Anyone else fearful that the 5% pay cut given to Cabinet ministers will be passed down to all public sector workers?

[JackiePaper]

It's not looking good is it, both me and DH work in the public sector, and if we get 5% pay cuts, NI goes up 1%, Tax credits are cut and VAT increases to 20% i don't actually think we will be able to afford food

The public sector here have in Ireland have alewady had large pay cuts and additional income levies have been imposed too ( taxes). So, brace yourself, I'd say they will be coming to the UK soon.

aarghhelp, dh has paid in for 13 years and they HAVE changed the terms, no final salary scheme and various other stuff - didn't want to read it tbh too depressing - that's my pension too and we've both paid AVCs into it as well.

Agree Meita

the public sector has been hit hard too - the media just don't focus on it because it's not cool... it's far more interesting to focus on the minority in the public sector than publish the truth

my team was reduced by 60% 2 years ago and no we don't do that much less

you can complain about public sector workers being protected, but its cuts in this area that will have serious consequences to people's every day lives

Cargirl - not a million miles away from DEFRA but we never had a tennis courts, football pitch or goat paddock as far as I know!

If the public sector get away with 5% they'll be doing well, if there are cuts as opposed to the pay freezes talked about. The cuts in Ireland have been deep and I hope by keeping out of the Euro we can avid them here.

Labour incidentally went to the EU for a legal opinion on their position if they stopped paying public sector pensions last year. They were told no dice.

Dh retires from the Forces in just under 4 years; I am assuming his pension won't be touched as he is close to leaving, but he may get made redundant in the meantime. It may be too political to axe HM Forces pensions, even if the pay is frozen or cut. I can't see that they can do this retrospectively, and I don't think it would be tried as it would cause hassle with the unions.

Quattro - you make the point about pensions very neatly. Like you I'm on a 20% contribution. I know public sector pensions are not the final salary non-contributory joys they once were but they are in the main, massively more generous than private sector ones.

Other perks my ps friends get (I don't begrudge them at all unless they whinge ):

• pretty flexible in terms of hours - no one really seems to mind if you take a few hours when it's a bit quiet
• claiming every extra second as overtime (even at managerial level)
• really good holiday allowance
• for some of them, a secure job for life.

As a teacher workng in the public sector and earning just shy of 40K I would be happy to see a short term pay cut for people on salaries like mine, up to about 10%.

As for suggesting that the public sector not being hit, I have worked in a school where they were laying off staff left right and centre because of crippling budgets.

Just a small point about pensions. The institutions that buy and sell our debt and that our pushing us towards these cuts are, in the main, pension funds.

no overtime in my nhs trust but we can claim time off in lieu

Can't (and wouldn't dream of asking) just take a few hours here or there. Work 9-5 with one half hour break.

That is my point tho (if rather badly expressed but linked to my earlier post) - you can't make a blanket assertion across all public sector jobs. They are as diverse as the private sector so it's really not helpful. Except for pensions. As far as I know, there are no public sector schemes which demand a 20% contribution from the employee which is fairly standard in the private sector

I could have written LunaticFringe's post pretty much word for word.

Local government is far removed from the civil service - people often seem to lump us all together.

I don't think you can make a blanket assertion about pensions either.

My private sector pension was non-contributory. Dh pays 11% into his public sector pension.

ahh well just think of us poor sods with no job who they'll be "encouraging" back to work...............in ermm - well I'm not quite sure what jobs as some of you will be joining us down here on the bottom of the pile

Can I just ask why then there ahve been all these public sector cuts when the borrowing levels are so high, supposedly to meet the outgoings?

The money has been coming in, but if costs have been cut, where the fuck did it go?

I think some parts of the public sector have been doing very well. The school I now teach in has had a huge rebuild costing millions, expansion in staff, new facilites. My previous school was laying off about 20% of staff including teachers and support staff.

Ladybiscuit I certainly don't recognise your description of public sector work.

I work all my contracted hours plus extra (I'm on mnet tonight in between finishing some work) and I never get overtime. I don't know anybody who does apart from nurses who've worked extra shifts for which quite rightly they are paid.
My holiday allowance is 5.8 weeks pro rata plus Bank holidays - not bad but hardly extravagant.
Job for life - no, probably not.

I am only basing this on the two public sector workers I know very well indeed. One works in local government making sure that vulnerable people are getting the support they need (so not actually a care worker). She gets TOIL every 5 mins extra she works, watched Wimbledon every year in their office and has told me that she cannot be sacked.

My other friend works in HE and when the students are on holiday, takes 4 hour lunchbreaks or doesn't go in until lunchtime. She is paid a 37 hour week like I am but works 10-5 and always takes an hour for lunch.

That's why I keep saying that you can't make sweeping statements about the sector - I know there are loads of people who work their arses off for £50 a day. But there are (I can't believe my friends are the only two) an awful lot of people who work within PS without doing an awful lot.

Having said that, there are an awful lot of people in the private sector who do the same. The difference is that taxes aren't paying for them to do online shopping (which is what my colleague does most of the day).

Yes to the OP's question, and don't forget that child benefit might be cut or taxed too, particularly for those of us whose household income might sound ok but it's all committed already - with 2 aged 3 and 15 months, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit and childcare vouchers are almost as much as what's left of my take home pay after the costs of going out to work.

I think the basic precis is that private and public sector alike, we're all fucked.

Litchick the money in public sector is going to pay for building rent/maintenance for all the PFI new-builds schools and hospitals that were needed. Contracts that are 25 years long...

Oh... and huge contracts to private care providers (adults and children alike) because public care homes are being shut down left, right and centre...

I think it would cost more to means test child benefit so it is unlikey to happen. I would like to see it means tested personally it it would pay. I said on another thread I think people need to be honest with themselves and ask if they really need their tax credits, child benefit etc.