To feel a tiny bit of pity for Nick Buckles (chief exec G4S) after reading this

[ontheedgeofwhatever]

Nick Buckles bucklesl

I mean how on earth did he ever get promoted so far beyond his capabilities and stuck in such a humiliating position? The Gods were having a laugh the day he got the job surely?

So AIBU to feel just a tiny trace of pity for this poor man or does he deserve every last bit of his misery?

sorry link again

YABU

I'm more sorry for the poster on here who is missing her child's first birthday because she is in the military and has been drafted in to help sort out this firm's mess.

No, I thought that too when I saw the footage on the News. He and his company were just so out of their depth.

Should be blamed on whoever gave them the contract really. I would be interested to know what the biggest event they had provided security for was when they got the contract.

There are quite a few spectacularly incompetent people in high positions making a lot of money, unfortunately. And he's not giving back any of the 57 MILLION POUNDS even though the whole thing is more or less fucked...

Sorry, I have little sympathy for someone in the military missing a child's birthday. If you want to be there for all your child's birthdays or special events, then get another career.

I'm more sorry for my daughter who gave up several weekends to train for the G4S security role, got her uniform, got her accreditation, got no job and seemingly no chance of one as G4S system hasn't got round to recognising that she's jumped through all the hoops and is ready to work.
And the news keeps saying that G4S staff are not turning up for work. No they're not- because no one is telling them where to work.

I did feel slightly sorry for him when the MPs kept banging on about the fact that G4S hadn't recruited the security staff before they signed the contract, seemingly suggesting that G4S should have recruited several thousand people for jobs before they knew whether or not they would have the jobs to offer.

Buckles was completely out of his depth, and G4S is a bloody shambolic company to work with - we used another dept of the company and owing to some admin cockup on their part, they supplied their services for free for 6 of the 11 years that we used them for. Which was actually a good thing as they regularly ballsed up on what we ordered.

Nope. CSMS

Whatdo the BBC started saying that on Monday (that they wernt turning up for work) and they kept on with this very selective reporting as long as they could. They really want to make sure they hold on to the cash cow that is the TV licence as long as they can.

i saw a comment on the Guardian site that G4S were advertising for workfarers to do security for the Olympics back in Feb. My guess is due to the scandal of the jubilee stewards they thought better of it and then couldnt organize the alternative in time.

The alternative is trained and ready. I know several young people who are fully trained but haven't been able to get a start date yet. I emailed the BBC about their G4S reporting and they asked if my daughter would talk to them about it. But she's desperate to do the job and doesn't want to risk it by speaking on camera. She offered off the record but they never came back on that.
These people have the training, the uniform, the security clearance, the accreditation, they are just missing G4S getting in touch with them to say they can start.
My daughter has phoned numerous times. Last time she found there were 6 different files with her name on - all with incomplete records of her training. She's going to ring again tomorrow but the message is always, just wait for an email.

Nope. He still has his job. I know people who are unemployed through no fault of their own who would be more competent than him.

Lotto CSMS?

He makes his millions by exploiting the people who work for him. I don't feel any sympathy for the useless fecker at all. Nearly got away with charging the government £40k per 'guard' while paying minimum wage for a few weeks. How the hell is that deserve of anything other than contempt?

vj32 was your comment really necessary. IMO it was just plain rude.....

I hope all those with trained up DCs get jobs soon.

I don't mind if they keep the 57 million, so long as they pay all the army and police costs. Including compensating soldiers for lost holidays etc.

Why should they keep the 57 million? They haven't delivered on their part of the bargain

I don't feel remotely sorry for him - he's running a shambolic company

I see what you mean. I do feel a trace of sympathy for those who have swallowed all the corporate crap, drunk the 'bigger is better' Kool Aid, fought down the tiny voice saying 'but this doesn't work, does it?' and who are then holding the turd when the music stops.

But I feel a lot more sympathy for the rest of us those who are required to work for less and less, in money, security, anything, while being told that it is essential that people like him are paid thirty times what we are, that they are simply worth thirty times as much. So I don't feel all that much sympathy when he is covered in thirty times as much crap.

No, no sympathy at all.

vj32 - that would be Tessa Jowell then, who awarded them the contract. Quite how Miliband then had the brass neck to say that he didn't believe in private policing, when his own party handed this contract out I have no idea.

I just think its odd how everyone is making a fuss, the media I guess, about calling in the army to provide security. They ARE security. That is their purpose. Great if the civilian forces can do it, but I would rather have the army doing a professional job than loads of spotty teenagers who have done a few days training. No offence to people whose children have done the training, just several of the people they showed on the news looked rather weedy and quiet and not the kind of person you want protecting people.

YABU

Contracting out fails far too often. You can contract out the services all you like but governments cannot absolve themselves of the responsibility. So when it goes wrong it costs money.

Madness.

And that is where you're wrong. There role is warfare not security. The army should not be for hire (therefore in theory G4S can't and should not pay them).

'Deploying' these soldiers to the Olympics straight from Afghanistan breaks the military covenant in my opinion.

Interesting answers.

whatdoiknowanyway - how on earth have they managed to train and accredit people and then not use them? your poor dd she must be well beyond angry by now.

I do actually feel sorry for the military who've been dragged into this. A lot of them had just returned from demanding tours of duty only to find they have to police the Olympics of all things when what they really need is to rest, spend time with family and recuperate before returning to the front line

I suppose it is appropriate in one way that such a shambles of a company is headed up by such a shambles of a man but even though I'm clearly unreasonable still can't help feeling the tiniest spark of sympathy for him as an individual. He'd have been happier stacking shelves or cleaning floors or working on a production line or some other menial job that didn't require high levels of intellect (no offense to people who do this jobs I've done them myself and actually quite enjoyed them)

My dh just read the link and asked ' where did they find this turd?'
No sympathy here. He has fucked up and the bloke next to him who claimed the plans were 'water tight' lied through his teeth just a short time ago.
G4s have a bad reputation have for years. When they took up prisoner transport for the police they regularly 'lost' prisoners.
I have been involved with them a few times a different companies I have worked for and they always have a bad reputation.
I want to know who decided to give them the contract.

I work in the security industry and I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for the idiot.

G4S are not some new two-bit concern; they're the amalgamation of Group 4 and Securicor. They aren't kidding about being the 3rd biggest employer in the world - internationally, they are, right behind the NHS and the Chinese Army.

They've handled huge contracts before. They had a team of crack lawyers look at the contract before they signed it. They knew exactly how long it takes to train and licence a new Guard - they do it all the time.

The thing is, the whole Private Security Industry knew they wouldn't pull this off. And if we knew, they knew. 10,000 guards for one day? It was never going to happen from one contractor. Never. And despite that being blazingly obvious, they still took the money - public money- and said they'd deliver.

And what's really annoying, is that there is a method by which the Private Security Industry could have handled security for the Olympics - the SIA Register of Approved Contractors. 3,500 companies out of around the 12,000 Security companies in the UK who jump through hoops set by the Government controlled SIA to meet the standard. G4S is one - all the big firms are - but so are a lot of others.

3 guards from each of those firms - already licensed, screened and vetted and experienced, would have more than met the numbers needed. And would actually have seen money going back into the economy all over the country.

Instead the contract was given to one firm - bad Security Practice to start with, as it gives an obvious target to get a job with! - who conveniently sponsored a stand in the Olympic stadium and who have god knows how many ex-MP's as Non-exec directors.

I don't feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for the public whose money he's taken and the Industry his cock-up is damaging!

Very interesting post, Ginny.

Amongst their many other failings, let's not forget G4S have just got away with murder - literally. Or manslaughter at best. Their staff suffocated a deportee to death. G4S know perfectly well which restraint techniques threaten life and limb - yet they used a lethal hold on this poor man. And as usual the crappy CPS says 'not enough evidence to prosecute'. It's only if there is footage that's given to the media that cases of killing by the authorities are prosecuted - look at the G20 demo where the CPS weren't interested until a bystander gave video footage to the media.

(And that 'officer' has just got away with it, despite a track record of brutality as long as your arm and actually being dismissed from the police previously - who were so incompetent they actually allowed him back without - they claim - realising he'd already been sacked. He should never have been there to kill poor Mr Tomlinson in the first place.)