, and I'm terrified. I don't have a TV as I can't afford the licence and I have to wrap myself up like an Egyptian mummy at home because I can't afford the heating. God knows what will happen if I get made redundant; I'm already on one meal per day...

Ah well. At least there's the rise in VAT to 20% to look forward to...

robin_banks

chattychappy wrote: »

. 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.

MAny council staff's full pay would run after 3 months in a rolling 12 month period.

She should be reffered to occupational health, so as to make reasonable adjustment in her role.

Failing that, she's on borrowed time.