STRIKE - Scab bastards

[Ismene]

Oh, and if anyone is still unconvinced and believes Cameron is telling the truth

I'm no fan of Cameron. But are you really telling me you can justify a bog standard police constable, on 33 grand a year basic, retiring at the age of 50 on 2/3 final salary index linked?

The taxpayer pumps a billion a year into the police pension fund alone to keep that little racket going.

 

[RLP]

I'm no fan of Cameron. But are you really telling me you can justify a bog standard police constable, on 33 grand a year basic, retiring at the age of 50 on 2/3 final salary index linked?

The taxpayer pumps a billion a year into the police pension fund alone to keep that little racket going.

This isn't the argument.

Cameron is saying public sector pensions as a cost to the tax payer are increasing. The man he asked to commission the report has told him, and the country, the exact opposite, yet Cameron still peddles the original line.

If Cameron thinks some specific jobs are too well paid or the pension is too grand, then he should come out and list the exact professions which are unfair rather than pansy behind an untruth of blaming almost a third of the working population which panders to the reactionary ilk of the shitty red-top 'newspapers.'

 

[felix]

As you may have heard on the news tonight, me and my comrades in Unison will be going on strike along with a number of other major unions on the 30th.

I'm interested in EADDers opinions on this matter.

Are you going to be joining us? Do you think we're sponging whining scum? Or are you possibly whooping and shouting, "Hell yeah, stick it to the man" right now?

pffffttt. if your job is covered by UNISON, you pretty much ARE "The Man". or at least one of his stormtroopers who are only following his orders.

as a constantly outraged tax payer who pays your wages and is therefore practically your BOSS, i think you should all quit your whining, get back to work, and forget about these anachronistic final salary pension schemes, which are made of pixie dust and unicorn tears. by the time you retire, they won't even exist. so wake up to reality and accept the fact that - like all the rest of us - you're gonna have to work until you're 90 and then live under a bridge near a soup kitchen.

and those fucking teachers shouldn't get so many holidays either - they should sweep the streets or clean up graffiti during the school holidays.

ALSO! UNISON happen to look after the Police too, apparently:

Police, probation and cafcass members are part of UNISON's Police and Justice Service Group. As the name suggests, this is a major grouping in the union of all our members who work in the police and justice services. With over 50,000 police and justice members, UNISON is one of the largest unions in the justice system.

i was under the impression that the Police couldn't go on strike - so your fellow union comrades will have great fun and make lots of overtime busting some hippy striker heads. that should make some great TV.


[you did ask for an EADDer's opinion - that was probably Ismene's ]

 

[Ismene]

Cameron is saying public sector pensions as a cost to the tax payer are increasing. The man he asked to commission the report has told him, and the country, the exact opposite, yet Cameron still peddles the original line.

I dunno, I wonder if the problem is the taxpayer doesn't want to pay anything rather than keep paying the same.

Perhaps if the public sector tried linking this to the private sector somehow? Say "Give us a bit less final salary pension and give the private sector workers a fiver extra on their state pension"?

 

[Jabberwocky]

What exactly is a 'proper' job? Training for what? I went to uni, that was fun, didn't learn much though. You think I'm a "bit wearing" you should try reading your own posts.

one that you're committed to stay in for longer than it takes to earn enough to go travelling. training means on the job training, the sort that effectively shows your employer you can actually do stuff and hence consider you for promotion etc. if employers think you're gonna fuck off soon, which will be clear on your cv, they wont invest in you, and why should they? i don't actually think this is in any way right, but its how its been since i graduated in 2007 so its not like you couldn't have known it would be like this before you set off.

lol you wont see me whinging about the consequences of my life choices and then blaming them on my employer. as you even find your own decisions wearing, i'm not remotely surprised that you find things other people do, whether reasonable or not. maybe i'd rethink my posting style but since its from you, its just to be expected. at least its not hurtful this time, unlike when i've tried to offer you support and sympathy in the past.

i might get screwed in my job then die, but i'll have learned some truly wonderful things about the world in the process, been paid to travel to awesome places (loooooaddds of 'proper jobs' offer this perk), and had the opportunity to work with some of the most wonderful minds i've ever come across.

 

[Mr Smokes Blunts.]

You're all missing the point.

UK public sector pension went through a slight reform three years ago to provide sustainability for the next 50 years. Public sector pensions as a % of GDP is set to FALL continually over this period. The figures were compiled by Lord Hutton who commissioned the fucking report on behalf of the Government in the first place. Money isn't the issue.

The public sector pension reform from this Government, whilst predictable, is nothing more than reneging on contracts due to ideological beliefs. If you still wish public sector workers to receive less, fine, but you're in support of a race to the bottom and have no concept of facts. Let me guess, Thatcher, despite killing off our manufacturing base and leading us to the financial problems were currently in, was a brilliant PM?

Oh, I guess there is one scenario whereby public sector pensions would become unaffordable - the Government destroying what was left of a brittle economy, hmm. Well, at least the banks will be able to buy up a shed load of cheap stocks.

I seem to remember reading recently that more manufacturing jobs were lost under Labour than under Thatcher... And besides, I think one of the best things Thatcher did was refuse to pay people to pull rocks out of the ground at a price well above its value, just because they bullied everyone into doing so through strike action. Do you have a link that shows that public sector pensions were sustainable at all please?

I do hope we are reading the same Hutton report, which actually proposed these changes, and provided us with this nifty graph:

 

[RLP]

Your chart only covers the next few years and doesn't account for economic growth over the long term. You can't determine that pensions are unaffordable on a 5 year spread sample.

 

[koneko]

Stat porn %)

 

[felix]

doesn't look like a bellend curve to me.

 

[Ismene]

And besides, I think one of the best things Thatcher did was refuse to pay people to pull rocks out of the ground at a price well above its value, just because they bullied everyone into doing so through strike action.

I dunno Blunts, as soon as Thatcher shut all the mines cos you could get 11 year old kids in Argentina to mine it cheaper, they rammed the price through the roof. I think we ended up paying more for coal than it would have cost us to pay Arthur Scargill and the lads.

 

[charlie clean]

Stat porn %)

 

[Mr Smokes Blunts.]

I dunno Blunts, as soon as Thatcher shut all the mines cos you could get 11 year old kids in Argentina to mine it cheaper, they rammed the price through the roof. I think we ended up paying more for coal than it would have cost us to pay Arthur Scargill and the lads.

There are coal mines here that are economically viable because the price of coal has gone up, but not many... They clearly required heavy subsidies from the state to survive, and it was draining our economy.

 

[Mr Smokes Blunts.]

Your chart only covers the next few years and doesn't account for economic growth over the long term. You can't determine that pensions are unaffordable on a 5 year spread sample.

O yes, because our economy is definitely not looking more like Japans than China's isn't it? You cannot predict that far in advance how much our economy will or will not grow, but we are looking at stagnation for at least the next 10 years. If the Eurozone collapses, which looks possible, that graph will be so far off the mark it's unreal. Also, isn't that a chart to do with benefit payments rather than a chart that shows pension payments? I am unsure.

 

[RLP]

O yes, because our economy is definitely not looking more like Japans than China's isn't it? You cannot predict that far in advance how much our economy will or will not grow, but we are looking at stagnation for at least the next 10 years. If the Eurozone collapses, which looks possible, that graph will be so far off the mark it's unreal. Also, isn't that a chart to do with benefit payments rather than a chart that shows pension payments? I am unsure.

Blame the current Government for our economic outlook. If you support pension reform based on what you've said above then you cannot support the current Governments economic plan. Rock and a hard place?

For what it's worth the negative shift in % of GDP is due to reforms three years ago which take effect over time as well as growth.

Oh and no, it's not a chart to do with benefit payments, the IPSPC (Indepedent Public Sector Pension Commission) is Hutton's (independent) report. Your graph comes from the OBR which is not independent, hence why it miraculously stops including any data which goes against the Government message.

Edit: To reiterate, they're the same graph, just yours is carefully edited to 'show' the 'unaffordable, rising cost' of pensions.

 

[Mr Smokes Blunts.]

Blame the current Government for our economic outlook. If you support pension reform based on what you've said above then you cannot support the current Governments economic plan. Rock and a hard place?

For what it's worth the negative shift in % of GDP is due to reforms three years ago which take effect over time as well as growth.

Oh and no, it's not a chart to do with benefit payments, the IPSPC (Indepedent Public Sector Pension Commission) is Hutton's (independent) report. Your graph comes from the OBR which is not independent, hence why it miraculously stops including any data which goes against the Government message.

Edit: To reiterate, they're the same graph, just yours is carefully edited to 'show' the 'unaffordable, rising cost' of pensions.

Why would I blame the current government for inheriting government during a recession? Labour have shown us absolutely nothing they would have done differently, aside from perhaps cut a fraction less - although they have let to know us how this would happen. I do not see why I would reject the governments plan because I support pension reform. Even during the boom years, pensions were a ticking time bomb. I do not see what happens after 2015 that miraculously sets our economy on a path whereby we can afford to have £1.2 trillion worth of pension liabilities on our books... I could draw the same graph and say that the economy dips way down to pre-WWI levels.

 

[RLP]

The economy wasn't in recession when the Tories inherited it. If you don't think they've made major mistakes since taking office then please explain why they're U-turning everywhere. Please tell me why Osbourne said pre-election that QE was a tactic implemented by those who have failed, only to go and do the very same thing himself a few weeks back now. Please tell me why growth has been revised down from 4%, to 2% to 1% to stagnant since the Tories took office?

Labour are equally bad, if not worse, pretending to be on the side of the people when they, like their Tory counterparts are merely at the hands of the rich puppet master. Both sides don't give a jot about you. You think pension reform in the public sector will improve your life? You think backdoor privatisation of the NHS will improve your care? You think the introduction of fees, top up fees and top up fees x2 makes for a more progressive system? Blue, Red and Yellow couldn't give one single flying fuck about you.

Whoops, seems I've gone off on one! TLDR: 99% of Government policies are enacted for corporation. The remaining 1% of policies are to ensure the peasants don't revolt.

 

[brimz]

anyone know the basoc standard state pension ?
i doubt it is much a pittance i'd imagine , thats the one i'll be getting , tbh it doesn't bother me at all , if i live that long.

My circumstances are probably unique to me , although i ddo no one other BLer in a similar position but hes not been around for a while , last i heard he was in Psych hospital , if your out their

Alright Donnie plur.
Is anyone on a state pension ?

 

[charlie clean]

Think it's £137.50p weekly for a single person, with the odd extra like 'winter fuel allowance' payment. But the good news is we don't have to work for it.

 

[felix]

anyone know the basoc standard state pension ?

i'm sure old charlie was right. but is it relevant to you right now? when do you retire?

 

[charlie clean]

Old Charlie?

Cheeky young Felix?

If retirement is no longer having a job, some on here retired long ago.