National Day of Protest on 6th Nov!

[Lecale2]

ICTU have organised a National Day of Protest for Friday to protest the Govt's handling of the economic crisis. Marches will be held in 8 town and city centres - Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo, Tullamore, and Dundalk.

Details here: http://www.getupstandup.ie/getinvolved/nationaldayofaction/

Over on Slugger O'Toole, Mack argues that the unions have been in denial but that they are beginning to smell the coffee. Not everyone agrees with him. Here's a link to the story: http://sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/end-of-the-denial-phase/

Union leaders appear to favour cuts in the number of public servants rather than cuts in pay. http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1103/partnership.html

Will you be supporting the Day of Protest?

[Silky]

The day of protest may not achieve much on it's own but the alternative is to sit on our arses and let the Govt and employers screw us over and over agian.

I for one support it out of total frustration but I wont be out in Limerick on Friday because Im still in a job. Why didnt they have the protest on a Saturday or Sunday?

[Tankie]

once anyone out on protest is cut a days pay or has their annual leave deducted by half a day i dont mind who protests.....

[gallsman]

ICTU have organised a National Day of Protest for Friday to protest the Govt's handling of the economic crisis. Marches will be held in 8 town and city centres - Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo, Tullamore, and Dundalk.

Details here: http://www.getupstandup.ie/getinvolved/nationaldayofaction/

Over on Slugger O'Toole, Mack argues that the unions have been in denial but that they are beginning to smell the coffee. Not everyone agrees with him. Here's a link to the story: http://sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/end-of-the-denial-phase/

Union leaders appear to favour cuts in the number of public servants rather than cuts in pay. http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1103/partnership.html

Will you be supporting the Day of Protest?

Thing has messed up my graduation. Was supposed to be this Friday, with people having booked flights home from all over the world. Had to be moved to next Tuesday. Absolute joke.

[Cúig huaire]

once anyone out on protest is cut a days pay or has their annual leave deducted by half a day i dont mind who protests.....

X2

[AbbeySider]

I have very little respect for the the public sector so I wouldnt be supporting the protest.

The words Responsibility and Initiative are not in their vocabulary.
Take it from someone who worked in a hospital for 4.5 years and have 2 public servants in my immediate family (and at least 8 in my close extended family).

I work long hours, am underpaid and took a pay cut in the private sector.
I get 21 Days holidays a year and have to produce a doctors cert if I am sick
I havent taken a sick day in 3 years and the public service average 11 in a year.
I am proud to work in the private sector and would either die of boredom or kill myself out of frustration if I had have to work in the public sector.

Im not arguing the the public sector are overpaid, but they are under worked.
The public service get two weeks uncertified sick leave, work up time and days in leiu and get ridiculous holidays. Often they dont even work a 40 hour week.

I know of a department the rang the Office of Public Works to come in on a Saturday, on overtime, to change the clocks... nobody in the department would bother even changing the clocks forward an hour.
Disgrace.

The whole public sector culture needs to be taken on.
Stop "privilage days" or uncertified leave
Inforce proper 40 hour weeks
Stop stupid expenditure like non-working allowances gardai for being on holidays
Acknowledge and encourage initiative
Enforce responsibility at all levels
Increase the retirement age
etc

[Donagh]

Typical Irish peasant attitude. The country is robbed blind by politicians, bankers and developers and when someone tries to organise a bit of opposition all we get is the navel-gazing béal bocht.

[boojangles]

My sister works in the Local hospital.She is not HSE staff,she is employed by an agency and she works for about half of what HSE staff doing the same job get.
She had to work with one of the main line managers from the HSE a few weeks ago filing records.My sister knowing what the manager was like said she would watch what exactly she did. My sister started at 9am. Her Manager came in at 10.30am,took a tea break at 11.05am. Came back from tea at 11.50am. Signed off 2 Death certs.Rang a clothes store in another town to check if an item she had ordered had come in. Rang her husband to say she was taking a half day.Went for lunch at 12.30.That was what consisted of a HSE Managers FULL day. These people can't be fired.
We wonder where the Country is going wrong.

[magpie seanie]

I don't agree with the Unions but one thing you have to hand them, like Mary Harney, they are doing what they are supposed to do. Unions are supposed to keep people in jobs and get them as much pay as possible (Harney is closing down our public health service).

Only the insane or uninformed among us would contend the government have handled the economic crisis well. Many would contend (including myself) they are the reason why it is far worse than it had to be and why we are close to having IMF intervention. For this reason I think the people should take a stand. The vehicle might be an improper one but THIS message needs to go out to those in power and the world beyond - "we're in shit and we'll do what's necessary to fix it - but not at the behest of the traitors who have got us here".

[Gnevin]

I don't agree with the Unions but one thing you have to hand them, like Mary Harney, they are doing what they are supposed to do. Unions are supposed to keep people in jobs and get them as much pay as possible (Harney is closing down our public health service).

And when it's clear that keeping both wages and jobs is impossible?  I don't see any unions offering a third way. Where are the unions offering wide ranging cost savings and improvement in efficiency?

[Farrandeelin]

I don't support it despite being a teacher! How would 40 hours work in a school though? Really, like you COULD let children off early and force teachers to work extra hours but what would most teachers do?

[Gnevin]

I don't support it despite being a teacher! How would 40 hours work in a school though? Really, like you COULD let children off early and force teachers to work extra hours but what would most teachers do?

Marking and grading? Teachers are always complaining about doing this at home .  Or perhaps sports or after school sort of things .

[Farrandeelin]

I'm on about primary schools though, where there's not as much marking and grading to be done. And most female teachers I know don't 'do' sports.

[magpie seanie]

I don't agree with the Unions but one thing you have to hand them, like Mary Harney, they are doing what they are supposed to do. Unions are supposed to keep people in jobs and get them as much pay as possible (Harney is closing down our public health service).

And when it's clear that keeping both wages and jobs is impossible?  I don't see any unions offering a third way. Where are the unions offering wide ranging cost savings and improvement in efficiency?

That's what management are supposed to do. You know, those people in big offices who have friends in Fianna Fáil that got them the jobs in the big offices doing nothing and milking the State financially for it. Even you can't expect Unions to do managements job for them, no matter how incompetent said management is?

[Franko]

I have very little respect for the the public sector so I wouldnt be supporting the protest.

The words Responsibility and Initiative are not in their vocabulary.
Take it from someone who worked in a hospital for 4.5 years and have 2 public servants in my immediate family (and at least 8 in my close extended family).

I work long hours, am underpaid and took a pay cut in the private sector.
I get 21 Days holidays a year and have to produce a doctors cert if I am sick
I havent taken a sick day in 3 years and the public service average 11 in a year.
I am proud to work in the private sector and would either die of boredom or kill myself out of frustration if I had have to work in the public sector.

Im not arguing the the public sector are overpaid, but they are under worked.
The public service get two weeks uncertified sick leave, work up time and days in leiu and get ridiculous holidays. Often they dont even work a 40 hour week.

I know of a department the rang the Office of Public Works to come in on a Saturday, on overtime, to change the clocks... nobody in the department would bother even changing the clocks forward an hour.
Disgrace.

The whole public sector culture needs to be taken on.
Stop "privilage days" or uncertified leave
Inforce proper 40 hour weeks
Stop stupid expenditure like non-working allowances gardai for being on holidays
Acknowledge and encourage initiative
Enforce responsibility at all levels
Increase the retirement age
etc

Excellent post - not all your own work I'd suggest though. 

I know it was posted here a while back but Michael O'Leary's stance on the matter is admirable if not a little over-simplistic.

http://audioserver.todayfm.com/audio/MichaelOLeary2909.mp3