Public Sector Vs Private Sector

[selfemployedmar]

The mistake is in treating the public service as one monolithic entity with uniform workload and pay. This is not the case. For example, not all public service workers actually earn scandalous amounts of money; many have mediocre incomes and some even struggle to support their families. It's the ones at the top, the TDs, Ministers, Director Generals etc who really rake it in. We would do better to work on these guys' pay packages than to aim at the lower downs.

Workload within the public service is also uneven. There is a perception that the civil service is riddled with lazy wasters who do nothing but sit around all day. This may be the case in some areas but take, for example, the social welfare dept where workers are absolutely run off their feet trying to cope with all the new sign-ons and have been begging for support staff to be transferred from the other departments for months. On the other hand, the government is raking in considerably less in revenue these days so presumably there isn't as much work to be done in the revenue department? Why not re-allocate the workers there and get better value for money?

Why not employ people on the dole to handle the work load! Instead of jobs for the boys!!/Girls!! My goodness who would say that the PS were wasters???? Never! Only people that saw it first hand themselves! Their arrogance even in this current recession amazes me!! I had a colleague that signed on recently and despite the queue they the PS continued to have a coffee break and chatted in the hall.. I guess it was about how busy they were!

[evercloserunion]

Why not employ people on the dole to handle the work load! Instead of jobs for the boys!!/Girls!! My goodness who would say that the PS were wasters???? Never! Only people that saw it first hand themselves! Their arrogance even in this current recession amazes me!! I had a colleague that signed on recently and despite the queue they the PS continued to have a coffee break and chatted in the hall.. I guess it was about how busy they were!

You've just done exactly what I've advised we not do - tar the entire public service with one brush. The vast majority of civil service jobs are not jobs for the boys/girls, and most civil servants if not working in the civil service would be on the dole so I hardly think there's any point in employing even more from the dole to work there. One thing I have noticed since the start of the recession is that a lot of people are starting to empathize more with the CS workers because now a lot more people are actually going into the social welfare offices to sign on and see the work that the staff there actually do. I know for a fact that the majority of social welfare workers are run off their feet most of the time. Your friend's convenient little anecdote was either a rare example of the "bad eggs" of the CS (which do exist of course) or, much more likely, was completely made up in order to further your own agenda.

[Right is right]

The mistake is in treating the public service as one monolithic entity with uniform workload and pay. This is not the case. For example, not all public service workers actually earn scandalous amounts of money; many have mediocre incomes and some even struggle to support their families. It's the ones at the top, the TDs, Ministers, Director Generals etc who really rake it in. We would do better to work on these guys' pay packages than to aim at the lower downs.

Workload within the public service is also uneven. There is a perception that the civil service is riddled with lazy wasters who do nothing but sit around all day. This may be the case in some areas but take, for example, the social welfare dept where workers are absolutely run off their feet trying to cope with all the new sign-ons and have been begging for support staff to be transferred from the other departments for months. On the other hand, the government is raking in considerably less in revenue these days so presumably there isn't as much work to be done in the revenue department? Why not re-allocate the workers there and get better value for money?

If there are so many in the civil service how come the avg pay in the public sector is far higher than elsewhere at 49k??? It is the same in the private sector that people make very low wages also and struggle so that is not an arguement that works.

If the Dept of Welfare staff are struggling to get transfers it is because the unions have created a situation whereby you can't forcibly transfer someone to cover this requirement. If you talk to people in a lot of areas/departments they could easily identify numerous people who could quite easily be done without and should be done without.

The revenue actually have to start working to earn their money now by identifying all the people not paying their tax properly and how to take in more money and shouldn't have it as easy as they have had.

[selfemployedmar]

You've just done exactly what I've advised we not do - tar the entire public service with one brush. The vast majority of civil service jobs are not jobs for the boys/girls, and most civil servants if not working in the civil service would be on the dole so I hardly think there's any point in employing even more from the dole to work there. One thing I have noticed since the start of the recession is that a lot of people are starting to empathize more with the CS workers because now a lot more people are actually going into the social welfare offices to sign on and see the work that the staff there actually do. I know for a fact that the majority of social welfare workers are run off their feet most of the time. Your friend's convenient little anecdote was either a rare example of the "bad eggs" of the CS (which do exist of course) or, much more likely, was completely made up in order to further your own agenda.

What about when the HSE put in new computerised systems, they found that they had €11,000 PS on the payroll that they did not even know they had!! The PS brought the divide on themselves the minute they went along with the unions and decided to strike!! The unions in this country are always responsible for the divide!

[selfemployedmar]

It is going to get worse, however if we stop all the rediculous strike action by the PS, clean out the bank system, stop having the unions agree ludicrous wage agreements that no small business can match, then we will encourage investment into this country, all other countries see is greed in all sectors!! Remeber your small business person does not take a penny out of the public finances but contribute greatly. Milkman,hairdressers,butcher,vegetable shop owner,small engineering companies, web developers the list is endless. They pay very heavy rate bills to local governments and are on a even par with multinationals. These people are responsible for keeping a lot of people off the dole for years. So support local, stop the whinging I say to PS/Unions etc, and try to be a small entrepreneur there is endless oportunities out there, even if the weekly income/ return is small

From my page on " The Recession "