Can public sector workers be let go?

[birthday]

Is your story common Bobo?
Stick to the issue of productivity please.
I know this is an anecdote but the issue of productivity cannot be ignored and should be addressed.
PS I like your flag.
Will you be putting a shamrock on it for the National holiday?

[Skin]

Surely persistent underperformers and those with persistent high levels of absenteeism should be sacked or made redundant. Health Boards have many such types.
Nobody would want the higer performing public sevants to go and there are many of these. Many civil and public servants have told me PRIVATELY that they are fed up with fellow ''workers'' who are lazy, incompetent and unproductive. They admit that the situation is nothing short of a disgrace. They can never say this in public of course.
It seems to me that behaviour is tolerated in the public sector that would never be possible in the private sector. Why should this be the case?

I've worked in the private sector too, in both large and small companies. The larger the company, the more likely you are to people who underperform. I can only assume that this is so because they can hide under the radar a lot easier than in a small company. They dont get sacked, they just plod along underperforming and getting paid. Its actually very similar to what happens in the public sector. As most of the public sector is part of large bereaucratic (i dont think I spelt that right) departments, there is a tendency, from some workers, well...to plod along and underperform.

As for making people redundant, you cant. You can only make the job redundant and not the person

[hiberniate]

Why do the right wingers want public workers sacked so much? You'd swear having job security and a pension was a terrible evil the way some of you go on.

It's not that anyone wants them sacked, but that same job security is a benefit that is not available to those in the private sector. THe PS unions are consistently venting that cuts need to be fair accross the board, without ever taking into account that the job security enjoyed by PS employees (workers is stretching it a bit) is the greatest single benefit that they have.

I also know plenty of left wingers in the private sector who believe that the PS is a fairly cushy number at any level... and some right wingers in the PS, who feel similarly. There are those in the PS who want to to do their work and more but who are stimied by oppressive union structures. as individuals i know many PS workers who i would fire on the spot and their behaviour and attitude in terms of work ethic simply would not be tolerated in the private sector.

[jpc]

What happens when to misquote Senator Joe "the atm stops spitting out dough"?

[Red Boyneside]

I also know plenty of left wingers in the private sector who believe that the PS is a fairly cushy number at any level... and some right wingers in the PS, who feel similarly.

I think thats a very misleading generalisation. There are areas in the public sector where people are snowed under 24/7 and other areas where there are busy periods and slack periods, much like in the private sector. Places like Social Welfare local offices, Revenue public offices etc. are always busy. There are many different types of jobs in the public sector so you can't make a sweeping statement like that.

Even in jobs where work is not always on top of you, the work that does arrive in, needs to be done, so you need people to do it. If you get rid of these people, who does the work when it is there? Productivity in these areas is hard to measure, and it should not be measured in the same way as you measure productivity in say, a factory because the purpose of the job is completely different.

[Skin]

It's not that anyone wants them sacked, but that same job security is a benefit that is not available to those in the private sector. THe PS unions are consistently venting that cuts need to be fair accross the board, without ever taking into account that the job security enjoyed by PS employees (workers is stretching it a bit) is the greatest single benefit that they have.

I also know plenty of left wingers in the private sector who believe that the PS is a fairly cushy number at any level... and some right wingers in the PS, who feel similarly. There are those in the PS who want to to do their work and more but who are stimied by oppressive union structures. as individuals i know many PS workers who i would fire on the spot and their behaviour and attitude in terms of work ethic simply would not be tolerated in the private sector.

Firstly, it has already been pointed out that PS can be sacked or made redundant. Nobdy wants to be made redundant, but that is a decision for the government to make. Dont be surprised if there is a 5,000 redundancy program put in place by next month.

Secondly, it is as hard to sack someone in the private sector as it is in the public sector. All employees are afforded the same rights. The difference arises in the will to sack someone. An employer of a small business who is seeing one of his employees constantly underperform and cost him money will have more will to sack someone than a general serectary of a large organisation who would rather not have to deal the issue as it can be legally time-consuming and detrimental to the organisation as a whole.

The problems lies with the accountability of those who are paid (very well) to manage the PS.

[sparkey321]

I know a private sector worker who was beaten by his boss with a lunchbox for turning up 2 minutes late

Proper order.

Bet he was not late again.... ;-)

[atlantic]

We will all be public sector workers soon,at the rate of unemployment.It might go like Uruguay in the 1960s where people used to rush into work a half hour early to get a sit because they did'nt have chairs for to people sit on,so the rest had to stand around all day.

[Leftfemme22]

Another thread pashing the public sector with the exact same contributions and contributors.

[Leftfemme22]

Firstly, it has already been pointed out that PS can be sacked or made redundant. Nobdy wants to be made redundant, but that is a decision for the government to make. Dont be surprised if there is a 5,000 redundancy program put in place by next month.

Secondly, it is as hard to sack someone in the private sector as it is in the public sector. All employees are afforded the same rights. The difference arises in the will to sack someone. An employer of a small business who is seeing one of his employees constantly underperform and cost him money will have more will to sack someone than a general serectary of a large organisation who would rather not have to deal the issue as it can be legally time-consuming and detrimental to the organisation as a whole.

The problems lies with the accountability of those who are paid (very well) to manage the PS.

This along with your other post is probably the only real contribution to the thread so far, I particularly agree with your closing comment.

Management standard are particularly woeful in the public sector. Strangely enough these same useless managers also use the excuse of strong unions and their so-called stymieing effect.

Its management’s right to manage and so on and so forth.

I dare say half the crowd on this site bashing the public sector are in fact Public sector middle managers and public sector HR managers.