Public service pay cut

[Schuhart]

I was greatly surprised to discover recently, in the course of a discussion on the need for a public sector pay cut, that the salary scale for a civil service clerical officer goes up to over €37,000. I feel this fact alone effectively proves the lie that there is some element of low paid folk who need to be exempted from any reduction. I mean, €37,000 for clerical staff? WTF? Is there really so much to learn that your value to the organisation goes on increasing for ten years? To €37,000?

The fact that lower grades are particularly overpaid is confirmed by what the ESRI point out

Conservative estimates suggest that the pay of senior public servants was more than 10 per cent ahead of their private sector counterparts in 2006, while public servants on the lowest grades earned a premium in excess of 30 per cent.

So, indeed, if relatively lower paid staff were exempt from any pay cut (as sometimes seems to be floated), this would mean the most grossly overpaid public servants would remain grossly overpaid.

Hence, an across the board cut of 10% is actually relatively kinder to lower paid staff, as they’ll still be overpaid at the end of it.

At some quieter point, we really need to reflect on just how badly the so-called Partnership process made an ass of our economy. It seemed to work of the basis of ‘if we pay them whatever they want, we’ll get no strikes’. Well, duh. But where does it leave us now, Sherlock?

[adamirer]

yeah they can retire on a pension of 18,500 from their top salary of 37k a year after 40 years in the grade... oh, minus the OAP of €11kk... so after 40 years of pension contributions they get a €7k a year pension... how generous!!!! Course it's index linked, so that €7k now in 2008 might be worth €14k in 2028.

[Schuhart]

yeah they can retire on a pension of 18,500 from their top salary of 37k a year after 40 years in the grade... oh, minus the OAP of €11kk... so after 40 years of pension contributions they get a €7k a year pension... how generous!!!! Course it's index linked, so that €7k now in 2008 might be worth €14k in 2028.

When you say 'minus the OAP of €11kk', of course that doesn't actually mean minus the OAP. What you actually mean is, on top of getting paid the OAP, they get an extra €7k.

I wonder how someone who only gets the OAP might perceive this situation.

I also wonder how that same person would feel about getting paid 30% less for the same work during their lifetime.

[politicaldonations]

A clerical officer in private sector would need to be on around 50k a year to be equal in terms of pay/pension/benefits to his/her public sector cousin and be subject to job insecurity, constatnt assesment and accountability etc. A clerical job is a low skill job and although the pay is low relative to other public sector jobs it's massive compared to private sector and public sector in other EU countries. 30% cuts for all public sector workers for Xmas, Happy New Year.

[yehbut_nobut]

So is your arguement, "if you want monkeys pay peanuts"?

Quick everyone, Last one in the race to the bottom is a rotten egg!

[Outlander]

Benchmarking - follow the private sector up and down!

[markeys]

Seems the public sector comrades are only interested in their particular brand of 'partnership'. All goose, no gander.

[elfatih]

so after working 10 years in the public service a grade 3 doesnt deserve to earn the average industrial wage, maybe we should get some of the construction workers in who leaned over a shovel for a few hours a day and earned €800 a week

[TradCat]

so after working 10 years in the public service a grade 3 doesnt deserve to earn the average industrial wage, maybe we should get some of the construction workers in who leaned over a shovel for a few hours a day and earned €800 a week

Yes, you'll find them at the nearest dole office.

[bobbysands81]

I think it's about time the Private Sector helped contribute to lower costs in the Public Sector.

Due to the greed and outright cheating within the Private Sector the Public Sector have to keep an eye on it. How many thousands of public sector jobs would fall by the wayside, and thus save bilions a year, if the Private Sector:

Paid ALL their proper taxes in full - How many folks still get paid cash in hand? How often is work carried out/goods and services sold without any tax paid on them?

Paid ALL taxes on time, be it Corporation tax, income tax, Excise, Duty etc...

Didn't need regulation cos of greed and cheating. Is it any wonder that folks from the Republic are crossing borders in their thousands to try and get cheaper products?

Didn't need constant bailing out by the Public Sector (€140million for the Pork Industry and the Banking fiasco comes to immediate mind).

Brian Cowen has been talking about Irish businesses lowering their cost structure. Lower their greed ridden profits and their cost structures will follow.

If the Private Sector are serious about lowering Public Sector costs then they should start with items over which they have some control such as these. Otherwise they look like hypocrites.