National Strike off

lmtduffy

hawker wrote: »

I don't usually like to post on these matters as I can see both points of view. Since 1987 the power of the Trade Union in Ireland has slowly but surely become more and more diluted. The pension levy, on/off strikes and people being generally less well off will force people to look at their wage packet and look for ways to save their money. One of the first things they will look at is their Union subs. It could be the beginning of a serious decline in Union membership over the coming years and I don't believe that is a good thing.

I'm amazed at the tunnel vision of some of the poster on here. Yes the public service needs to take their share of the pain but in no way should they take some the blame.

Leitrim Lad, you have a fierce chip on your shoulder regarding the ps/cs. Some of your posts are down right ridicilous. In fact I'd go as far as saying you are writing b.s. regarding the guards and the civil case.

Id really expect the opposite, people looking at their wage packets their working conditions and thinking I need support,

Luisella

Is this the signal of what is going to happen has the crisis deepens?

Anti-capitalists Attack Banker's Home and Mercedes: "This is Just the Beginning."

from boingboing.net:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/25/anticapitalists-atta.html

Anti-capitalists today claimed responsibility for vandalising the home of disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin.

Several windows in the ex-RBS chief executive's luxury villa in Edinburgh were smashed and a Mercedes in the driveway damaged early this morning.

Sir Fred, who is at the centre of a huge row over his £16million pension, was said to be 'shaken' by the vandalism but was not thought to be at the house at the time.

A group calling themselves Bank Bosses Are Criminals later claimed responsibility and ominously warned the attack was only the start of a campaign against executives.

dresden8

leitrim lad wrote: »

the partnership in a ppp is that it is majority privately funded ,used by the public and over a certain length of time the state buys it back,

Usually at a massive cost to the public and a massive profit to the private.

Wake up!

oscarBravo

Luisella wrote: »

Is this the signal of what is going to happen has the crisis deepens?

Probably. Some people seem to need very little provocation to get to the brick-through-a-window phase, unfortunately.

leitrim lad

on the rbs thing ,he deserves everything thats coming to him, the way rbs subsidaries have behaved in ireland towards people in arrears is dusgraceful, i have friends who taught about ending it all over ulst ban and lom&uls
back to the guards ,i have every faith in the force and i support them in the way they are tackling drugs and so on ,but as we all know there are a number of them just in it for the tea and buns and uniform,and when they are called on they hide, and i know the ombudsman is there to complain to but i think they need someone at ground level to govern them ,and a pay cut would waken them up a bit especiallly in rural ireland, they seem to work alot better in dublin and limerick, because it is in the public spotlight fulltime

irish_bob

leitrim lad wrote: »

on the rbs thing ,he deserves everything thats coming to him, the way rbs subsidaries have behaved in ireland towards people in arrears is dusgraceful, i have friends who taught about ending it all over ulst ban and lom&uls
back to the guards ,i have every faith in the force and i support them in the way they are tackling drugs and so on ,but as we all know there are a number of them just in it for the tea and buns and uniform,and when they are called on they hide, and i know the ombudsman is there to complain to but i think they need someone at ground level to govern them ,and a pay cut would waken them up a bit especiallly in rural ireland, they seem to work alot better in dublin and limerick, because it is in the public spotlight fulltime

ive had personal dealings with our police force , i do not regard them in high esteem at all , i think they are lazy , self serving , full of politics and interested for the most part in easy targets

leitrim lad

they do a small amout of good work in the areas i listed previos,
but alot of them think they are above the rest of us, a gaurd told me one day that if i was to assualt him he would make sure i got off lightly and he then would be able to put in a claim to fund a deposit for his mortgage

he simply came up with this in a conversation we were having about cattle, him off duty and standing in my field, an me that never was in trouble with the law in my life.

imagine what that would have done to me in the public eye as a businessman

thats whos getting an average of a grand a week ,and look whats on their mind

Newaglish

This thread is absolutely insane.

As far as I'm concerned:

Most public/civil servants (30k to 60k bracket) got an after tax pay cut of 3% to 5%.

A sizeable proportion of private sector workers have received pay cuts of 10% and upwards, or 100% pay cuts (ie. redundancy).

Unemployment has risen from 4.8% in January 2008 to 10.4% now. That's approximately 125,000 people made redundant over the last 12 months (based on a labour force of 2,223,900 people). The assumption would be that 90%+ of these have been in the private sector (would I be incorrect to say 100%?)

Based on the above, I think it's easy to see why many private sector workers would have very very little sympathy for public sector workers.

The issue I would take with the strike is this - it has absolutely no aim. Every strike I've seen in history has been looking for increased pay, better working conditions etc. This strike appears to be "things are bad. raaah". Given that it's a combination of both public and private sector unions, it can't be a strike against the pension levy OR redundancies as the two would be mutually exclusive and not affect the other party.

It appears to me that unions are just looking to have some justification for their subs to be honest. I think they realised that public perception was very much against them, and they were struggling to come up with an actual message for their strike - any unionist I heard in interviews over the last week has gotten absolutely mauled on the tv/radio by presenters & panellists. This is why they've called off the strikes to enter talks that everybody knows will be absolutely fruitless.

leitrim lad

newaglish i agree with you

atlast someone who states the obvios truth on the matter ,it was going nowhere, why block the streets and stop the already slow services to shout about nothing

it just goes to show that the union leaders aernt as good at bluffing as they would like to be croud of wafflers

segaBOY

Newaglish wrote: »

This thread is absolutely insane.

As far as I'm concerned:

Most public/civil servants (30k to 60k bracket) got an after tax pay cut of 3% to 5%.

A sizeable proportion of private sector workers have received pay cuts of 10% and upwards, or 100% pay cuts (ie. redundancy).

Unemployment has risen from 4.8% in January 2008 to 10.4% now. That's approximately 125,000 people made redundant over the last 12 months (based on a labour force of 2,223,900 people). The assumption would be that 90%+ of these have been in the private sector (would I be incorrect to say 100%?)

Based on the above, I think it's easy to see why many private sector workers would have very very little sympathy for public sector workers.

The issue I would take with the strike is this - it has absolutely no aim. Every strike I've seen in history has been looking for increased pay, better working conditions etc. This strike appears to be "things are bad. raaah". Given that it's a combination of both public and private sector unions, it can't be a strike against the pension levy OR redundancies as the two would be mutually exclusive and not affect the other party.

It appears to me that unions are just looking to have some justification for their subs to be honest. I think they realised that public perception was very much against them, and they were struggling to come up with an actual message for their strike - any unionist I heard in interviews over the last week has gotten absolutely mauled on the tv/radio by presenters & panellists. This is why they've called off the strikes to enter talks that Ieverybody knows will be absolutely fruitless.

I received a 43% paycut-I'min private sector-I don't see the need to make a song and dance about it, those of us who keep working will come out stronger in the end.

eoinbn

Newaglish wrote: »

The issue I would take with the strike is this - it has absolutely no aim. Every strike I've seen in history has been looking for increased pay, better working conditions etc. This strike appears to be "things are bad. raaah".

The strike was about pay, just like every other strike. The members want their pay increase and want a lower pension levy.
There is two options now: either FF gives in like it did under that clown Bertie, or strikes will ruin the country. Both lead to the country going under so just let them strike which will bring it to a head in a matter of months instead of dragging it out for years.

Newaglish

eoinbn wrote: »

The strike was about pay, just like every other strike. The members want their pay increase and want a lower pension levy.
There is two options now: either FF gives in like it did under that clown Bertie, or strikes will ruin the country. Both lead to the country going under so just let them strike which will bring it to a head in a matter of months instead of dragging it out for years.

But how can a lower pension levy be the aim of a strike in which private sector workers will be participating?

Also, they can't seriously be looking for pay increases in this environment?

leitrim lad

again these facts do not add up

the unions wanted to strike for the sake of striking

they got a slap on the wrist from biffo and co

now they are entering talks and they dont even know what they want to say in these talks

and to look for a pay rrise or even speculate 2011 as a good year for a national increase ,would lead to whoever said it being dragged away by the men in they white coats

we are in another great depression pay cuts will happen
pay rises will not happen for atleast 10 more years

oscarBravo

leitrim lad, stop with the inflammatory posting. The signal:noise ratio of this forum has dropped dramatically since you started posting here.

leitrim lad

i am entitled to voice my opinions seeing as it is the likes of me who fund the wages in the public sector isnt it

oscarBravo

leitrim lad wrote: »

i am entitled to voice my opinions seeing as it is the likes of me who fund the wages in the public sector isnt it

If you have a problem with my instructions as a moderator, take it to PM or the Help Desk. No more warnings.

eoinbn

Newaglish wrote: »

But how can a lower pension levy be the aim of a strike in which private sector workers will be participating?

Also, they can't seriously be looking for pay increases in this environment?

The levy is for public sector only, but the withholding of the 3.5% pay increase in the national pay agreement is for both. When it was agreed it was based on 5% inflation, which lead the unions to ask for a 5% increase, but now that we have negative inflation the unions STILL want the 3.5% increase. Not only do they want to maintain their standard of living, which isn't viable, they want to increase it.

The unions will probably give in on the pay agreement, which there is no basis for now, and make a big deal about how this is some sorta sacrifice which will give them ammo on the public sector levy as that is what they really care about.

leitrim lad

they wont need ammo they havent got a leg to stand on, the private sector will have the ammo ready and waiting when the unions take to the streets

the unions are making a god job at the minute of making a fool out of the people they are ment to represent

Dr Galen

pot....kettle....black?