Why are Public Sector workers paid so much money?

[McGoo]

Has Arnie shown the way?

Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor, has threatened to cut the pay of hundreds of thousands of public employees to below the state minimum wage in an attempt to balance the budget of the world's seventh largest economy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008.../usa.useconomy

Yep he was spot on

God forbid raising taxes on the hundreds of thousands of millionaires in California, just sack the regular working joes instead and cut back on services. Well done Arnie.

[wolf]

It's a worrying situation that so much money is been soaked up by the public sector.
Some serious culling should be done NOW.
Has anyone in government got the balls to do it.
PS.
A message to [color=#FF40BF]Snaketraine[/color]r, Sod off, you useless piece of sh1te.
Your comments are as useful as an ash tray on a motorbike.
Your foul comments are a waste of space, and convey to everyone just how hollow your head really is.

[hopi watcher]

It's a worrying situation that so much money is been soaked up by the public sector.
Some serious culling should be done NOW.
Has anyone in government got the balls to do it.
PS.
A message to [color=#FF40BF]Snaketraine[/color]r, Sod off, you useless piece of sh1te.
Your comments are as useful as an ash tray on a motorbike.
Your foul comments are a waste of space, and convey to everyone just how hollow your head really is.

Ressurrecting old threads? Running out of ideas for new threads to do a bit of public sector bashing are we?

[QuestionsQuigley]

I think some people might have got the wrong idea on this thread. Rather than laying off public sector workers I think the State should employ more! If you compare Ireland to Britain, the public sector workers average salary there, comes out a lot lower than here. The average figure in Ireland is probably skewed by the fact that we have a lot more managers and people in higher positions. I wonder are the Tds salary figure included in the public sector wage bill? Little things like this probably skew the final average salary figure also. The point I'm trying to make is that the public sector wage and pension bill eats up over half of government spending! This figure is going to increase because people are living longer now also.

Over the last few years the public sector probably had to attract higher salaries because there was such competition from the private sector. Senator Joe O' Toole used to remark when the pay talks were going on," welcome to the ATM machine" . I have a lot of family members who are public sector workers and I suspect the majority of them voted Fianna Fail and also 'yes' to Lisbon, what has happened is that the Goverment has created an elitist and loyal support base, which they are frightened of antagonising too much.

I think at times of high unemployment, the public sector should employ more people, but under new arrangements ie: more flexible working time, subcontractors and maybe review the public sector pension issue ie: if you forgo it, you would be paid more salary or maybe make your own pension requirements.

[blinding]

They are obviously much smarter than they are given are given credit for.

[bobbysands81]

Highly skilled clockwatchers. Professional dossers.


highly skiled or professional, my God, all you have to ask People who go to the Hatch did they meet, highly skiled professionals, and i know what there reply woul be, I cannot repeat what they would say, as it would be edited on this site! hello!!! Bums the lot of them,and need only for about 30% of them, if they worked like the private sector does!!!

I love these posts about the public service, mass generalisations which are never backed up with any type of proof.

I bet they were social welfare payments you were at the hatch for as well.

[riker1969]

I would first like to see where this figure of nearly a grand was taken from? (somewhere over the rainbow?)Secondly you would have to look at age profile of public sector as a factor-you might be earning that figure but it could have taken you 30 years to get there. Take Teaching you could be on 60K but the scale is 30 years long and teaching is one example where you have a large number of older workers . I suppose benchmarking is somewhere in this mire-a great topic to lash out with-its like the bogey man for adults but yet no one I know on this site has ever actually read the agreements instead they swallow whole IBEC propaganda. Im off to watch something a little less inane on TV. :P