Public sector - Pensions

[maisiejoe123]

AIBU - to get irritated by the public sector bleating that they are being picked on with regard to their final salary pension schemes and being asked to retire at 65 as opposed to 60.

Why are they any different from others? I would love to retire at 60 but my company has moved the retirement date to 65. The state pension age has also moved. I understand all of this and whilst I am not happy (dont want to chase my retirement!)I accept that things need to change.

And they plan to strike???

Attractive redundancy packages????

That's another thing that's changed, and about to change again. Redundancy packages are also being downgraded to being less than generous - to make sacking shedloads of public employees even cheaper

Overtime is a thing of the past, and yes SOME have access to flexitime but in reality being entitled to it doesn't mean you can use it!

We've already been subject to loads of change and scapegoating for having perfect working conditions, and this is just another thing.

The pension has already been subject to changes over the years and this is just another thing that we're being told we have to put up with because we work in the public sector.

The reality is if too many people opt out of the pension scheme the money will have to come from tax payers to pay the people that are already drawing theit public sector pension....

Well said takeresponsibility. As well you should be roaring from the rooftops.

I just don't get this my pension's shit so yours should be too mentality. Surely we should be striving for everyone to have enough to live off in their old age rather than griping about other people doing better than us?

In my locala uthority I think the redundancy package for ordinary workers is 1 week of pay for each year worked and 1.5 weeks for every year for people over the age of 40. This si the same as statutory redundancy pay, but unlike statutory redundancy pay the weekly pay limit isn't capped.

But I know a Director in the local authority recently retired. I know he was paid way more than this amount.

Friends I know who have been made redundant from Capital One and Experian have had brilliant redundancy packages in comparison and access to expensive training to help them find another job.

Oh and for many of us even though we don't work for the military, police, NHS, we have a clause in our contract that if we are needed outside of our working hours we have to be available even at 2am! I know nobody in the private sector that has this!

Actually I'm going to hide this now cos I'm really fecked off - I work in a supposedly 'safe' (in danger terms not redundancy) office job in the public sector - but I've had colleagues that have died or been seriously injured in the course of their work. And if we ever have the misfortune for anything like what's happened in Japan to happen here it will be us public sector workers risking our lives just like we do every time it floods.

Now if the public don't think we deserve our pensions on that then feck em.

Many public sector workers have already had changes to their pensions in the last few years anyway.

Teaching pensions changed about 5 or so years ago making them less attractive, and upping the retirement age. I used to work for a govt funded agency and their pension had to be wound up so I have nothing from those years - the council who took on the contract wouldn't honour the pensions arrangements.

When my Dh worked for the local council all the admin/office staff had their pensions altered to require longer service, then they were all made redundant/privatised anyway.

For some people this is not the first change in years that it is presented to be in the media - it is one in a long line of changes that are all about reducing entitlements.

The govt isn't interested in saving money. They are interested in LOOKING like they are saving money. Hence stopping defense contracts but still having to pay for them without getting the goods, and winding up 'quangos' but facing massive redundancy payouts. Maybe one day we will get a govt who are interested in looking to the long term - all we seem to get are politician who are interested in keeping their jobs, at whatever cost to the country. (And nice jobs they are too - why don't MPs take a cut in their wages and pensions?)

Yes terms and conditions can change in any company or job, but I wouldn't expect anyone to be happy if the changes affect them negatively.

I friend who works in a company has just had to agree to a 10% pay cut to keep his job. Yes he is glad he still has a job, but he is not happy he has had his pay cut.

Perfectly reasonable to be unhappy with changes in your job that affect you negatively, even if they do make sense for the employer.

Don't go AuntieMaggie. Thankfully not everyone has such a low opinion of public sector workers. I think the vast majority of people have a huge amount of respect for public sector workers and recognise the incredible jobs that they do, often for very little reward.

"I don't see why the public should have to pay towards the public sector pensions"

Because this is who employs us. The money we receive is from that large organisation called the government. Thats like saying you dont get why shareholders and company owners in the private sector should pay towards private sector pensions

Auntie - If anything happened here like in Japan then anyone, whether they be in private or public sector jobs, who has the skills and abilities to help will be called upon to assist and risk their lives.

TBH I think pensions would be the last thing on our minds if that was the case but thats taking away from the original argument.

I do feel for ANYONE who has their terms and conditions changed, but it happens. I think the divide and apathy comes from us private sector workers not being able to do anything about it. We cant throw our toys out of the pram and strike, if we dont like something that changes its tough shit. Maybe for me its a bit of jealousy that Private sector workers are able to strike whereas if I tried to kick up a stink that for the last 2 years (and the next one) I am not getting a pay rise Id be shown the door.

I am a civil servant. In 19 years I've had overtime ONCE as they won't pay it. In these cases, we are expected to make use of flexi time, ie we come in to do more than normal hours to complete the work we need to do, and are then expected to take the time off at less busy periods.

Trouble is, we have very few less busy periods so I'm always with quite a few hours to take and no real chance of taking them.

And while there are higher grades who have entitlements in their terms and conditions of service to first class travel, etc, these "perks" have long since disappeared in reality due to the ever-present rush to make savings.

And why don't we get the real issue into the open - Private sector pensions were fabulous and much, much better than public sector pensions - until Labour started taxing those private pensions to the tune of around £100 billion a year.

For years, Private sector workers had a real boom time - decent pensions, good salaries, perks, bonuses, etc. I had friends telling me how sorry they were that I worked in the civil service. We were definitely considered to be lower paid people.

So now that's all changed. The private sector is squeezing everyone who works for them and these workers are now lashing out at the public sector workers, whose pay, etc hasn't magically increased from the time that we were considered poorly paid.

In reality people want to drag the public sector down as they're envious when previously they were contemptuous.

And while we're about it, there is one ministry where the lowest paid admin staff had to receive an emergency pay rise one year - because the legal minimum wage had risen and the department suddenly realised the lowest paid staff would be BELOW that minimum wage, and by a significant margin in some cases!

But if they were in the private sector they could say no... whether we have the skills or abilities or not we can be called in at a moments notice.

It's in my t&c's that I am obligated to be called in if required, whatever the date/time, etc.

Ditto DartsRus... and do whatever I'm asked to do!

Oh yes, to do whatever you get asked to do.......luckily it's not happened yet!

southmum why can't private sector workers strike

Although the public sector is much better unionised than the private sector, there are still millions of private sector workers who belong to unions.

You know those BA cabin crew on strike? They're not public sector.

Remember those courageous Gate Gourmet women who went on strike? They're not public sector.

If you're jealous of the benefits that being in a union brings, then join a union :)

Thats what I meant, public sector workers get better protection if they strike.

Sadly I cant join a union as my industry does not recognise them, nor do unions recognise my industry.

southmum, we get the same legal protection as anyone else in a union, no more than that. If we strike, we still lose pay, and any time off due to striking is not counted when totting up your service for the amount of pension you're due

I just received an email saying we are on strike thursday. Wish it was tuesday.

Darts / Maggie - I am also bound by my Ts and Cs to be available for work whenever they ask. I had to make a 6 hour found trip journey to South Wales and have a meeting inbetween whilst I was 6 months pg. I found out I had to be there for 10am at 6pm the night before.

Yes I will lose a good days pay, or a third of my weekly income.

Option to strike??!!! Chance would be a fine thing! As a nurse my conscience wouldn't allow me to - I would be wondering who was looking after the patients the whole time! I think the majority of public sector workers wouldn't even consider striking to be honest. The train drivers who went on strike a few weeks ago because they were 'only' getting a 10% pay rise over 3 years made my blood boil (private sector, no?) when my pay has been frozen.
And I'm sick of hearing about my 'gold plated' pension. £5000 a year is hardly gold plated. Yes I will 'bleat', and it's my right to do so. And as for overtime, on the extremely rare occasion it us offered it is at a lower rate of pay than my usual pay. Instead we are expected to work with less staff and stuff the poor patients whose care is compromised because who cares about them right?!

We have this in our letter

We ask that every member observes the strike. Every member who does not support the strike is directly undermining the union's bargaining power and making it harder for the union to protect all its members

melie -sadly, it's nurses who say that, the 'no striking' bit (and I know exactly why you say it) that this government is taking advantage of. There was once a time that governments handled front line NHS staff's pay negotiations more sensitively, recognising that 'forcing' front line staff to strike would be psychologically damaging to them (as well as not-so-good for their patients!) thus rarely made staff even need to consider striking. No more. Gloves are off.

And if anyone wants to know why I'm disgruntled, I'd suggest frozen increments (and increments aren't automatic, by the way!), Agenda for Change's extra 3 hours a week worked effectively for free and the recent letter suggesting that if we took a further pay hit, it just might save colleagues' jobs. Oh, and the fact the Royal wedding isn't being treated like a public holiday (and thus not paid as such).

Finally, yes, to be honest, I expected to be paid more for the extra hours I used to work as a junior. 27.5 hour shift, anyone? Once a week?