Which of these would be sackable offences in your job?

[Conor]

You are in a victimhood mood. Of course,there is unfair and uninformed criticism of the public sector. That is to be expected from people in the private sector suffering an economic depression,with mass unemployment,shuttered businesses and destruction of savings.

So what was your excuse before the recession?

[locke]

2.Refusal to cooperate with staff redeployment
7.The Gardai to withdraw the use of personal equipment such as mobile phones, laptops and digital cameras [on which the policing system has come to depend heavily*. Ed]
8.THe Gardai not responding to phone calls when off duty,[ which presumably could deprive the service of emergency backup in the event of riots or major gangland activity. Ed]
13.Refusal to redeploy to other work locations in medical care facilities

I doubt any of those would be a sackable offence unless the employer wanted to face a lawsuit

[toughbutfair]

STOP DODGING MY QUESTION

How is not answering the phone on your desk part of a work to rule?

We should change legislation so work to rule equates to a strike. Then they'd just go on strike and lose a days pay (and whatever money they spend in Newry)

[locke]

We should change legislation so work to rule equates to a strike. Then they'd just go on strike and lose a days pay (and whatever money they spend in Newry)

How the hell do you propose to do that?

A work to rule is working to the terms of a contract. One side can't change a contract because it suits them.

[patslatt]

I doubt any of those would be a sackable offence unless the employer wanted to face a lawsuit

Since the Gardai supply their own mobile phones,laptops and digital cameras in doing their work,a legalistic case could be made that they entered an implicit contract in doing so,hence withdrawal of those items constitutes a breach of contract and a sackable offence. But it would be more practical obviously for the government to spend a few million to buy these item at cheap wholesale prices.

As for for refusals to cooperate with important health care management issues,that would definitely be sackable in a private sector setting. If contracts negotiated with unions allow such refusals,they completely undermine management prerogatives to manage. So the government may as well abdicate responsibility and hand over the keys of hospitals to unions to run them as self indulgent workers co-ops,or it can legislate changes to restore the authority of managements.

[patslatt]

So what was your excuse before the recession?

In a p.ie blog, "Income tax increases to pay for public sector pay increases" http://www.politics.ie/economy/26598...increases.html, I anticipated the crash and felt excessive PS pay increases were unsustaionable and would cost the taxpayer dearly.

[patslatt]

How the hell do you propose to do that?

A work to rule is working to the terms of a contract. One side can't change a contract because it suits them.

It's called legislation,needed to end absurd work practices that belonged to another age. See the Peter Sellars movie "I'm Alright Jack". PS unions have been cosseted too long and abuse their powers over work rules. The classic example is the Cork electricians insisting on changing all light bulbs in hospitals.

[hiding behind a poster]

It's called legislation,needed to end absurd work practices that belonged to another age.

What, working to the terms of your contract belongs to another age?

[patslatt]

What, working to the terms of your contract belongs to another age?

In the public sector semistates and educational institutions,a self indulgent workers co-op mentality prevails,thanks to ridiculous concessions on contractual work practices conceded behind the scenes by appeasing government ministers over decades.

So Cork electricians monopolise the changing of light bulbs;hospital porters can shut hospitals by abusing their monopoly to wheel patients and fetch supplies from stores;Hospital consultants work from 9 to 5,creating massive hospital bottlenecks;humble ESB gas plant operatives make €130,000 a year (Irish Times story);ESB workers continue to get huge pay in plants that are no longer operating;Dublin buses have a poor record of running on time even outside of rush hour,thanks to persistent indiscipline (last week an acquaintance said it can take up to 2 hours for her to get to work from Rathmines to Swords,with buses frequently up to 30 minutes late);burned out school teachers are unsackable,as any teenager can tell you;college lecturers on huge pay do hardly any lecturing etc