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Hello chums,

Well, i sat down with my calculator and worked out how much more my pension is going to cost me. I mean, judging by the way the public sector are up in arms, im sure its a life changing amount right?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14323514

I earn about 19k a year. Not a good salary, but I dont have to go to Afghanistan or Iraq anymore and im too old for that thse days.

I pay £89.52 a month into the local government pension service, and extremely fair one, considering what my brother gets from his own (private) company.

I now must pay £90.05

Egads! However shall I cope.

So, Ill save you all another blast of my scorn for the not so civil servants in this country and simply ask...

If your a public sector worker in the UK, how much is your monthly pension contribution going up by, do you intend to join in the inevitable strikes, and if so, why.

My answers...

53p a month, and absolutely not.

Does your employer make any contribution?

I pay in 10% of my salary each month and my employer pays in 10%. That's about as good a scheme as you can find in the private sector these days.

I'm a teacher, and I'm not that bothered by the pension cuts. I didn't go on strike and would not vote for strike unless something much more outrageous was on the cards.

I'd rather my pension was cut than something that helps me do my job effectively, like special needs assistance or equipment budgets. I'm a young man though so I'm probably not as concerned with it as older people.

Matty, just on the tone of your post, I think the vitriol you feel towards the civil service is a bit counterproductive. It's not a case of all public sector workers being arseholes, I know a lot of hardworking teachers and we get huge amounts of crap from Joe and Johanna Public. In Ireland teachers are held in much higher regard socially, over here, I sometimes feel like dogshit on someone's shoe, the way I get spoken to. I still like my job and wouldn't give it up, but I think people could do with appreciating the people who work for them a little more.

Rather than cut pensions though, I wish there could be some sort of more careful review of waste in public bodies. I mean, teachers, LSA's and technicians do the lion's share of the work in schools, the work that fulfills a school's purpose. But the wastage on administrative roles that replicate a function already carried out, or on ridiculous things like massive plasma screens to display the school's achievements, or even stupid and small things, like buying every kid a textbook and exercise book in a middle class area, drives me mental. I think I'm paid a fair wage for my work, but I still think the education budget could be cut by a significant amount with very little impediment to service. I'm sure it's the same in other sectors.

It's similar in universities, in my experience - when the candidates for Student Union president were canvassing, one guy (who was ultimately elected, shockingly) was gleefully recounting all the things that he, as former vice-president, had 'won' for his fellow students. They basically consisted of things like a fully refurbished common room with a huge plasma screen TV, subsidised trips to Amsterdam, and other such luxuries - I asked him if he thought that campaigning for such things, when the money used could have been better spent on learning materials and services, was a prudent use of tax-payers money in the current climate, he looked at me like I'd just pulled my knob out.

According to a report on the BBC news last night, for a teacher on £35K a year, the pension contributions would rise to be on the order of an extra £450 per year - whilst a not insignificant sum, I'm not sure it justifies the level of ire displayed thus far by certain (not all) members of the teacher's unions.

I am lucky enough to be in a job in the private sector with a fairly enlightened employer who provides a decent pension fund; I have to contribute a fair amount but my employer matches my contributions. I think the main issue is that for too long teachers have relied upon their gold plated pensions which have been steadily growing further away from private sector 'reality' - indeed the pension was seen as an incentive and a 'perk' of going into teaching - in effect, you put up with the crap that goes with being a teacher in return for the promise of a better than average pension. Unfortunately, I think the time has come for teachers to look objectively at the situation and admit that the current pension black hole just isn't sustainable any more.

Albatross wrote:he looked at me like I'd just pulled my knob out.

What did you expect? He sounds like one.

As to the pension, I'm not at the point of paying into one yet so..

The sooner you start paying in the better.

I wish I had the spare cash to start a pension for my daughter. She's only 11.

The way things are set up at the moment, you're expected to pay into your pension big bucks from your 40s onwards, but in the modern world you are still paying big bucks for a mortgage.

This is the kind of stuff they don't teach you at school.

Kilkrazy wrote:The sooner you start paying in the better.

You're quite right, but eh, I'm an idiot. No more need be said. Currently the pittance I earn a month goes towards paying for my education and hobby.

Hopefully when I'm a full timer I'll learn some fiscal responsibility.

I think the problems i have with the civil service are fairly simple and justified...
1) Top level staff retain (comparatively) large salaries and bonus schemes when others are forced to economise or possibly find themselves redundant.
2) Paying Consultancy companies to replace common sense and critcal thinking within government bodies.
3) More and more layers of management and red tape seem to hamper the efficiency of public service. For some time the NHS has had more management staff than hospital beds... Can't say i've noticed much improvement, and none attributable to management.

Rant over

Blackskullandy wrote:...

2) Paying Consultancy companies to replace common sense and critcal thinking within government bodies.

...

This happens in private companies too.

1. It grinds down the morale and skills of the expert internal staff.
2. Eventually the internal staff no longer have the skills to evaluate the offerings of consultants.
3. Then the company are at the mercy of the consultants.

I'd agree with all of that. Especially 2 amd 3. Any consultant you get in to tell you what to do always ends with "And you need to get me back in in a year so I can review progress and induct new staff!"
It's not like said consultancy companies have any common sense or critical thinking ability, anyhow. They generally have an idea that is their product, that they will try to push to fit into whatever organisation hires them, regardless of whether it works well or not in that context. Most of the consultants I've come across in my time in public service (both academia and teaching) are charismatic egomaniacs, too, who seem to bamboozle and hypnotise senior management.
As for the layers of management, god yes. We have this governing body thingy where I work, and they're constantly hiring staff on massive salaries and have their own seperate building. Now, no doubt, they do SOMETHING useful up there. But from my perspective, the only thing they've done "for" me is increase the length of the five page risk assessment form by another five pages, making it a bloody pain in the arse to bring kids on trips anywhere.

My Mrs (also a teacher), actually left her Union over this nonsense. As soon as she informed them of her decision they put put the phone down on her, the petulent pricks.

The funny thing was when she went into work the day of the strike she actually asked me to take her incase there was any trouble (I gleefully accepted incase there was ). But since this was teachers there was no chance of there being a picket line and sure enough not so much as a banner never mind a riot. :(

notprop wrote:
The funny thing was when she went into work the day of the strike she actually asked me to take her incase there was any trouble (I gleefully accepted incase there was ). But since this was teachers there was no chance of there being a picket line and sure enough not so much as a banner never mind a riot. :(

We had one teacher scream "Scabs!" at people who went in to work (there was a picket line). It was embarassing to hear of, and resulted in a lot of tension in the staff room.

MrDwhitey wrote:

We had one teacher scream "Scabs!" at people who went in to work (there was a picket line). It was embarassing to hear of, and resulted in a lot of tension in the staff room.

Haha!

I told my lot on Thursday, that not only will I not be striking (im one of maybe 5% that dont pay union fees or are part of the union) I will tell the police who the ring leaders are and ask them to shoot them first with the baton gun. Sadly, this wont happen in 2011, but I got my point across.

Unrelated, did you see the famous picture of the teacher in the Sun a few weeks ago who had a sign saying something like "Down with the Tory govermant"

I'd be tempted to leave my union too, if I thought they were being unreasonable. I've seen unreasonable unions do a lot of damage to organisations, not a huge fan.

I saw that mispelled sign, his excuse was that it had been made for him by a nurse. Doesn't suprise me though. At least he was out protesting, most of the strikers I know spent the day in bed or watching TV. Though equally a lot of them didn't really want to miss a day of teaching, for the kids sake.

MrDwhitey wrote:

notprop wrote:
The funny thing was when she went into work the day of the strike she actually asked me to take her incase there was any trouble (I gleefully accepted incase there was ). But since this was teachers there was no chance of there being a picket line and sure enough not so much as a banner never mind a riot. :(

We had one teacher scream "Scabs!" at people who went in to work (there was a picket line). It was embarassing to hear of, and resulted in a lot of tension in the staff room.

You have to love dyed in the wool trade unionists, willing to ostracise themselves from friends and colleagues just to make a point - professional TFGs if you will. This is what I was hoping for but to no avail.

This all reminds me of a team mate of mine brought his sister in law & partner (both trade union organisers) to our rugby club dinner and dance and proceeded to remonstrate with the people on our table as to the scandalous disparity of earning of those attending and their poor members. Oblivious to the rather plush country club they were filling their (very) fat faces in.

Suffice to say they got very short shrift when their first question to me was "how much do you earn?"

Pleasingly the ignorant tossers were found wanting in the drinking department and left early rather worse for wear.

Very bad strategy to take on the rugby club at drinking.

Unless you are a medical student.

Of course you could be a rugby playing medical student.

People freak the hell out over any government change, no matter how trivial the effect on their income. It's ridiculous, and the media plays it up, talking the issue up as much as possible but never actually telling anyone how trivial the change is.

Right now in Australia we're bringing in a carbon tax, and lots of people acting like they will have to declare bankruptcy if they lose $150 out of their annual income, but not actually bothering to find out if they'll even be that much worse off (most folk will actually end up with more money in their pocket).

It's really annoying, and makes it very hard for government to deliver good policy.