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Bloody stupid government
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
I'm sure you all know by now that the firefighters are on an 8 day strike.
Why the hell did the government intefere when it told the local councils to sort out a deal?
Instead they simply recieve a phone call saying "no deals".
To me, and to the FBU the 16.5% pay increase sounded very good, not as much as 40% but still a significant development. And it would have cost 200million in total, for the ENTIRE country.
At the moment the government has earmarked half a billion pounds for e-commerce.....nuff said.
Another interesting note, if the firefighters recieved the 40% it would only cost the taxpayer an extra 34 PENCE a week.
Why the hell did the government intefere when it told the local councils to sort out a deal?
Instead they simply recieve a phone call saying "no deals".
To me, and to the FBU the 16.5% pay increase sounded very good, not as much as 40% but still a significant development. And it would have cost 200million in total, for the ENTIRE country.
At the moment the government has earmarked half a billion pounds for e-commerce.....nuff said.
Another interesting note, if the firefighters recieved the 40% it would only cost the taxpayer an extra 34 PENCE a week.
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
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Comments
We all know they deserve more, but if they got it it would mess with inflation and everyone else would want more. If they don't stop the strikes they should be sacked and replaced with people who will work for what is on offer. They knew the pay before they took on the job, and public sympathy will eventually turn against them.
To be honest, it's not really got much to do with the cost to the taxpayer, it's more a point of principle. If the Government gave in to the demands, it'd be screwed,
poloticians new the wages they would get....then promptly gave themselves a 40%...yes a 40% pay rise. for gods sake the firemen are asking for £8.50 an hour !
It was probably a bit misguided for the MP's to hand themselves a pay rise in the current climate. But that's the way it is, of course people are going to want more pay no matter what job they're in. If they have the chance to vote for it, they can and will.
Going on strike, especially with the terrorist threat, is helping no-one. 16.5% is a good increase. They won't get more than that.
Apparently the government says it does not have the extra money needed. As we prepare to go to an unnecessary war in full strength with the US- something that will cost hundreds of millions of Pounds- this feels like a kick in the teeth for those concerned.
anyway, if a 40% increase would cost the taxpayer only 34p a week, surely we can easily afford 16.5%???
This is a no win situation, striking is a last resort for the firefighters but I feel that the Goverment will not want to appear weak and therefore be less inclined to meet their demands.
Remember the petrol crisis? Tony Blair will not give in to blackmail.
And he's too pigheaded to compromise.
Also, they do seem extremely intransigent over working practices. I think the big fear is that this is just the thin end of the wedge and ther'll be many more demands for wage hikes if this goes through. Right or wrong, taht's the reality, I'm afraid: the chances of their pay changing is more affected by economic considerations than by whether they deserve it or not.
The pay agreement after the last strike linked Fireman's wages to the average manual worker's pay in the UK. At the time this was a reasonable amount, by things have changed - including the job which is now more skilled. THis is why the FBU want the change...
As an aside, why are the FBU negotiating with the Local GOvts anyway, when it isn't their decision but the Central Govts, why wasn't Prescott around during the negotiations ifhe had the final say?
Alos why aren't all the Green Goddesses available for use. I live near an RAF station. We have 4 GGs covering our area, yet when I drove past the airport yesterday I saw another 15 (!) parked, alongside 10 red engines...is the Govt deliberately restricting coverage?
Think of it this way, how many red fire engines does your local station have, I doubt it will be many more than 4.
The green godesses are also there in case of a MAJOR incident. We're talking about nuclear apocalypse here, and it's been deemed that their simplicity would make them far more useful in a total catastrophe than the sophisticated red engines, and were designed to be handed out to groups of civilians in order to leave the soldiers free to police the country.
(nice digression? I think so)
There are four indeed. At my local station, plus the six at other stations where there is no coverage from GGs, they four covering my area are also covering these.
There is also minimal coverage for the Medway towns, with three GGs in place to cover a wider area...
BTW This is in addition to the standing service on the airport, which was parked in the station nearby. These GGs were clearly in storage...
So? Does this prevent them being used now? Don't you think it would be better to have them in use than sitting idle.
NB I don't think the nuclear issue is much of a starter either, the fucker would melt seeing as they are in the open
The FBU doesnt seem to want to admit that after waiting 20 years for a wage rise that 40% is totaly unreasonable. No government is going to aggree to that.
Public sector workers pay has to come from somewhere, the more the government pays out the more we have too.
Still, the demand of 40% has lost the firefighters some support as many people simply think they're taking the piss.
When did Labour MPs stop taking the average wage?
As for the GG's, I can't think of any other reason why they are in storage, all I can think of is that they are being held in reserve waiting for more people to crew them.
Maybe it isn't the fire engines they can't spare, but the troops?
At a time when all our troops should be preparing for major military action they are lumbered with sorting out the government's mess, and maybe 19,000 is all the armed forces is able to spare without our operations being compromised.
So why did they accept 4% now, and 16% total over 12 months?
I think they knew it, but negotiations have to start somewhere, if anyone truly believed that they wouldn't accept anything less then they really need help...
Im pretty sure that the government wasnt taking their fully salary for the first 5 years. So now they have decided to take their full salary (what they are entitled to)
They voted themselves to get a 4% rise not 40% funny how papers forget to mention these things.
I really disagree that the government are highly paid.
Tony Blair the last 5 years has had a wage of around £110,000
Considering how much he has to work and run a country i dont think that is an excessive wage
It's just a pity it isn't performance related or he'd be up shit creek wouldn't he.
Hey have you seen his own constituency? what a bloody shit hole, honestly it is the pitz. I am speaking from 1st hand knowledge, as im from that area.
When he visits Newton Aycliffe they scrub the place clean for about a week before he comes. They do paining jobs around the town centre. They clean the Bird shit of the pavements in the town centre (aycliffe town centre has more birds than bloody London), They close off the recreation centre for safety reasons but let me assure you that place is a dump which only gets cleaned when he visits.
There was a big Comprehensive School which was pulled down to make way for a new town centre, this was like years ago. Instead today it still stands looking a bloody eyesore, this is his constituency and hes just not interested in it.
He cant even look after his own local area, so as far as looking after the country
He does not run the bloody country, he has to work harder then many people I agree but can he sit there and say 'I work 4X as hard as a firefighter' I don't think so..............
No, it's not a lot.
He doesn't take half of his working life off, though, does he?
Be reasonable. It's a Pandora's Box. If they accept the firemen's demands, every other public sector worker will strike for more, and then they will be ruined.
I accept that firefighters work hard, and are risking their lives, BUT, there are other public sector workers (we'll bring up Joe Squaddie again) who don't have the same fringe benefits or the time off that firefighters do, have more threats (how many soldiers killed in the line?) and still receive less pay.
I also accept it's an emotive issue. But don't flame me. It might not get put out.
110k is a lot of money, how can you argue any other way?
Relative to what?
But Blair is the equivalent to a chief operating officer of a large multinational corportaion- hed earn 20 or 30 times what he earwsn as PM in private business. Its not a lot.
MPs are paid too much though, with all the perks they get given its a lot for the little amount of work they do. Oh, and DJP, technically MPs (including the PM) get about 20 weeks of the year off. Thats about half, isnt it?
Not as bad as Murton and New Seaham though. Eugh.
and here you have the problem. The Govt aren't just looking at the firefighters claim at the moment, but all of the other claims they have sitting on their table. Their stance isn't so much a reflection of the merits of the FBUs case, as it is a reflection on the pay demands of other services. Play hardball now, and the rest may fall in line.
Experience has told me that the NHS is run on goodwill. If it wasn't for that many shifts would be short staffed, and many more Theatre suites and A&E depts would be closed. But goodwill is a finite resource and it certainly doesn't pay the bills.
Of course, the first thing that the RCN did, when the Govt announced more money for the NHS, was put in a pay demand, and its no surprise that we have such a huge shortage of nurses, when you consider the crap they put up with and the pay they get. If you don't pay a decent market rate, then you won't get the staff - and these are vital people to have within the NHS. We certainly ask a lot more of them now than we used to, many of their jobs now were once the preserve of Doctors - yet their pay has remained fairly stagnant.
Like the firefighters a pay increase is well overdue, but as usual the Govt will stall, and then offer something pathetic to placate people. If they aren't careful, it won't work.
There are huge efforts going on in public services in order to bring them into the 20th Century (the 21st will have to wait), and this is drawing on even more goodwill. At the same time we face more and more political pressure and take more and more heat from the various political groups. Civil Servants aren't asking the earth (or at least aren't expecting the earth) more recognition for the jobs they do.
Personally, I am happy with my current salary, but then I've just been promoted to a decent level. I could earn 50% for doing the same work in the Private Sector, but I don't because I have a sense of duty. That gets the Govt a lot more leeway that it would a private enterprise, and that is the goodwill they draw on from other professions.
YEah but as far as I can see it only ever makes sense to compare a salary to what most people earn. MPs aren't bloody noble because they 'could be earning more' thefact is that the executives you may compare them with shouldn't get paid that much in the first place.............