Counter-Strike to Public Sector Demonstration

lostexpectation

what is it with people trying to make other people work worse instead of trying to makes theirs better?

gazzer

DizzyOC wrote: »

you have a mortgage? i can't afford one.
you have a car? i can't afford one. well, i own a motorbike but it's off the road as i can't afford to get insurance. you're on €28000? i'm on about €10000 pa for everything. your position sounds pretty rosy to me!

what do you get €28k for doing?

this is not about envy. it is about our nation, i have said that before. we are on the brink. people don't understand that.

Dizzy. He is paying a mortgage. If you were renting a private house/apartment you would get the majority of your rent paid by the state How close would that bring you to the 28000 you are giving out about?

achtungbarry

Sconsey wrote: »

Barry, I agree with most of what you are saying, good post with good points but two comments....


I think that's a general misconception, I have always worked in private sector and never really made a mint (during the boom or before it). Many public servents think that private workers made out like bandits, not true, some did but the majority did not. Works both ways, I used to think PS workers were all overpaid but now realise that some are, most probably are not..

That is a fair point and yes I am aware that not everyone was making a pile of money in the private sector. I accept this completely. I suppose I get annoyed too when certain people assume everyone in the public sector earns a pile of cash. I am specially against the lower paid private sector workers being sacraficed by those at the top who f###ed up.

Sconsey wrote: »

Sorry but I don't buy that, I doubt you are comparing like with like there. I am guessing you went from one job with higher responsibilities/requirements to a lower one.

Again I accept your point but a 13k drop was still a huge decision to make and a huge lifestyle change, and one I don't regret today.

Fair points though.

DizzyOC

nhughes100 wrote: »

Not knowing the guy but I'd imagine he gets 28 grand for doing a job that he applied for, has qualifications and experience for and did an open interview for that was open to every citizen of the EU to apply for, you on the other hand get 10 grand for nothing. No wonder the country is on the brink.

you think i want to be on the dole? i'm third level educated, but it's not lack of effort that has me out of work. you think i want to have time for sitting here arguing with over-paid public sector workers? what i'm wondering is why are so many public servants surfing the web while working? how many here are doing this on their own time?

achtungbarry

DizzyOC wrote: »

you think i want to have time for sitting here arguing with over-paid public sector workers?

Again you make assumptions, not all public service workers are on ridiculously high salaries, I earn 26k.

I want to clear out the fat arse over paid idiots at the top as much as anyone.

By the way, what is your opinion on overpaid private sector workers, the same ones who are cutting your job to save their own fat salaries ?

Trotter

Its awful to see people who lost their jobs. I dont understand in this case why the OP would prefer all of the public service to feel his/her pain too.

There are a lot of untruths floating around, the main one being that public servants all have a free pension. I went to college for 6 years, and now I get 39k and pay 6% pension and 1.5% spouse and children pension. Thats 7.5% before PRSI or PAYE is considered, and add on the new other pension levy of 7%.

I think 6 years of hard work and a few years to get where I am on the payscale is fair enough. I'm willing to pay the levy too.

Im not willing to listen to such rubbish from the OP too that just because one person is wounded by an inept government, we should all suffer the same fate.

There is pain to be shared, and share it we must. I won't resign to share the pain though, just so I can join the dole queues and wave my fist at those who applied for public service positions so that they'd be secure.

The OP was free to apply for my job. The thing is, at the time, most people told me the money was "shoyte".

Its a sad irony. I'll pay the levy, I have no choice. But for that, I want to see people on 6 figure salaries + pay their share too. They won't because FF is their party, and the nation will go under with the FF flag flying over their BMWs.

I also suggest a 50% rate of tax, i.e. a 3rd band, for those earning over 100k.

*Honey*

The reality is that the majority of people who post on these boards are the bog standard, general worker... the one's who seem to be slogging through all this crap, trying to keep their heads above water.

So. Please. For the Love of God. Shut up with this public v private sector crap!!! If you want to march, march in protest against this crap Government we have and make your voice heard, along with everyone elses.

The Government's Divide and Conquer policy is working so well and you are so falling into their trap - it should be ALL workers saying to the Government that we are sick to death of them and we need new thinking, new blood and someone to LEAD us!!!

DizzyOC

it should never be the case where the average public wage is over the private one. they should be equal at best. as far as i'm aware it's currently 47k - 40k in favor of the public sector, with the private figure still dropping like a stone.

i'm not arguing for one verses the other here, i'm arguing for fair benchmarking as the pay-bills are too big for the tax income to cover (income and expenditure, very basic accountancy). i am falling into no ones trap. the public sector is overpaid and the bill needs a haircut. if the government can't meet it's bills this year, then the IMF will be in and 75% of you will loose your jobs in a flash. and there'll be no one else to blame. if i were in your position i'd be very thankful it's all that the minister is asking for. if it's a squeeze, it's only because you have probably over-mortgaged yourself on the strength of your job-security.

what's my opinion on overpaid private sector workers? if you have your own company and make millions, good luck to you! welcome to the private sector! you can get rich, it's allowed. but things can go wrong, and you can loose your money too, private sector workers take those risks. as a private sector employee, you don't know if next friday you will have a job or not, be able to pay your mortgage or not, be able to put food in your childrens mouths or not. in the public sector, you know that whatever happens, you will still get that paycheck at the end of the month. so what you are protesting for is the right to have a €30,000 car over a €25,000 one.

the trade off of working in the public sector for job security is never getting rich. but now we have a situation where public sector workers average the best paid bracket of employees in the country and it needs addressing. fast. otherwise there will be no country to work for! i'm not saying you don't deserve your share in the good times, but i am saying that when the country goes down hill, your pay should go too. you can't just benchmark up you know!

i've had high-times and i've enjoyed them, i've made a lot of money in the past, but unless the country doesn't correct this discrepancy, then the chance for me to do so again will be gone, and if my chance is taken away from me then your jobs won't exist either - can you see what i am getting at? can you see yet?!!! we have a symbiotic relationship! we need each other - that is why i too, don't advocate "us v them" approaches. ireland is deflating, things are getting cheaper, which means your stable pay can go further - that is ridiculous given the health of the nation! ridiculous! so you are losing a bit now through the levy, but will probably wind up equal to your starting point, it's economics!

but to see our country go down the drain partly because you lot couldn't see the bigger picture would make me sick to the pit of my stomach. and seeing you pull teachers and nurses out their jobs, and seeing bus drivers on the streets leaving ordinary people unable to get to work so you can protest over a few quid when the country needs people to knuckle down and get on with it is enraging.

don't forget, we all elected the government into power. they are in now and will be for some time. we have to trust in them to make the best decisions for the country. and if we don't like it, we vote them out next election. that's how it works. not by bully-boy tactics.

it's time to look outside your window now boys and girls, look: there's a storm coming.

ParkRunner

DizzyOC wrote: »

i've had high-times and i've enjoyed them, i've made a lot of money in the past, but unless the country doesn't correct this discrepancy, then the chance for me to do so again will be gone, and if my chance is taken away from me then your jobs won't exist either - can you see what i am getting at?

So you have had a good time in the past and made a lot of money and now that you may not have the chance to make a lot of money and enjoy yourself you want the low paid sectors of society to take the pain, even if they are saddled with huge debt which is the result of purchasing a home?

When you return to earning big money again is it ok for the low paid workers to maybe earn an average wage?

gerry28

Dizzy

The public sector are willing to pay but not alone. Its about fairness nothing else. Don't hit the low paid harder than the well paid and then take virtually nothing of the big earners in the private sector.

Where are the well paid private sector in this recovery (and i'm referring to those still in employment)????

achtungbarry

DizzyOC wrote: »

it should never be the case where the average public wage is over the private one. they should be equal at best.

I do not disagree hence my willingness to take this hit and even another one if needed.

DizzyOC wrote: »

i'm not arguing for one verses the other here.

Yes you are when you refer to me as "you people" and advocate a counter strike against low paid workers.

DizzyOC wrote: »

what's my opinion on overpaid private sector workers? if you have your own company and make millions, good luck to you! welcome to the private sector! you can get rich, it's allowed. but things can go wrong, and you can loose your money too.

They made their choice and I made mine.

DizzyOC wrote: »

that is why i too, don't advocate "us v them" approaches.

Again, advocating a counter strike is what exactly.........?

Again the "you lot" reference.

DizzyOC wrote: »

but to see our country go down the drain partly because you lot couldn't see the bigger picture would make me sick to the pit of my stomach.

I can see the bigger picture. As I've said I am willing to do my bit and more if needed.

And I do resent the rather rude "you lot"

DizzyOC wrote: »

don't forget, we all elected the government into power.

Maybe you did, I didn't.

DizzyOC wrote: »

that's how it works. not by bully-boy tactics.

And a counter strike is not bully-boy tactics ?

DizzyOC wrote: »

it's time to look outside your window now boys and girls, look: there's a storm coming.

So your solution is to add more people to the dole queue ?

Although I would be in favour of rooting out the overpaid idiots at the top who scratch their arses all day long and even those in the lower ranks who are fond of arse scratching. As I said already, they tar me with their brush.

And to repeat what I said earlier, you can march against me if you want, I will still march in support of you.

DizzyOC

my marching will not crash the economy for the day. i'll be standing on the footpath with one sign. i will not be leaving a school or a hospital to be on the streets. i am not campaigning against the lower paid workers at all - that is who the union is sending out because they know anyone who stands against them can get tarred with that brush! you are playing into their hands. you are marching for all the "fat cat arse pickers" (your terms, not mine) in the public service too! yes, you are fighting their cause for them. the unions are playing you, you give them much smaller fees than your bosses do. you think they care about you? begg and co. earn far more than you do.

when you say "low paid" what are we talking about? how young are you? and what job do you do? what will your future be? do you expect to rise through the ranks? gaining increments as time goes by? pay rises every year? i expect you do? the longer you work for the civil service, the brighter your future. that's the way it works and i have no problem with it. but pay has to rise and fall with the tide. if we get out of this mess you know as well as i do that you will win all of these benefits back!

don't you see? this is your own union twisting this! they are playing the "us against them" card! i maintain private and public are symbiotic: we need each other to survive! but only if there is a relative parity. it's simple, but at the minute there is no parity and it's detrimental to the well being of every one. the reason the media attention is on you is because you are the only sector that hasn't suffered - the private sector has taken a massive blow: huge job losses; huge pay cuts; huge hour losses, you name they've been hit with it and it has all contributed to what the government receives in its taxes. thus far less money coming in and getting smaller every day (120 bulmers workers are no longer paying taxes from today, and instead of contributing are now withdrawing from the government kitty). they just can't afford to pay your salaries any more, why can't you see this?

again this is not about the low paid workers - for the love of god, look into the future!

DizzyOC

EF wrote: »

So you have had a good time in the past and made a lot of money and now that you may not have the chance to make a lot of money and enjoy yourself you want the low paid sectors of society to take the pain, even if they are saddled with huge debt which is the result of purchasing a home?
When you return to earning big money again is it ok for the low paid workers to maybe earn an average wage?

maybe you over stretched yourself. is your mortgage more than 3 times your annual salary? when i was growing up that was the yardstick. your mortgage was only three times your annual income. is yours more than that now? be honest!

if it is, you have no one to blame but yourself. if it is then you have put yourself into a position of debt. is your house price now less then when you bought it? are you slipping into negative equity? dear oh dear. you really should have bought a smaller house? what? you couldn't find a house within the three times your salary rate? well then, did you not think that houses were overly inflated? prices were too high? maybe, if you couldn't afford a house, you shouldn't have bought one. maybe this is your fault after all, maybe you got yourself into this problem and are looking for someone else to blame? did the bank hold a gun to your head and order you to sign the mortgage? didn't think so!

achtungbarry

DizzyOC wrote: »

my marching will not crash the economy for the day. i'll be standing on the footpath with one sign. i will not be leaving a school or a hospital to be on the streets. i am not campaigning against the lower paid workers at all - that is who the union is sending out because they know anyone who stands against them can get tarred with that brush! you are playing into their hands. you are marching for all the "fat cat arse pickers" (your terms, not mine) in the public service too! yes, you are fighting their cause for them. the unions are playing you, you give them much smaller fees than your bosses do. you think they care about you? begg and co. earn far more than you do.

when you say "low paid" what are we talking about? how young are you? and what job do you do? what will your future be? do you expect to rise through the ranks? gaining increments as time goes by? pay rises every year? i expect you do? the longer you work for the civil service, the brighter your future. that's the way it works and i have no problem with it. but pay has to rise and fall with the tide. if we get out of this mess you know as well as i do that you will win all of these benefits back!

don't you see? this is your own union twisting this! they are playing the "us against them" card! i maintain private and public are symbiotic: we need each other to survive! but only if there is a relative parity. it's simple, but at the minute there is no parity and it's detrimental to the well being of every one. the reason the media attention is on you is because you are the only sector that hasn't suffered - the private sector has taken a massive blow: huge job losses; huge pay cuts; huge hour losses, you name they've been hit with it and it has all contributed to what the government receives in its taxes. thus far less money coming in and getting smaller every day (120 bulmers workers are no longer paying taxes from today, and instead of contributing are now withdrawing from the government kitty). they just can't afford to pay your salaries any more, why can't you see this?

again this is not about the low paid workers - for the love of god, look into the future!

Firstly, i am not a member of any union and I will not be protesting as I am prepared to take the hit.

Secondly, what is your solution to the mess ? It's easy to moan.

I gave my ideas for reform of the public sector and will give more when I have time.

What would you do ?

achtungbarry

DizzyOC wrote: »

maybe you over stretched yourself. is your mortgage more than 3 times your annual salary? when i was growing up that was the yardstick. your mortgage was only three times your annual income. is yours more than that now? be honest!

if it is, you have no one to blame but yourself. if it is then you have put yourself into a position of debt. is your house price now less then when you bought it? are you slipping into negative equity? dear oh dear. you really should have bought a smaller house? what? you couldn't find a house within the three times your salary rate? well then, did you not think that houses were overly inflated? prices were too high? maybe, if you couldn't afford a house, you shouldn't have bought one. maybe this is your fault after all, maybe you got yourself into this problem and are looking for someone else to blame? did the bank hold a gun to your head and order you to sign the mortgage? didn't think so!

Just a quick point. you may find that people are little more receptive to your arguments without the attitude and sarcasm. I think it's time to stop feeding the troll.

And as for "looking for someone else to blame?"........... glass houses and all that.

Goodbye

DizzyOC

achtungbarry wrote: »

Firstly, i am not a member of any union and I will not be protesting as I am prepared to take the hit.
Secondly, what is your solution to the mess ? It's easy to moan.
I gave my ideas for reform of the public sector and will give more when I have time.
What would you do ?

-i'd enforce the levy for a start.
-then i'd start again - at the top. 25% off the top public earners salaries, politicians et al.
-ridiculous expenses and junior ministers would take a hike.
-i'd cut the number of seats in the dail.
-i'd operate on the incomes of doctors, ordering transparency and an end to private practice on public property.
-i'd lay off 50% of middle management in the service (and don't tell me it couldn't be done!)
-i'd introduce a 48% tax band for earners over 100k (yes i'd have a go at the private sector too - currently i'm not one of them) and nudge the other bands up a percent or two.
-legally i wouldn't be able to name the golden circle members, but i'd ensure they'd pay their debts.
-i'd rate motor tax proportionally to the size of the engine in the vehicle...

and so on. if i had more energy i'd give you more...

givyjoe81

gerry28 wrote: »

DizzyOC

You mentioned earlier about survivng on €204 per week. I'm a public servant on €28000 pa. After I pay my mortgage, car loan and maintanence payments I am left with less than €200 per week for bills, food, insurances, petrol, clothes and all other unforseen expenses. I can't afford to lose another €30 a week on this levy. This is the reality for many low paid public servants.
Of course its disastrous for the many that are now unemployed. But what about those in the private sector who are still in employment. Why can't they be asked to pay too.

Because their pension payments are costing the government an arm and a leg at a time when they cant pay for it! Guys everyone here really needs to be aware of how serious any IMF involvement would be. You risk your jobs in the future by going on strike against this levy, at the fat cats wages at this stage are irrelvant, its the sacrifice by the many little guys that will bail out the country, dont go on strike and cripple the country and make things work. How about you guys take a step in the right direction and accept the cuts and we all protest, on our time off! together!!

If the IMF gets involved if and when we go bust, mandatory public service cuts could very well be part of the bail out. And the IMF were i believe already mentioned last week i think.

achtungbarry

DizzyOC wrote: »

-i'd enforce the levy for a start.
-then i'd start again - at the top. 25% off the top public earners salaries, politicians et al.
-ridiculous expenses and junior ministers would take a hike.
-i'd cut the number of seats in the dail.
-i'd operate on the incomes of doctors, ordering transparency and an end to private practice on public property.
-i'd lay off 50% of middle management in the service (and don't tell me it couldn't be done!)
-i'd introduce a 48% tax band for earners over 100k (yes i'd have a go at the private sector too - currently i'm not one of them) and nudge the other bands up a percent or two.
-legally i wouldn't be able to name the golden circle members, but i'd ensure they'd pay their debts.
-i'd rate motor tax proportionally to the size of the engine in the vehicle...

and so on. if i had more energy i'd give you more...

I agree with everything above plus abolishing the senate as well as making public service workers more sackable. I do a good the job so I have nothing to fear but there are others......

I would also have strung up any politician who even attempts to leave this country on Paddy's day.

We agree on almost everything so why do you feel the need to march against me and refer to me as "you lot" and tell me I can't see the big picture.

Trotter

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Because their pension payments are costing the government an arm and a leg at a time when they cant pay for it!

Thats questionable. The money that the government takes in from public servants' existing pension contributions, exceeds the amount paid out to retired public servants. So, no, its not costing the government an arm and a leg.

ParkRunner

DizzyOC wrote: »

maybe you over stretched yourself. is your mortgage more than 3 times your annual salary? when i was growing up that was the yardstick. your mortgage was only three times your annual income. is yours more than that now? be honest!

if it is, you have no one to blame but yourself. if it is then you have put yourself into a position of debt. is your house price now less then when you bought it? are you slipping into negative equity? dear oh dear. you really should have bought a smaller house? what? you couldn't find a house within the three times your salary rate? well then, did you not think that houses were overly inflated? prices were too high? maybe, if you couldn't afford a house, you shouldn't have bought one. maybe this is your fault after all, maybe you got yourself into this problem and are looking for someone else to blame? did the bank hold a gun to your head and order you to sign the mortgage? didn't think so!

Eh I dont have a house
Im 27 years old still living at home with the parents because I refused to put myself into such a massive debt. Im saving hard though and ready to buy. If you had good times during the celtic tiger did you not put a bit aside to get you through a time when things weren't so good or have you squandered it all?

irish_bob

EF wrote: »

So you have had a good time in the past and made a lot of money and now that you may not have the chance to make a lot of money and enjoy yourself you want the low paid sectors of society to take the pain, even if they are saddled with huge debt which is the result of purchasing a home?

When you return to earning big money again is it ok for the low paid workers to maybe earn an average wage?

if its only the ( low paid ) public sector workers that your upset about , why are the nurses unions and the gardai talking about action

we have the highest paid nurses and police in europe


ps

to the op , im all for taking part in a counter strike , the unions and the ps would happily bleed the rest of us dry
the are our aristocrocy , they have a sense of entitlement

achtungbarry

irish_bob wrote: »

they have a sense of entitlement

So you know each of us personally ?


You can see my views on the levy and more in my previous posts in this thread.

Please read them and then tell me I have a sense of entitlement.

ParkRunner

irish_bob wrote: »

if its only the ( low paid ) public sector workers that your upset about , why are the nurses unions and the gardai talking about action

we have the highest paid nurses and police in europe


ps

to the op , im all for taking part in a counter strike , the unions and the ps would happily bleed the rest of us dry
the are our aristocrocy , they have a sense of entitlement

Gardai and nurses who have provided a fantastic service over the last few years will ineviteably have to feel the pain along with everyone else but I wouldnt begrudge them protesting against the Government on Saturday. Or maybe they should all commit suicide
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0704/newsspecial_av.html

seangal

EF wrote: »

Gardai and nurses who have provided a fantastic service over the last few years will ineviteably have to feel the pain along with everyone else but I wouldnt begrudge them protesting against the Government on Saturday. Or maybe they should all commit suicide
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0704/newsspecial_av.html

you should not bring this in to this
that comment had hurt enof people and should be left in the past

ParkRunner

seangal wrote: »

you should not bring this in to this
that comment had hurt enof people and should be left in the past

I am merely demonstrating what the leader of our country advised those to do who were at that time moaning about the State of our economy back in 2007 and the possibilities that things might not all be as rosey as they were at that time.
It seems that those who were ruffling feathers at the time were 100% correct. Now that a campaign against the Government is being arranged the protesters again are being countered.

Partizan

I smell a rat here. OP you should be venting your spleen at this corrupt and gombeen government who are bailing out the bankers and developers to the detriment of every man woman and child not the middle and lower paid public sector workers who are expected to carry the can. We will be forced to make further cutbacks and you can rest assured that unemployed and private sector will be brought into the firing line.

The whole thing reminds me of a certain saying from Pastor Niemueller in Nazi Germany, circa 60 odd years ago.

A classic example of divide and conquer.

givyjoe81

Trotter wrote: »

Thats questionable. The money that the government takes in from public servants' existing pension contributions, exceeds the amount paid out to retired public servants. So, no, its not costing the government an arm and a leg.

Let me clarify, the public sector wage bill is costing the government and arm and a leg, it cant afford to continue paying the wage bills, simple harsh reality. This wage bill (which you could tell me better than i know) is made up of salaries, pension contributions, expenses etc. So something had to give, they didnt force a direct pay cut on the majority of public service workers but they did choose to employ the levy. Sorry but some form of wage reduction had to be implemented, really is as simple as that.

Dodge

DizzyOC wrote: »

you think i want to be on the dole? i'm third level educated, but it's not lack of effort that has me out of work. you think i want to have time for sitting here arguing with over-paid public sector workers?

What public sector jobs have you applied for and what were the reasons given for not giving you the job? I'd imagine a "third level educated" man like yourself should qualify for one of these "overpaid" jobs.

thomasj

Agree completely. The problem is in setting up this levy is they made a complete and utter b.alls of it! The fact is anyone earning over 33k can claim upto 40% relief on this! thats the problem here!

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=39365-qqqx=1.asp

Pension levy pay cut will be closer to 4-5% after tax relief
In this section »
ANALYSIS: The impact of tax relief means that those on higher incomes in the public service will, in percentage terms, suffer a smaller hit to their incomes than their lower-paid colleagues, writes Dominic Coyle

WHEN PUBLIC service workers open their pay slips next month, they will notice a drop in their take-home pay as the pension levy announced this week by the Government kicks in.

The actual impact will depend on their current pay. They will also benefit from tax relief on the sum deducted towards their pensions.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen said the levy would take 3 per cent from the first €15,000 earned in a year.

Above that level, 6 per cent will be deducted on earnings between €15,001 and €20,000. On anything higher, 10 per cent will be taken.

The levy will take into account total earnings, not just salary. In that, it will operate in the same way as the income levy introduced by the Minister for Finance in the last budget.

That means overtime payments, which do not count when calculating pension entitlement, will be included when applying the levy.

However, the impact on take-home pay will be reduced because workers will receive tax relief on the amount deducted in the pension levy. Income tax, PRSI and the health levy will only be assessed on the amount of pay left after the levy has been deducted.

That will hit the Government coffers which are likely to receive closer to €900 million as a result of the levy.

For those earning above the marginal tax threshold – €36,000 for single people and €45,400 for married workers bringing in the only family income – tax relief means they will no longer be taxed at 41 per cent on the portion of their income taken in the Government pension levy.

The Department of Finance says average earnings in the public service amount to €50,000. At that point, the levy will amount to €3,750, or 7.5 per cent of earnings.

But that will be offset by the tax relief. Precisely how much tax will be paid depends on whether people are single or married with just one income.

People first recruited to the public service after 1995 already pay limited pension contributions and that will also affect their final take-home pay.

A single person who joined the public service after 1995 and is earning €50,000 will see his or her annual take-home pay drop only €1,998, rather than the €3,750 indicated by the levy – effectively a 4 per cent fall in take-home pay, not the 7.5 per cent headline rate.

The worst-off workers at that salary point would be a married public servants in a household with just one income – again recruited since 1995. They will see a net fall of annual take-home income of €2,331, but even that is 4.7 per cent of their pay.

The impact of tax relief means that those on higher incomes in the public service will, in percentage terms, suffer a smaller hit to their incomes than their lower-paid colleagues.

An assistant principal employed since 1995 and earning €69,659 will face a levy of €5,712. At first sight, that amounts to an 8.2 per cent cut in pay. However, when the impact of tax relief is taken into account, the real hit to earnings is just €3,239, or 4.6 per cent of take-home pay.

At the other end of the scale, a married clerical officer on €25,338, who has worked in the puiblic sector since before 1995 and is the sole earner in their household will face a pension levy of over €1,413, or 5.3 per cent.

Even after allowing for tax relief, this worker will still face a 5.1 per cent, or €1,361, fall in annual income.

The largest group of public service workers earns between €40,000 and €60,000 according to figures supplied by the Department of Finance.

The Government will have to introduce legislation to permit the introduction of the levy. It expects to have this in place to allow the tax authorities implement the levy from March 1st.

While the figures first presented by the Government indicate that public service workers could be facing an effective pay cut of over 9 per cent, it appears now that, for most, the figure will be closer to 4 or 5 per cent of their take-home pay.

I do agree with this levy, and I can take about another 15-20% pay cut but only because of deflation and because i was fortunate enough not to take out a mortgage, and decided to wait.

BroomBurner

thomasj wrote: »

Agree completely. The problem is in setting up this levy is they made a complete and utter b.alls of it! The fact is anyone earning over 33k can claim upto 40% relief on this! thats the problem here!

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=39365-qqqx=1.asp



I do agree with this levy, and I can take about another 15-20% pay cut but only because of deflation and because i was fortunate enough not to take out a mortgage, and decided to wait.

33K? Don't you mean €36K?