The betrayal of a public sector pay freeze

[Ori3]

Yes, we're facing the biggest economic crisis since peacetime. Yes money has to be found. But as a first measure, why instantly freeze the pay of teachers, police, firefighters, council staff and civil servants; key-workers who have risked so much during the pandemic.

These are the people holed up in a room looking after 30+ kids per day, supporting vulnerable people in social care, helping businesses access the furlough scheme, supplying universal credit, dealing with household emergencies, and tackling an increase in demand for urgent care services.

And their reward for helping to keep the show going? The certainty of a pay freeze for the next however many years and a conciliatory pat-on-the-head as added bonus. It's a joke.

And the awful irony of it all is that these are the sectors that protect most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society, alongside looking after the nation's kids. They're the ones gluing it all together. Shut the schools and you've got a crisis. Stop social care and you've got a crisis. Get rid of the police force = crisis. Oh and firefighters? Who needs them? Council workers? Well all they do is push pieces of paper around and refuse to answer calls?! Get rid of them too.

In the words of Fight Club's Chuck Palahniuk:

“Remember this. The people you're trying to step on, we're everyone you depend on. We're the people who do your laundry and cook your food and serve your dinner. We make your bed. We guard you while you're asleep. We drive the ambulances. We direct your call. We are cooks and taxi drivers and we know everything about you. We process your insurance claims and credit card charges. We control every part of your life.

We are the middle children of history, raised by television to believe that someday we'll be millionaires and movie stars and rock stars, but we won't. And we're just learning this fact. So don't fuck with us.”

Whenever I see posts claiming the public sector has better pay, better pension, more holidays, and security of tenure I find myself wondering what it is about private sector jobs that makes those people want to stay in the private sector rather than move to the public sector.

I have a disabled child who came under the Special Educational Needs Division of the LEA (as it was) and the Children with Disabilities Team at Social Services. I heard from another parent of a child with SEN, in DD's special class, who did work for the LA, that she was put under pressure "not to rock the boat". I never wanted to be in the position, where I was blackmailed to sacrifice my child's needs for education and care, for the sake of my pay/career.

I have also mainly acted as a carer to DD on and off for years. When I got £67.25 per week for looking after her 24/7 for 7 months from March, I find the anger of people in the public sector on full pay and pensions, because they won't get a pay rise , beyond belief! The government wouldn't even increase the Carers Allowance in March by £20 per week, when they increased universal credit for the new claimants.

Believe me, the public sector has nothing on informal carers for being taken advantage of by the government for caring!

I don't think the pay or pension is amazing in the public sector. Nor is there the job security that people rant on about. I haven't had one for years. Yet MPs manage to get a pay rise. We're not all in it together are we, it's us and them. And they insult us by awarding themselves pay rises with our money whilst patting us on the head for a job well done, long shifts, putting our lives at risk and limited PPE.

Anyone here who is in favour of lockdowns cannot now complain about public sector workers not receiving a payrise.

Well my husband is leaving the public sector for a life changing pay rise in the private sector. He’s turning down jobs left, right and centre. Admittedly he’s quite the specialist but still, he’s glad he’s off.

@Coastercat

I have worked in both public and private sectors. When times are tough, private sector workers get no increase - not ‘no cost of living increase’ - no increase at all. For years. I’m public sector now and loving it. Yes I don’t get a bonus or private medical cover but the holidays are so much better, it’s much much harder to be made redundant, the pension is INCREDIBLE, pay rises happen most years. Some public sector workers just don’t understand how good they have it!

I work in the private sector but in a role where I spend an awful lot of time analysing other peopls finances.

i am paid a full 25% less than a pubic sector equivalent role. My pension is 5% employer contribution compared to the 24% in an equivalent role. I have to buy extra holiday. I have not had a pay rise in years, of any sort. My 'bonus' last year which people witter on about was £118.00 in total.

I can't get too excited about a lack of pay rise.

Oh- and i worked my arse off during lockdown as well as my company were trigger happy with taking the furlough payments and furloughed 80% of the staff. I have not had a weekend off since March 23rd.

I honestly do not think the public sector get how protected they are.

@CatRed200 then why haven't you moved to public sector then if your private job is so bad

I honestly do not think the public sector get how protected they are

I’m public sector. Since 2008 I’ve had either no pay increase or 1% max, so my pay in 2020 is 20% less in real terms.
In the same time frame, private sector DH has had pay rises every year of at least 3.5% + bonuses minimum 5%.
I’ve been threatened with a move to work 60 miles away. 2 years later my workplace was at risk of closure altogether. Both would have meant losing my job.

Colleagues have left and have not been replaced, so the work load has increased.

What exactly is the public sector protected against?

I'm in a public sector role working throughout Covid in a face to face position with high risk service users but I am one of the few that will get a pay rise as I am paid a few pence over the current "Living Wage".

Remind me, how many years was the last public sector pay freeze for?

Since 2013 the Government has funded public sector workforces for average pay awards of 1%. During the period 2011-2013, a public sector pay freeze was in place for public sector workers excluding those earning £21,000 or less, who received pay increases of at least £250.

That was 2018. So two years of frozen pay, followed by five years of 1%.

I recall once, when in MOD, one year's pay rise had to be massive for the lowest pay bands, compared to higher pay bands, because the rise in minimum wage that year meant that our pay scales would have left those on the lowest pay bands below minimum wage.

@TurquoiseDragon

I recall once, when in MOD, one year's pay rise had to be massive for the lowest pay bands, compared to higher pay bands, because the rise in minimum wage that year meant that our pay scales would have left those on the lowest pay bands below minimum wage.

Yep, early 00's iirc.

Public sector wages have been frozen or stuck below inflation for ten years. It's a big pay cut essentially. no way of being able to afford a mortgage or move on with your life despite having a degree and professional job.

@thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter

people working for the government enjoy safe well-paid jobs

Lol

Yes their jobs may be relatively safe but they are far from well paid. They used to be years ago, but now are a couple of pence above the minimum wage, after enduring a pay freeze for the last 10 yrs. These are people who work hard ensuring the public receive their benefits etc on time.

@thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter I had an AA work for me who had quite a jump in pay because of this, and I remember thinking how how everyone assumed we got fantastic pay, and were shocked when I mentioned this.

How can you consider a job safe when the public sector body i work in has been doing restructures and transformations every year for past 5yrs! People reduced and every transformation you have to reapply for your role...I know a team that went on 2 transformations within space of own year!

Irs not true anymore, no job is safe anywhere

@TurquoiseDragon

I recall once, when in MOD, one year's pay rise had to be massive for the lowest pay bands, compared to higher pay bands, because the rise in minimum wage that year meant that our pay scales would have left those on the lowest pay bands below minimum wage.

I am a CS (but not MOJ) - without the announced £250pa raise I would be being paid under minimum wage in April next year so this isn't a thing of the past.

I suggest people attack the vulture capitalists benefitting from this and from Brexit, rather than each other.

CatRed200 then why haven't you moved to public sector then if your private job is so bad

Perhaps she would like to, but the roles like hers are clogged up with dead wood who won’t ever move on because they know that they won’t come near to matching their generous benefits in the real world? Just a thought.

How can you consider a job safe when the public sector body i work in has been doing restructures and transformations every year for past 5yrs!

Do you think that you and your organisation should be exempt from cost reductions, and that you should be guaranteed a role for ever? That is the reality of work: things change, not always to your liking. The PP’s point is that public sector roles are safer than their private sector counterparts. Ask anyone in the travel, hospitality and non-food retail sectors.

So much i've read here has made me so fucking angry, but i'm heartened how many recognise that this is purely political divide and rule. I've been on all sides, public, private and charitable sector, and am now self employed. Each has pros and cons. I've been served far better during the pandemic as a self-employed person - receiving a % of my income plus being able to continue to trade during covid - compared to my partner in a public sector role where he has essentially worked for a pay cut over the last 10 years, equating to have worked a year for free. He has a pension but it is a huge chunk out of his salary - it's not a fucking freebie. We can barely afford our tiny house. Holiday is a tent. We all depend on each other - of course we need private enterprise but we also need public services. His role (and mine when in that sector) isn't glamorous, but it is the kind of thing you depend on. Also worth remembering that many, many people in public sector roles are on temporary contracts and have no job security, even more so now so many aspects are outsourced - the lines are blurred. We need to be supporting everyone's right to a decent standard of living and not pitting one against the other - it's not a competition - we should all be on the same side and care about the vulnerable, unlike our fucking government. Don't let them divide us.

Rubbishing tenuous “the public sector have it so hard compared to everyone else!” arguments is not ‘pitting one against the other’ or ‘being divided’.

Would you prefer everyone responding to the OP to join her in boo-hooing over the plight of the poor, poor public sector and cursing the chancellor for their pay freeze? Of course you would.

I’m ex-public sector. The ‘effectively working for a pay cut’ thing came up every year when - shock! - we were asked to pay more towards the extremely generous pension, the projected long term costs of which were accelerating. The better paid people paid a greater percentage of their salaries, and rightly so.

The alternative was clear: if you didn’t want to pay, say, 8% towards your pension, leave the defined benefit pension scheme and make your own arrangements. Nobody did, though. They preferred to whine that everyone else should bankroll the increasing cost of their pension arrangements and their pay rises.

Also, every month or so, we would hear that morale had never been lower. Yet, every month it continued to plunge and nobody left for the private sector. Almost unfathomable, isn’t it?

@babayaga22

Anyone here who is in favour of lockdowns cannot now complain about public sector workers not receiving a payrise.

Need not be repeated again and again. Lockdown enthusiasts, engage your brain cells.

I worked in the public sector for years.
Whilst there were always restructures and worries about redundancy it never happened. Many people had worked there all their working lives.

Then I left and set up my own company.
Man when I was a public sector worker I didn’t know I was born .
But in many ways, although it’s far more precarious in the private sector, I much prefer it.

@HelloMissus

I worked in the public sector for years. Whilst there were always restructures and worries about redundancy it never happened. Many people had worked there all their working lives.

Then I left and set up my own company.
Man when I was a public sector worker I didn’t know I was born .
But in many ways, although it’s far more precarious in the private sector, I much prefer it.

Unless it was last year, things have changed. Also, it depends on where in the public sector you worked.

Bella I worked at the BBC.
We were very divorced from anything to do with the business end of making films and TV.
When I set up my own prod go I was not prepared at all