National Day of Protest on 6th Nov!

[Hardy]

Why was there only positive bench marking?

Same reason there was privatisation of profits and nationalisation of losses. Greed on everyone's part, which is unfortunate but predictable and collusion in greed by the government, which is criminal and unforgivable.

[Billys Boots]

In my naive world 'benchmarking' was supposed to be a system whereby public-sector pay was kept 'in line' with private sector pay, in good times and bad.  It didn't help that the unions (famously) described it as 'an ATM for the public sector worker'.  Jaysus wept.

[RMDrive]

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?

I think this is one of the real challenges facing the public service. In the private sector, it is EVERYONES job to reduce cost and improve efficiency. It's just something that is expected and is done. It's not viewed as a threat, instead it's viewed as an inherent part of every job.
If the public sector job down to business and started to focus on quality service while being efficient and cost effective, I've no doubt that there would be massive amounts of savings made. Instead however we're told that it's not their job. 

[AbbeySider]

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.

Who the f**k are you calling a peasant? ya snob...

[Donagh]

Who the f**k are you calling a peasant? ya snob...

Those who are constantly winging on this board about what other people get paid instead of directing action in the appropriate place. I didn't see any of ye complain when the private sector was flying but the divide between rich and poor continued to increase, poverty increased, the border areas were neglected, homelessness increased, scuicde increased etc...

f**king traitorous peasants - don't give a shit about anyone but you and yours...

[mc_grens]

Who the f**k are you calling a peasant? ya snob...

f**king traitorous peasants - don't give a shit about anyone but you and yours...

Thats exactly the attitude of Public Sector Unions, who have said they'd rather taxes were raised for all- including private sector workers who have already had pay DECREASES- than have their pay affected.

Me, Me, Me.

[Gnevin]

Who the f**k are you calling a peasant? ya snob...

Those who are constantly winging on this board about what other people get paid instead of directing action in the appropriate place. I didn't see any of ye complain when the private sector was flying but the divide between rich and poor continued to increase, poverty increased, the border areas were neglected, homelessness increased, scuicde increased etc...

f**king traitorous peasants - don't give a shit about anyone but you and yours...

Come down from your high socialist horse would you .  The private sector and the public sector where equally complicate in increasing some social injustices . We all paid our taxes  and expected the government to priorities there usage as the public seen fit. In general we wanted our interested looked after . We all wanted less traffic so we got more roads and luas . We all wanted a better health service so we sunk billions in to HSE. We all had very little interest in homelessness and suicide and as such they where at the bottom of the social agenda .

Why doesn't Comrade Donagh tell us his 3rd way . By which we can keep public sector pay and conditions as they are and still save 1.4 bl or should all we expect from your is never , never ,never ! and no real solutions?

[AbbeySider]

Who the f**k are you calling a peasant? ya snob...

f**king traitorous peasants - don't give a shit about anyone but you and yours...

Thats exactly the attitude of Public Sector Unions, who have said they'd rather taxes were raised for all- including private sector workers who have already had pay DECREASES- than have their pay affected.

Me, Me, Me.

Here! here!
Public unions are scavengers and havnt a leg to stand on in these times.

I know and am close to an Assistant Principal, HEO's, administrators and executives Gardi, nurses and teachers all of whom are in their positions on merit and are good honest public service people.

I also know ba5tard5 that dont do a tap and should may as well be wearing a balaclava as they have never done an honest days work in their lives and are practically stealing from the exchequer and yours and my pockets !!

Bankers the problem?
Administrators for administrators, consultants for more consultants... Its a merry-go-round of bloat and wastage and lack of responsibility.

Sickening

[Billys Boots]

but the divide between rich and poor continued to increase, poverty increased, the border areas were neglected, homelessness increased, scuicde increased etc.

And Private Sector pay had more impact on this than Benchmarking???   

[mylestheslasher]

Who the f**k are you calling a peasant? ya snob...

Those who are constantly winging on this board about what other people get paid instead of directing action in the appropriate place. I didn't see any of ye complain when the private sector was flying but the divide between rich and poor continued to increase, poverty increased, the border areas were neglected, homelessness increased, scuicde increased etc...

f**king traitorous peasants - don't give a shit about anyone but you and yours...

You are so full of shit you are unreal.

I will not be supporting this greedy pack of muppets marching for pay that in the majority of cases is way above what the national average is.

Can you point to any study that shows the private sector pay was ever higher than public sector? Just cos a few builders was milking it doesn't mean that the private sector as a whole were. In the middle of the boom I worked in a medical manufacturing plant where every operator on the floor was on a list to join the civil service!

I also know that there are a huge amount of public service employees that are against this march, mainly teachers I know. I have friends and relatives in teaching and they all tell me they know how lucky they are, they know they are well paid and have loads of holidays. They are willing to make a sacrifice and are against the protest but their unions are aggressively forcing them to go on all these protests.

The only people I support on this protest are minority low paid PS workers.

Take a look at the waster union leader that are organising this too. Boyos that creamed it on the FAS board, lads on salaries of €120k minimum. Lads that are so far out of touch with the reality of what is happening that it is scary. Even more scary is eejits like you that buy this bullshit! The public service needs dramatic reform. It needs people who work hard to be rewarded and those that don't to be shown the door.

[An Gaeilgoir]

i agree with everything Myles has said. We had to tell all our lads today that they must take 200 euro a week paycut so we can be in a position to price work and have some chance of surviving. Their attitude was well we still will be better off than on the dole. Because of this we can now price work at 4 euro an hour cheaper and be more compeditive. We are in the electrical contracting business. Imagine if the public sector had to swallow something like that! The unions are completely out of touch with reality. As for the socialists on the board raving about collective workers unions and greedy no good employers, socialisim is dead world wide, even the greatest socialist of them all Jim Higgins has sold his soul and joined the EU gravy train, just like all our "noble" trade union leaders in this country with their noses in the troughs of the various quangos. At least the capitalists are up front about it.

[ludermor]

In the same boat as you Gaeilgoir, we are currently pricing jobs at 15% below cost and not getting within an asses roar of getting them, nothing is scared at the minute and costs are being slashed across the board.

[muppet]

The public sector will be massacred not because it is right, not because the private sector want it to be so, but simply because we as a country are almost bankrupt.

The unions will march because that is what they are supposed to do. Despite his posts, even GNevin can't be naive enough to think that Jack O'Connor's job is to tell his members to take massive pay cuts or face redundancies. Why would they bother being in his union when management will do that for free?

They are the realities of the situations, right and wrong is irrelevent.

[Gnevin]

The public sector will be massacred not because it is right, not because the private sector want it to be so, but simply because we as a country are almost bankrupt.

The unions will march because that is what they are supposed to do. Despite his posts, even GNevin can't be naive enough to think that Jack O'Connor's job is to tell his members to take massive pay cuts or face redundancies. Why would they bother being in his union when management will do that for free?

They are the realities of the situations, right and wrong is irrelevent.

When did I say it was his job to tell his members to take massive pay cuts or face redundancies. Since they are off the card (from his point of view) and tax increases are off the cards (from the government point of view and which would hit his members also) He should be selling us (meaning the government , the general public and most importantly his members) that the saving required can be achieved by a radical shake up of working practices in the PS and when he says radical he should be making it clear it's radical , no cow too sacred but no he is telling us (the government and the non PS public) that they are refusing to be part of the solution .

[An Gaeilgoir]

Sitting here in Cork airport, waiting for a flight back to Dublin, two teachers heading up to Dublin for the march tomorrow, sitting beside me. They are shiteing on about how they told their principal that the flight was at one this afternoon, and how the other teachers in the school chipped in for the flights and accomadation. But, they are going out on the batter tonight with their mates tonight in Dublin and no march for them tomorrow because they will be dying and there is seemingly a sale on in Oasis tomorrow.   It will be some night in coppers tonight!!!! I better ring Jack o Connor and thell him about his comrades dissent!!! And Yes i know i am a nosey f**ker!