Public sector pensions strike?

[Simon Pieman]

Yes.

Then that's the problem* I have with the strike action. There are alternatives, it's not anybody's fault they just happen to be not as good.

*I say problem because I don't really care. The reality is any government would find a way to claw back money, even if not directly from pension changes. Someone, somewhere is going to be worse off. Tough breaks.

[Batch]

The changes the teachers made in 2007 were a proven need, so we did it.  No strikes or industrial action, but negotiation.  This time, for example, the government have said the change from RPI to CPI is non-negotiable...hardly a good start to negotiations.

The government have not published the state of the teachers pension (it is two years overdue to be published)...without that how do we know the scheme needs the changes the governement are trying to dictate?  We don't.

As I said, I have sympathy there. I don't agree that strike action is the way to make a point.

I also think that reducing long term costs to the government is a legitimate action. But if the total  pay in to the pension over the next 20 or 30 years was predicted to be less than the total pay out then aren't you better off with a private pension? You'd effectively be giving a surpless to the pension pot (or more likely the Government).

[Arriba]

You're basically saying those on the £15k threshold are all struggling to make a living and put food on the table and that they're all going to die because they're being asked to pay another £450 a year into their pension.

No i'm not. Try reading what i do say before making your sarcastic comments.

[Batch]

No i'm not. Try reading what i do say before making your sarcastic comments.

I don't want an account deleting argument, but it did read that way to me too.

 

[Samdy Gray]

No i'm not. Try reading what i do say before making your sarcastic comments.

If that wasn't the point of your posts then I'm struggling to see what was the point.

[red socks]

Poor people's life expectancy in the uk is ten years less than rich people. Fact.

I pay well over £300 per month into my public sector pension, I'm getting a bit pissed off with people saying Im getting something for nothing, I have paid into it for years and now they are changing the rules. But its ok for Bankers to get £1m pound bonuses cause the recession is the fault of police, nurses doctors teachers and social workers.

Hope clarkson has a heart attack and sees the funny side when the ambulance coming to get him gets stuck in traffic....  

[Batch]

Rules change, you still get the 300 per month you put in. Nobody is blaming the man in the street, we have all felt the pain from the bank meltdown.

Lastly I like the hypocrisy of your wish of Clarkson having a heart attack for saying people should be shot.

[Samdy Gray]

I pay well over £300 per month into my public sector pension, I'm getting a bit pissed off with people saying Im getting something for nothing, I have paid into it for years and now they are changing the rules.

Like Batch said, rules change. Plenty of private sector schemes have been changed or even closed.

At least your £300pm will still get you a guaranteed pension. Think yourself lucky they haven't changed it to a money purchase scheme or closed it all together.

[Mister Lorenzo]

The public sector needs to be streamlined. Less middle management bullst and more workers on the coal face on a decent wage in health, education, civil service etc. That those who deserve it are not being paid as they should is down to the bloated sector that they work in with diversity officers, equality officers, LGB integration workers and other such bks!

But in this instance they have to recognise that whilst they are a part of this labour party fuelled behemoth, it is one which we just cannot sustain. YES we need to cut benefits to the feckless. YES we need to cut immigration. YES we need to cut health tourists.

BUT the public sector has to be made more streamlined and efficient and begin to provide what it should for the inordinate amount of money being thrown at it. And the people within it just do not recognise what the normal, working person in the street can see from miles away!

[Mister Lorenzo]

I want the local council to sweep mud off the roads and gutters, tidy the hedges, suck the drains out and make sure litter is picked up.

I also want the roads resurfaced when they get damaged by frost and I want a good program of improvements designed to aid flow of traffic, I want affordable car parking near to work.

I want the police to operate a visual effective service that actually cuts crime down, I want the courts to deal with these people effectivly so punishment is a punishment. I want the prisons to be dry and warm and provide food and training but to be a punishment.

I want public transport to be a viable alternative to cars, not just in London but all over the country, if it is to work it needs to be subsidised and run properly with times and frequency to suit the peak hours.

I want a health service that is efficient and has enough beds, doctors, nurses and surgeons, This service needs to be local, a good full hospital in every major town.

This is just for starters, at the moment we get none of the above yet we are paying for all the above many times over.

[ghanimah]

Poor people's life expectancy in the uk is ten years less than rich people. Fact.

I pay well over £300 per month into my public sector pension, I'm getting a bit pissed off with people saying Im getting something for nothing, I have paid into it for years and now they are changing the rules. But its ok for Bankers to get £1m pound bonuses cause the recession is the fault of police, nurses doctors teachers and social workers.

Hope clarkson has a heart attack and sees the funny side when the ambulance coming to get him gets stuck in traffic....  

And I got pissed off when I lost my final salary scheme in 2006, in part thanks to Gordon Brown. It happens. The public scheme would have had to be reformed anyway with or without the recession - it was unsustainable but for obvious reasons Labour bottled it.

The terms on offer are still generous, certainly I would bite the Government's hand off (and probably many others in the private sector) if I was offered those terms.

Personally I think the unions have picked the wrong battle, no-one is going to have much sympathy in these austere times, when a generous pension scheme has been down graded to a slight less generous pension scheme which is still better than most others out there.

The unions would in my view better off keeping their powder dry for other problems coming down track particularly if the Eurozone goes pop.

[Arriba]

I don't want an account deleting argument, but it did read that way to me too.

 

Well maybe you should read it again as what i said was quite clear.
Samdy was trying to be clever by being sarcastic and twisting what i'd typed. No counter arguements though.

I'd never delete my account due to a arguement on here.

[Arriba]

Then that's the problem* I have with the strike action. There are alternatives, it's not anybody's fault they just happen to be not as good.

*I say problem because I don't really care. The reality is any government would find a way to claw back money, even if not directly from pension changes. Someone, somewhere is going to be worse off. Tough breaks.

It's those who are bearing the brunt that i don't think is fair. So its "tough breaks" for those who already don't have alot.

[Samdy Gray]

Well maybe you should read it again as what i said was quite clear.
Samdy was trying to be clever by being sarcastic and twisting what i'd typed. No counter arguements though.

You said that those in poorer areas will have a lower life expectancy because of these changes.

What part of that is not saying people will die earlier?

[Arriba]

I want the local council to sweep mud off the roads and gutters, tidy the hedges, suck the drains out and make sure litter is picked up.

I also want the roads resurfaced when they get damaged by frost and I want a good program of improvements designed to aid flow of traffic, I want affordable car parking near to work.

I want the police to operate a visual effective service that actually cuts crime down, I want the courts to deal with these people effectivly so punishment is a punishment. I want the prisons to be dry and warm and provide food and training but to be a punishment.

I want public transport to be a viable alternative to cars, not just in London but all over the country, if it is to work it needs to be subsidised and run properly with times and frequency to suit the peak hours.

I want a health service that is efficient and has enough beds, doctors, nurses and surgeons, This service needs to be local, a good full hospital in every major town.

This is just for starters, at the moment we get none of the above yet we are paying for all the above many times over.

You wont get any of that under a tory government it will only get worse.
Labour with all their faults improved public services