[Archived] Local Government Strike

[stuwilky]

Does when you need to get rid of em.

Anyway have you not worked it out yet Stu? The usual route seems to be to take a long term view, make em redundant, re employ at a higher rate and snatch it all back next round of contract negotiations. Workers and their unions have brought it all upon themselves by making people virtually unsackable. We are currently looking for a part time office assisitant through an employment agency. It'll cost us more on the face of it per week but we will have no worries when we have to get rid or when pregnancy and maternity / illness / holidays / sick notes crop up.

It's not nice of course but so what? It is simply a consequence of imbalanced employment rules. 'Head count reduction' on one hand is 'head ache reduction' on the other.

It depends Drog.

Surely it is far easier to simply use the processes that exist. Statute is the same in public and private sectors when people follow them through. It makes the rest of the staffs life easy.

But yes, Im disgregarding comments about binning people for being pregnant. But then Ive won a few tribunals on that one! Watch out for the new agency regs though.

I'll never accept that making 12 people redundant to take 7 back as consultants is cheaper or easier than losing a handful that do not perform.

And I am a union official.

[thenodrog]

You feel it's OK to get rid of someone for being pregnant or ill or wanting holiday leave?

Blimey! That's a bit Third World isn't it? Would you be happy if those terms were applied to your job? (Probably the pregnancy bit excepted I suggest.)

I did say it's not nice Colin. It's not 3rd world either ... it's the real world. Where do you think money comes from? It's not some comfy central govt source that cannot refuse at all. It's real and it has to be earned. I've no objection if an employee wants to be pregnant but why the hell should other workers have to work harder to subsidise it? Cos thats what it means in my real world.

Watch out for the new agency regs though.

Oh God what's coming next to harrass the employer?

[wilyrover]

Must have broke his heart when they brought the minimum wage in.

[thenodrog]

Must have broke his heart when they brought the minimum wage in.

Min wage is completely irrelevent to me but ..... 'One mans meat is another mans poison'..... The Min wage in the UK certainly didn't meet with many objections in SE Asia did it?

[Paul Mellelieu]

You feel it's OK to get rid of someone for being pregnant or ill or wanting holiday leave?

Blimey! That's a bit Third World isn't it? Would you be happy if those terms were applied to your job? (Probably the pregnancy bit excepted I suggest.)

It's also against the law Colin.

[thenodrog]

It's also against the law Colin.

Not in India and China it's not. Exactly why most of our manufacturing industry and myriads of support industries have migrated to SE Asia. The great British consumer will not pay for pregnant / sick / bone idle workers if they can get something cheaper elsewhere will they? But well done Paul you are getting there slowly.

[blue phil]

If you can justify your comment that

"Labour has created hundreds of thousands of them"

Then I'l be glad to hear it. Otherwise you need to stop beleiving the myth.

Public sector employment was 5,846,000 (20.4 per cent of all in employment) in June 2005, 680,000 (13.2 per cent) higher than in June 1998. From 1998 to 2005 private sector employment rose by 1,241,000 (5.7 per cent), with total employment increasing by 1,921,000 (7.2 per cent).

The largest increases in public sector employment since June 1998 have been in health and social work (up by 300,000) and education (up 224,000).

[Paul Mellelieu]

Public sector employment was 5,846,000 (20.4 per cent of all in employment) in June 2005, 680,000 (13.2 per cent) higher than in June 1998. From 1998 to 2005 private sector employment rose by 1,241,000 (5.7 per cent), with total employment increasing by 1,921,000 (7.2 per cent).

The largest increases in public sector employment since June 1998 have been in health and social work (up by 300,000) and education (up 224,000).

These figures demonstrate the historic investment in health and care services, ie the doubling of investment in the NHS; and in education to reduce class sizes, and the expansion of higher education. Under the Tories both sectors were woefully underfunded, the proof of which is that Cameron won't pledge to cut them.

[thenodrog]

Public sector employment was 5,846,000 (20.4 per cent of all in employment) in June 2005, 680,000 (13.2 per cent) higher than in June 1998. From 1998 to 2005 private sector employment rose by 1,241,000 (5.7 per cent), with total employment increasing by 1,921,000 (7.2 per cent).

The largest increases in public sector employment since June 1998 have been in health and social work (up by 300,000) and education (up 224,000).

Thats an est 22% of all people in employment! Presumably all spending time and resources looking after about 25million largely unemployed!

How tf can we afford it a. now and b. when we are battling a recession? Something will have to give.

[stuwilky]

Public sector employment was 5,846,000 (20.4 per cent of all in employment) in June 2005, 680,000 (13.2 per cent) higher than in June 1998. From 1998 to 2005 private sector employment rose by 1,241,000 (5.7 per cent), with total employment increasing by 1,921,000 (7.2 per cent).

The largest increases in public sector employment since June 1998 have been in health and social work (up by 300,000) and education (up 224,000).

Phil, I dont disbelieve you in the slightest, but any chance of a link to that source please.

[philipl]

Blimey, sounds like you need the Maltese bus drivers to come over and show your local government luvvies how to run a proper strike.

Mind you they screwed up after a day of blockading everything that was hoping to move across the country when the police impounded the nation's bus fleet cos' the silly wotsit's only went and parked up in the bus station which has one entrance and exit when they all went for their strike barbie after a day of mayhem and total disorder!

So they went to sing jolly songs outside the Minister's private home at 3am when they couldn't get home themselves...

[blue phil]

Phil, I dont disbelieve you in the slightest, but any chance of a link to that source please.

The Daily Mail .....

Just joking - it was the National Office for Statistics

If you cut and paste the whole quote and stick it on google it'll take you there .

[stuwilky]

The Daily Mail .....

Just joking - it was the National Office for Statistics

If you cut and paste the whole quote and stick it on google it'll take you there .

Its actually a very interesting report. And confirms that as a percentage of the total employed it remains relatively constant as a percentage (variance between 19 and 20.5%).

[blue phil]

Just shows what you can do with statistics , Stu ...

( Oh ....and I wouldn't exactly say it was interesting .....! )

[stuwilky]

Just shows what you can do with statistics , Stu ...

( Oh ....and I wouldn't exactly say it was interesting .....! )

Aye, concur.

And it is, with what Ive got on my plate at the moment!