Good luck to the PS workers.

[bormotello]

By how much have private sector pay levels fallen?

If it wouldn’t fall at all, then revenue would easily publish information about taxes collected from private sector workers. Everybody could divide number of workers now and their income and compare with figures from 2007.

Because public services are hiding this information – I presume that incomes in private sector fell more then they want to see

[Thac0man]

Best wishes to all in the PS who begin their action to halt the abuse by their employer today.

.... and begin the abuse of the lowest paid and struggling familes in the sagging economy. The longer this action goes on, the greater alienation the general public will feel from the PS. Think people will be angry at the government for this? Dream on. If anything this will be mana from heaven for FFs poll numbers. Well done

Interesting to see what this action does to already heavily criticised Public Service efficiency statistics. A great many people already believe we are over paying for lack of service. And now they are still paying and getting less? Any government that caved to that would face more wrath than anything the flabby PS could muster up.

I know a few Public Servents who are not happy about their pay cut, but are really fuming at how the PS unions have driven them into a cul-de-sac and made them public enemy number one.

Any negitive effects this action on the economy should be debited off the Public Sector wage bill. That would be a vote winner for which ever party suggests it.

[Fir Bolg]

It is for two reasons.

(1) If we are trying to keep PS inline with private sector then you cannot ignore the job security the PS have.

(2) 330,000 less people paying income tax and being a financial cost means we have less money in the kitty to pay PS workers.

1) You cannot keep PS inline with private sector because the private exists to make a profit, the public sector exists to provide a service. Chalk and cheese.

2) It means we just have less money in the kitty, not specifically less money to pay PS workers. There are many things a government can do to curtail spending without having to cut PS pay.

[toughbutfair]

1) You cannot keep PS inline with private sector because the private exists to make a profit, the public sector exists to provide a service. Chalk and cheese.

2) It means we just have less money in the kitty, not specifically less money to pay PS workers. There are many things a government can do to curtail spending without having to cut PS pay.

If the PS are motivated by providing a service and not by making themselves a profit then they won't mind a cut.

If you can save 20bn without touching their pay then fine, I don't care what they are paid as long as we cut spending.

[Pabilito]

By how much have private sector pay levels fallen?

Well I can only speak for myself, I started a business 16 years ago and turnover grew modestly year on year. However last year it fell dramatically and is down approx 45% on previous years. Our product is a specialised industrial equipment and business are not investing or spending at the moment and the banks won't give them loans to buy our products. Hence the massive drop in sales.

So the profit is completely gone and its down to survival in order to keep the business from failing, I have stopped paying into my own pension fund, put the mortgage on premises on interest only basis, cut back on everything possible including my own salary and let one saff go and the rest are on a three day week since mid last year.

This survival plan will run out of road by the middle of the year so if things don’t pick up then its more and more cuts. I got nothing from the boom only headaches and stress from staff demanding big pay rises, one compared his salary and conditions to his brother who was a guard and demanded 30% or he was leaving, he's the one I let go and guess why.

[Fir Bolg]

If the PS are motivated by providing a service and not by making themselves a profit then they won't mind a cut.

If you can save 20bn without touching their pay then fine, I don't care what they are paid as long as we cut spending.

What age are you? The public service (i.e the government) are motivated by providing a service, they employ people to provide that service, hence public sector workers.

[sharper]

2) It means we just have less money in the kitty, not specifically less money to pay PS workers. There are many things a government can do to curtail spending without having to cut PS pay.

Going straight off memory PS pay was about 33% of spending and social welfare was another 33% or so .

If you exempt PS pay from cuts then it becomes very difficult to cut social welfare. Leaving PS pay alone means leaving approximately 66% of our spending alone. If you want to cut 5% of overall spending that means you have to find a lot more from the final 33% so instead of cutting it by 5% you have to cut it by 15%.

[Fir Bolg]

I got nothing from the boom only headaches and stress from staff demanding big pay rises.

Then why did you bother.

[Fir Bolg]

Going straight off memory PS pay was about 33% of spending and social welfare was another 33% or so .

If you exempt PS pay from cuts then it becomes very difficult to cut social welfare. Leaving PS pay alone means leaving approximately 66% of our spending alone. If you want to cut 5% of overall spending that means you have to find a lot more from the final 33% so instead of cutting it by 5% you have to cut it by 15%.

You may or may not have noticed but the public sector has taken pay cuts. I'm talking from here on in. If the government were to give an assurance to PS workers that there would be no more pay cuts then I'm sure there would be no work to rule.

[toughbutfair]

What age are you? The public service (i.e the government) are motivated by providing a service, they employ people to provide that service, hence public sector workers.

A private sector worker working for a company in financial trouble gets a pay cut. Why should a PS worker employed by an empoloyer in financial troublee not get a pay cut?

As mentioned earlier, I dont' care what the government cuts as long as they make the cuts so if you can save billions without touching PS then fair enough. How would you make up the difference?