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What should be done about Public Sector pay?

(515 Posts)
GracesGranMK2 Sun 16-Jul-17 18:09:49

I think my second question would be - just who gets public sector pay these days with outsourcing, etc.

durhamjen Sun 23-Jul-17 11:23:59

Actually it was take on apprenticeships, not apprentices.
You should become an apprentice yourself.
Some Tory MP said it in a commons debate, I believe.

durhamjen Sun 23-Jul-17 11:21:59

But think of the paperwork, Jalima.

Jalima1108 Sun 23-Jul-17 11:03:04

I am not a WASPI woman, but I could take on a cleaning apprentice.
I could teach them what to do without actually having to do it myself.

durhamjen Sun 23-Jul-17 11:00:34

Who was it who said that waspi women should take on apprenticeships?
Seems like there could be a lot of plumbing apprenticeships around.

Jalima1108 Sun 23-Jul-17 10:55:14

His son may have put it on straight. He's seven.
However, all is well now!

durhamjen Sun 23-Jul-17 10:48:21

My plumber has his son as his apprentice. I wonder what would have happened if he had done that.
Fortunately he didn't - perfectly straight and working well.

Jalima1108 Sun 23-Jul-17 10:31:19

Could he be the same one who worked for my plumber and put the radiator on wonky?

durhamjen Sun 23-Jul-17 10:29:46

That's why capital gains and income tax should be equalised, Jalima, so bosses see no advantage.

Gillybob, why are you always so disparaging about your apprentice? Did you not choose him?
Can you not sack him if he is not doing his job?

gillybob Sun 23-Jul-17 10:28:17

I know a lady who cleans for various people ( not me) all cash in hand and she has a waiting list too . Was thinking of asking her if she could pass a few of her "clients" on to me . I am a meticulous cleaner . wink

Welshwife Sun 23-Jul-17 10:27:23

The width of pay scale in some of these public service jobs is very wide and not till a person has been doing the job for a few years does the pay get at all reasonable against other jobs - also by the time qualifications are gained these people are several years older than many people starting work.

Some one a couple of pages ago said we had plenty of doctors and nurses to fill the gaps - that is not the experience of the people actually trying to fill the vacancies whether as locums or permanent!

Jalima1108 Sun 23-Jul-17 10:23:27

I found it - it was 10 years ago, so I hope she's doing better now.
www.standard.co.uk/news/the-cleaner-liable-for-22-tax-while-her-apax-bosses-pay-just-10-6592772.html

Even the bosses felt embarrassed by the difference but I wonder if embarrassment is a thing of the past?

gillybob Sun 23-Jul-17 10:21:31

Our apprentice pays more tax than I do Jalima as he "earns" more . I put the word earns in inverted commas because the term is rather inappropriate for him. A more appropriate word would be "gets" .

Jalima1108 Sun 23-Jul-17 10:16:53

I remember years ago there being a furore in the newspapers about the cleaner in a London firm (solicitors or financial?) who paid more tax than her boss.
I wonder where they both are now and if she is doing better.

durhamjen Sun 23-Jul-17 10:13:02

Corbyn's no more than 20 times the lowest pay should be easily achievable in public and private pay, Jalima.

durhamjen Sun 23-Jul-17 10:10:21

The way forward is to raise minimum pay to £10 an hour.
If you take more people out of tax, it means less money to spend on essential services, so less money in circulation.
We need to get building council houses again so more people have a place to call home, on which to spend their extra pay.
We need to stop differentiating up to the age of 25.
Those who work over 18 years of age need a living wage, too.
Age discrimination is supposed to be illegal. That should be at the bottom of the age range as well as at the top.

Jalima1108 Sun 23-Jul-17 10:08:31

I read Primrose's post as being non-literal - rather that the part about teachers'/nurses' pay was written in a cynical/sarcastic/ironic way (I struggle here for the correct word) and meant the opposite to what she said - and that this was based on a disbelief that:
If there's any truth in those figures and a more 'common income' for full-time work is £12,872 (and I cannot sort of believe that) it supports my view that public sector workers are overpaid.

Judging by my link about senior Fire chiefs managing to award themselves pay rises way above those of the 'rank and file' fire officers whose pay has been restricted, it could be partly true.
One rule for the chiefs, quite another for the people at the coalface so to speak.

And also supports the view that those at the top are earning unacceptable multiples of the pay of everyone else including qualified professionals - and not just in the private sector.

suzied Sun 23-Jul-17 09:50:24

6 m people live in London so a lot of teachers, nurses and police needed.

Primrose65 Sun 23-Jul-17 09:44:00

Maizie you did read the other things I've posted didn't you?

gillybob Sun 23-Jul-17 09:38:54

Don't care what anyone says but imo Teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters are all quite well paid . And before anyone quotes house prices we don't all live in London ! It's the people at the bottom of the tree we should be concentrating on . Those on grade 1 and 2 . Having said that the people doing the more menial work in the private sector are also struggling at the bottom of the pile ( often more so on zero hours contracts etc) so perhaps the way forward to help these people is to take them out of taxation .

MaizieD Sun 23-Jul-17 09:16:19

In which case, Primrose, would you explain what you meant in this statement.

Those working in the public sector probably do deserve a pay cut then. It's looking like those 'low wage' LA jobs are actually representative salaries and teachers/nurses are raking it in.

Primrose65 Sun 23-Jul-17 07:32:31

I'm not raging against public sector employees and I don't think anyone else is on the thread.

WilmaKnickersfit Sun 23-Jul-17 02:12:03

The Equality Trust analysis found that FTSE 100 chief executives are now paid 165 times more than a nurse, 140 times more than a teacher, 132 times more than a police officer and 312 times more than a care worker.

From fullfact.org

...The trend in inequality at the very top has been different to the trend across the bulk of the population. Although income inequality has generally fallen, the share of income that goes to the very richest households has continued to rise, and that’s been reflected in the public interest about the incomes of the top 1%.

Eloethan Sun 23-Jul-17 01:05:58

suzied There is such inequality in this country. No one has mentioned professionals in the private sector- corporate lawyers, bankers, finance directors. Paid shedloads+ company cars+bonuses +index linked pensions

I absolutely agree with you - and I have mentioned it many, many times but very few people who rage against public service employees seem interested in addressing the absolutely fundamental observation you make. They would prefer to call those who put forward these opinions as either "envious" or "hypocritical".

gillybob Sat 22-Jul-17 23:33:24

I have had a glass 2 glasses 3 glasses a bottle of wine so I'm staying out of it now.

Norah Sat 22-Jul-17 22:47:47

None of the teachers or nurses I know are "raking it in" - to be honest they are all quite poor. And these are the people teaching and caring for the ill, what does that say to values?