Croke Park Agreement exceeds targets.

[DCon]

I assume there will be no cuts to Government Advisers, or Gilmore's future pension

The Government is to attempt to reduce public sector staff numbers by a further 4,000 before the end of the year, according to a report.

The Government had set a target of reducing numbers in the public service to 282,500 by 2015, but now wants to move that deadline to 2014.

This means the Civil Service and non-commercial State companies will have to reduce staff numbers by 10% more than originally planned over the next year.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakin...ff-559101.html

[DCon]

Creighton wants a revamped, updated CPA

Any suggestion that health did not have a big enough budget “is just nonsense”. Ms Creighton said Cabinet meetings between today and December would be dominated by budgetary discussions. She also said the issue of pay would have to be addressed in a second “revamped, updated” Croke Park agreement.

“As James Reilly pointed out in health, he has a 30 per cent element or part, dimension of his budget which he can touch and 70 per cent that’s untouchable. That’s not sustainable if we are to get this country back on track.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...breaking3.html

[Baron von Biffo]

Creighton wants a revamped, updated CPA

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...breaking3.html

FG has long been hostile to paying PS workers a fair wage. During the boom they opposed Benchmarking and Baby Brute led the attacks on the lowest paid in each grade by calling for increments to be abolished.

PS people who switched their vote from FF to FG will be looking for a third way come the next GE.

[C. Flower]

FG has long been hostile to paying PS workers a fair wage. During the boom they opposed Benchmarking and Baby Brute led the attacks on the lowest paid in each grade by calling for increments to be abolished.

PS people who switched their vote from FF to FG will be looking for a third way come the next GE.

Salaries and benefits at the top are excessive and people at the bottom are struggling. Some people are overworked and other people don't have enough to do.

However this Government are the last people who would do anything about this situation.

Protests by Home Helps and supporters of the service today, outside Government House.

[Baron von Biffo]

Salaries and benefits at the top are excessive and people at the bottom are struggling. Some people are overworked and other people don't have enough to do.

By what measure do you reckon salaries and benefits at the top are excessive?

[disability student]

By what measure do you reckon salaries and benefits at the top are excessive?

It's very plain to see excessive salaries at the top as it's quite ridiculous. Cuts must start from the top.

Prime minister's salaries: POP

Ireland: €200,000 - 4.2M

UK: €172,000 - 60M

Holland: €180,000-

Belgium: €200,000-

Spain: €92,000 - 25M

Finland: €129,000 - 4.1M

Sweden €138,000 - 15M

France: €253,000-

Germany: €242,000-


Finland have similar population to that of Ireland as their PM's salary is lower by 71K.

[DCon]

By what measure do you reckon salaries and benefits at the top are excessive?

Tax receipts do not cover the salaries and other expenditure and the State has to borrow to make up the difference

[Baron von Biffo]

Tax receipts do not cover the salaries and other expenditure and the State has to borrow to make up the difference

By that measure even the salary of a clerical officer on FIS is excessive.

[DCon]

New teachers to be hit as existing teaches can't be.

Teacher unions have warned that any cuts to allowances for established teachers would be regarded as a breach of the Croke Park deal on public service pay.

The proposals for entrants will see the creation of a new pay scale for entrants to teaching. They will no longer be part of the 25-point incremental scale used for all other teachers.

The proposal is likely to be contentious in the education area as it formalises a two-tier pay structure in teaching, one for established teachers and one for entrants.

Sheila Nunan, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, last night described the proposal as a pay cut for new teachers which was “unacceptable and unfair”.

The Government has already targeted entrants to teaching by suspending the payment of allowances. As a result, entrants to teaching this week will earn about 30 per cent less than their colleagues who secured permanent jobs as recently as 2010.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...323462978.html

[DCon]

New teachers to be hit as existing teaches can't be.



http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...323462978.html

Quinn, on Pat Kenny now, waffles about there being no strikes (because of the CPA) and finding ways of doing more with less

Says the payback (paying new teachers less) will be significant.

[Baron von Biffo]

Quinn, on Pat Kenny now, waffles about there being no strikes (because of the CPA) and finding ways of doing more with less

Says the payback (paying new teachers less) will be significant.

The greatest significance will likely be to the quality of people entering the profession in future.

[DCon]

The greatest significance will likely be to the quality of people entering the profession in future.

while incompetent embedded Staff (not all but there are some) continue to live on Bubble salaries and allowances.

[Baron von Biffo]

while incompetent embedded Staff (not all but there are some) continue to live on Bubble salaries and allowances.

There are incompetent people in all occupations. That's not a justification for slashing all salaries.

As for 'bubble' salaries - Teachers, in common with other PS workers, never caught up with the private sector during the boom but they led the race to the bottom with 14% cuts when the recession hit.

[DCon]

There are incompetent people in all occupations. That's not a justification for slashing all salaries.

As for 'bubble' salaries - Teachers, in common with other PS workers, never caught up with the private sector during the boom but they led the race to the bottom with 14% cuts when the recession hit.

Compared to unemployed Private Sector workers, 14% is quite good, no?

Private Sector may have increased rapidly during the boom, but jobs were cut when the money ran out.

[Baron von Biffo]

Compared to unemployed Private Sector workers, 14% is quite good, no?

Private Sector may have increased rapidly during the boom, but jobs were cut when the money ran out.

It's interesting that there's strong support for PS workers to have parity of misery now but there was never a great clamour for them to enjoy parity of prosperity in the good times.

Not all private sector workers lost their jobs and not all PS workers kept theirs. All PS workers have had pay cuts but some private sector workers have had pay increases.

Getting back to the lower salaries for new teachers - Do you think that in general, paying less will attract a higher or lower calibre person to the teaching profession?