Extra Bank Holiday and other compensation for Covid

Just designate Christmas Eve or the day after Stephens day as a bank holiday

job done

As a doctor I don't know any of my colleagues who have asked for or want a cash bonus or other. An extra bank holiday would be useless because for some it would just be another long weekend having to work and for everyone else it's another day deducted from their annual leave.

I think most would far prefer however many hundreds of millions this would cost to be invested into the health service so it's not constantly on the brink- training posts, more beds, infrastructure etc.

I don't think that it "wouldn't be a story."

a) you'd probably have people kicking off because of the "paltry" €1000

b) pretty much every other sector shouting (some justifiably) as to why they didn't get the money also.

Understand that it could make A&E departments busier that weekend potentially. But in personal terms you get another day AL to use when you want.

I don't get the "for everyone else it's another day deducted from their annual leave" part?

The 27th isn't a bank holiday. It just so happens that this year workers are entitled to it off as Christmas Day/St Stephens Day falls on a weekend.

If the aforementioned days fell during the week, people would have to work the 27th as normal.

Ok, I understand why you used "pedantic" tags now which is grand but it's fairly clear that we are not referring to the holidays that banks themselves observe in this thread.

The 27th is not a Public Holiday/Bank Holiday in the sense we are talking about it and it remains a good option if the Government go down the road of giving us another one.

I called it, the teachers want it now. After holding our children's education hostage, **** off.

Scrap the lot.

But it is relevant to this thread as a lot of orgs already observe bank holidays. Therefore, introducing it as a Public holiday would see a lot of people get no gain, and probably encourage resistance/resentment from those people towards those who push for it.

The Superbowl takes place after midnight here when the pubs are closed.

I don't know anyone that watches the Superbowl.

So about 2 pubs in the whole country?

It's a niche event for some people in Ireland.

The health service is a sink hole of money. I can’t see how we can justify putting more money into it without huge restructuring and putting money into creating efficiencies. Per capita our health service is one of the best funded in the world. The money should be going to nurses, doctors, porters, physio’s etc and of course making sure they have the equipment and supplies they need and training is kept up to date. However, would the government get cooperation from unions if they tried to overhaul the system…I would say no. Something has to be done, the population is getting older but likely all that will happen is a bigger budget and nothing to show for it. Fixing the health system would probably be the best reward we could give to doctors and nurses working on the frontline.

Whatever your feelings about private healthcare are. It is keeping thousands of people off the public waiting lists. Think cataract surgeries, knee operations, hernia repairs etc. Now we probably need to remove all private healthcare from the public hospitals, however there will be a potential loss of income to the public hospital when this happens.

I vote for the monday after Wrestlemania for a day off, who do I lobby for this?

McGrath on the possible bonus and that talks are likely to push out conclusions to the end of the year.

Surely keep it Irish and pick the day after the All Ireland hurling final.

Or like in some countries have regional bank holidays so places can pick their own day. Cork could have a bank holiday for the Jazz festival, Galway the races and Limerick the All Ireland trophy parade 2022 😜 etc. and it could be good for local tourism too as people from other counties could travel down for the extra days partying

The money is shite and you top out at about 49k for a staff nurse. The pension is the only reason to do the job from a financial standpoint. It really is a hell of a pension for someone retiring after full service.

Yes. Most OECD countries had compensated frontline healthcare workers by the end of 2020.

Some large Retail have compensated their essential workers.

Tesco eg gave 10% bonus last year and this year with a limited time gift also of 20% off purchases with their colleague club card.

Some health care workers were "compensated" with poor token gestures though like in the UK which was almost worse than nothing

It's a bit like tipping 20c in a restaurant. The paltry sum is more of an insult that just not remembering to tip at all.

A 1% payrise presented as a pat themselves on the back Tory thank you bonus to health care staff while experts say they need more than that even before Covid is a slap in the face. It is worse than nothing because now you get a tiny tiny bit more but also have to watch yourself become propaganda

And how much in debt is Tesco in currently and how much of a loss did they make during the pandemic? How much did they have to borrow during hte pandemic? The fact is the public service already got rewarded with O.T, 2 annual increments and payments towards a pension that the tesco employee could only dream about.

So you think I am equating nurses and other healthcare workers with Tesco employees ?

Of course not , many would be on the minimum wage and I am glad they were compensated , only right , risking their own and their families' health for such a small return.

My point is that all those who went out to work among the public especially without vaccines during a pandemic deserve some respect and thanks , and if that is all that can be afforded so be it.

But this incessant talk demeaning one group's worth and hard work and bvtching about people who might get a bit extra for their work beyond is just mean and begrudging.

We did not begrudge those sitting at home on 350 a week during the pandemic , although I would say many low paid workers in Tesco or Aldi were more than a bit pissed off . Some of those ( between 10 and 20% ) it is now being discovered should have been on less if any at all .

There were students who worked a few hours in cafes or shops a week and they ended up at home getting 300 at least a week , laughing at their friends in essential retail who still had to go out and work for their money , and in some cases coming out with less. These would have been living at home through the pandemic and while not a picnic , by any manner for anyone , they all managed to get away abroad for a month to six weeks this summer to spend their PUP savings . Good for them but very hard on those in essential retail to swallow .

But that is never mentioned when you and others here talk about the billions of debt accumulating , is it ?

Now should those students be penalised for taking what was freely given by the government to them during an emergency? I don't think so , but less of the whinging over anything extra given to those who actually worked through this .

It is more than likely just going to be a bank holiday for all , which will be good and might catch us up a bit with our EU counterparts .