Croke Park Agreement exceeds targets.

[Baron von Biffo]

Attacks on PS workers are continuing. Today the EU Commission, vis the Bundestag (or vice versa) has called for reductions in PS pay rather than cutting numbers.

That strategy is in effect a call for another tax on PS workers to fund services that we all use. Apart from being unfair it's also unworkable. Further pay cuts will transfer costs from the pay budget to the SW budget through the FIS system. They will also drive out PS workers who will be able to earn more in other sectors/countries.

[Shaadi]

Attacks on PS workers are continuing. Today the EU Commission, vis the Bundestag (or vice versa) has called for reductions in PS pay rather than cutting numbers.

That strategy is in effect a call for another tax on PS workers to fund services that we all use. Apart from being unfair it's also unworkable. Further pay cuts will transfer costs from the pay budget to the SW budget through the FIS system. They will also drive out PS workers who will be able to earn more in other sectors/countries.

Those on above the FIS threshold won't be draining the SW budget. The problem is that those who are well paid in the PS are protected by the collective bargaining power of the PS Unions.

There should be no paycuts for the lower paid PS workers until the top echelons have had as much as they can take of pay cuts. The PS kitty is only so big, it's time the PS unions started to think about how that kitty is divided out.

The Troika are determined that we become competitive and the books are balanced, the Govt are only determined that only some people become competitive. Thatcherism Irish style.

[fluffybiscuits]

Attacks on PS workers are continuing. Today the EU Commission, vis the Bundestag (or vice versa) has called for reductions in PS pay rather than cutting numbers.

That strategy is in effect a call for another tax on PS workers to fund services that we all use. Apart from being unfair it's also unworkable. Further pay cuts will transfer costs from the pay budget to the SW budget through the FIS system. They will also drive out PS workers who will be able to earn more in other sectors/countries.

Some govt departments have had training from external organisations about redeployment. The them of this training? How to succeed in an external environment with little or no mention of internal transfers. The buzz from my place and others has been that this must mean that there is something on the books in terms of compulsory redundancies. The unions seem to be just paying lip service though to their members and have not opened their mouths at all about any of it. Its a complete mess....

[morticia]

Why are none of these so-called commentators taking a look at excessive pay and pensions at the top? For starters, the lump sums should go and no-one should be getting a pension of more than 60k, tops. Why not tackle this before crashing the mortgages of the 30-50 something's with young children, and costing the earth in yet more bank bailouts in the process ??

Total idiocy. If the Germans want to harmonise our wages with theirs, fine, but only after they've harmonised our mortgages with theirs too.

[fluffybiscuits]

Why are none of these so-called commentators taking a look at excessive pay and pensions at the top? For starters, the lump sums should go and no-one should be getting a pension of more than 60k, tops. Why not tackle this before crashing the mortgages of the 30-50 something's with young children, and costing the earth in yet more bank bailouts in the process ??

Total idiocy. If the Germans want to harmonise our wages with theirs, fine, but only after they've harmonised our mortgages with theirs too.

+1

The union reps have been calling for the top brass in the CS and the PS for cuts to the top of the management scale. The unions seem to just ignore the calls and instead rattle on about raising our wages.

[disability student]

+1

The union reps have been calling for the top brass in the CS and the PS for cuts to the top of the management scale. The unions seem to just ignore the calls and instead rattle on about raising our wages.

I have been saying for some time that top brass of the unions were too close to the govt such as Horan, Cassells,Loone, Murphy of Siptu.

[Baron von Biffo]

Those on above the FIS threshold won't be draining the SW budget. The problem is that those who are well paid in the PS are protected by the collective bargaining power of the PS Unions.

There should be no paycuts for the lower paid PS workers until the top echelons have had as much as they can take of pay cuts. The PS kitty is only so big, it's time the PS unions started to think about how that kitty is divided out.

The Troika are determined that we become competitive and the books are balanced, the Govt are only determined that only some people become competitive. Thatcherism Irish style.

According to figures from the Dept of Administrative Affairs only 2.26% of PS workers are paid more than €100k, gross (and bear in mind that PS salaries are worth, on average, 7% less than the same gross in the private sector). Is that 'well paid'? If you're a JobsBridge slave it's a fortune but if you're CEO of a multi-million state company or at the top of your field in medicine, law, education etc it's probably less than the 'perks' package you'd get on top of your salary in the private sector.

It's very easy to call for cuts at 'the top' but actually implementing such cuts isn't consequence free. Those affected will be educated and experienced people and many of them can simply walk away leaving us without their talents - Selecting a site for the children's hospital will become academic if we can't attract the professionals to staff it.

Even when staff remain in place until retirement, and the top earners will typically be closer to retirement, we wont be able to attract first class replacements. Big salaries don't guarantee talent but paying below the market pretty much guarantees you wont get the best.

Another issue is that if you keep cutting the top you eventually bring salary levels there down to those in the middle. That cuts the incentive for middle ranked people to seek the additional pressures and responsibilities that come with promotion. At that point the ESRI produces a paper on pay wedges in the PS and stirs up pressure for cuts in the middle. Before long the government will (sadly, of course) find it has no alternative but to cut at the bottom.

[morticia]

There is some validity to those points, but the pensions could definitely come down, since the private sector doesn't, we are told, offer any sort of equivalent, even for the top brass. Except for Ftse 100 CEO types, of course.

Furthermore, I am not entirely sure about the arguments put forward by the top brass for continuing to pay them squizillions. The housing costs have come down, and if Germany can hang on to it's hospital consultants for half the wonga, why can't we? They mostly speak fluent English too and could similarly be poached by the Mayo clinic etc, so why not. At the very least, they need to freeze pay at the top and let inflation take care of the rest.

I am a public servant, but even I am aware that 60bn outlay versus 30bn tax take can't continue. The trick will be to aim the axe in areas that won't further collapse the mortgage situation. The most equitable way of doing that is to hack excessive pensions.

[Baron von Biffo]

This Week had a very hostile piece on Croke Park earlier. Commentators who tried to depict it as being just a pay deal and FG lobby-fodder articulating long term FG policy to hammer the lowest paid workers in each PS grade were given free rein.

The pressure to outsource public services in the interest of private profit continues to grow.

[riposte]

According to figures from the Dept of Administrative Affairs only 2.26% of PS workers are paid more than €100k, gross (and bear in mind that PS salaries are worth, on average, 7% less than the same gross in the private sector). .

I'll keep that at the forefront of my mind.

Is that 'well paid'? If you're a JobsBridge slave it's a fortune but if you're CEO of a multi-million state company or at the top of your field in medicine, law, education etc it's probably less than the 'perks' package you'd get on top of your salary in the private sector.

.

I'm not ......... anybody else around here?

[Greengoddess]

The inevitable failure of CP will bring down the government /create an exit strategy.

[riposte]

The inevitable failure of CP will bring down the government /create an exit strategy.

Have you heard that view being expressed in Labour circles Greengoddess? .... or have you access to those circles now .... lol !!

[Greengoddess]

No to former and not much to latter! Just a speculation .

[ang]

[I]The pressure to outsource public services in the interest of private profit continues to grow.

We must remember this is Govt policy. The four year plan and the Troika agreement both go for €2BN in privatisation but this Govt are determined to up that figure to €5BN under the guise of funding for a jobs programme which the Troika have not yet agreed to but Enda lurves the EU head patting.

[Baron von Biffo]

We must remember this is Govt policy. The four year plan and the Troika agreement both go for €2BN in privatisation but this Govt are determined to up that figure to €5BN under the guise of funding for a jobs programme which the Troika have not yet agreed to but Enda lurves the EU head patting.

My belief is that Croke Park was designed to fail so that there would be no barrier to any privatisation.