Public sector pay rise demands unreasonable?

[stickershock]

I’m a nurse and outraged that we’ll only be getting (most likely) a 3% wage increase. I’m fully in favour of a strike action. But I’ve also just read that the junior doctors are planning a strike if they aren’t awarded a 22% increase 😮

We have all been losing wages year on year but 22% seems unrealistic. AIBU or have they got brilliant bargaining tactics?

@fromdownwest the thread is about public sector workers, so that's who we're thanking. If the post was about Bhutanese postal workers or cleaners named Norma in Scunthorpe, that's who we'd be thanking.

On the flip side, I find it interesting that people can not see that public bodies do not create their own wealth, and the majority of their money comes from the taxes of all people, including the private sectors income, corp, vat, cgt taxation receipts.

So, the private sector in a large part funds the enhance pensions of the public sector, whilst they could only dream of such luxury non market linked pensions, and then get shot down when they take offence at a 22% pay rise increase from the public sector.

Which in turn, would also increase their pension provision.

Before people say it is not a race to the bottom, how about, campaigning for better pension provision for the private sectore, so at lease it can get to a portion of what would be provided for a public sector worker.

I don’t have to pay tax? Excellent news!

The people with the highest pensions I know are in the private sector. They also have private medical insurance and other perks.

Raging against MP’s pay is a self defeating narrative. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. And quite frankly, the thick, brain dead cohort of 600 odd MPs we have is exactly what we deserve.

MPs pay isn’t exactly competitive vs the best and brightest in the private sector. Which is why smart people don’t want to be MPs. If we had smarter people in parliament, perhaps they would have made better decisions. You know, like voting against locking the country down unnecessarily which is the biggest reason for the inflationary mess we are in.

My thanks to all low paid, exploited, unthanked and mostly unnoticed workers who worked through the pandemic. Everyone who kept the country going, including Whitty, Van Tamm et al who may or may not be in need of a pay rise but were definitely exploited. Everyone apart from the partying, boozing, shagging, public money spending charlatans of Bozo's cabal and anyone else who was filling their pockets at public expense whilst laughing behind our backs. I hope that's sufficiently explanatory for you. Fill in you own blanks if you feel I've missed something.

I agree in part about decisions, but the abuse they get online and offline can also put people off so wouldn’t use that phrasing

what percentage rise did they get?

@fromdownwest

The private sector could always strike for better pensions....

Or question why those at the top of the private sector are making so much money compared to them....

A young doctor friend of mine (F2) reckons he makes £9.50 an hour based on the actual shift length he works.

@Topgub
You do know there are female doctors and male nurses right?

They could, however they are funded by the company that employs them, who have a finite amount of money. No money, no pension, simple.
The public sectore however, can just take money of the magic money tree to fund their 22% pay rise and 1/80's index linked pension for life.

You do realise, that there is a whole range of small companies in the private sector, not just champagne drinking, private yacht spivs.
We don't all drive Ferraris and bath in bolly!

26,000 starting salary for an Executive Assistant (PA) at Birmingham University. That's just one vacancy requiring a minimum of A levels. Feel free to check out the other ridiculously overpaid salaries for support staff in HE.

I am private sector and this year it was 1.5 per cent which is about the same as previous years. No final salary pension either.

It's Labour who are dividing with the intended strike action. As for anybody daring to complain, if you're a Tory on here, you can always expect the pile on.

@Callingoccupants I was quite deliberate in not saying this is a Tory issue, I mentioned decades and governments in my post. Whilst divide and rule is a well known tory tactic this issue is not one created by them alone - although they have had a long time to sort it out/prevent it worsening. I honestly don't give a monkeys who is in power (on this issue) I just want the government who is in power to meet it head on and do their job properly.

No, as private sector, you haven't got the tax payer funding your lucrative pension. How anybody can argue you are less hard done by than the public sector is beyond me.

@SauceGirl

Yes

@fromdownwest

But there is money. And if there isn't, then the business should waste less, be more efficient etc etc

Or if private sector workers think public sector jobs are so easy and well paid they could always join the public sector.

There's loads of vacancies

'and if there isn't, then the business should waste less, be more efficient'

Isn't this the exact point the Government is making around these cuts and limits on payrises?!!!!

Brilliant

If you want to talk about bloated and inefficieny, I woudl happily talk you through some of my reports on the NHS spend for the previous tax year.

'Or if private sector workers think public sector jobs are so easy and well paid they could always join the public sector.'

The classic, if it is so good, then why don't you come across. Maybe my career is not available in the public sector?!

There's a flip side to that coin. If public sector workers are as overworked as they always moan about, they can always join the private sector.

I never understand that. If being a nurse, hospital cleaner, carer, teacher is so fantastically paid with such wonderful conditions and pensions why aren't they overwhelmed with people looking for jobs.

One of my kids is a nurse, they don't work in the NHS much as they love it as they get so much more money in the private sector.

I get none of that in an above average (about £60K pre-tax) private sector role. SSP if off sick.

I pay loads of tax. I also work very long hours that most people wouldn't.

It's never too late for a career change if the money and conditions are worth it.

You don't understand why someone would not want to be a nurse, carer, teacher or hospital cleaner etc

I am not sure the NHS is crying our for Aerospace engineers, not sure the Civil Service have a Pilot academy yet, and I am still awaiting the Liux coding job of android boxes to come in in the Local Government offices.

People, can have careers outside of the public sector, you do realise that, right?

Are ppl really trying to suggest that police/medical/teachers' pensions are worth less than retail/hospitality/IT staff in the private sector?!

If people think being a nurse, carer, teacher or hospital cleaner is a job they wouldn't want to do or couldn't do then maybe they shouldn't be knocking the people doing those jobs because they want a decent wage. We need those people as you might discover one day.