Unions on the march..

irish_bob

Rantan wrote: »

I'll be on the dole by the time they are due to go out again. So was thinking of something like this, would like to hear any ideas or opinions as i would like to see the unemployed have a voice, to stand against the ingrates.

i thought the unions were speaking for the unemployed , they certainly claim to represent the vulnerable :rolleyes:

Rantan

irish_bob wrote: »

i thought the unions were speaking for the unemployed , they certainly claim to represent the vulnerable :rolleyes:

you are joking..aren't you..?

GSF

boodlesdoodles wrote: »

IMHO its a bit rich of Pat Kenny to come the heavy with the public service when its my money, as a member of the public, that pays his wages.

He was just trying to find out what the hell O'Connor was talking about. Its not his fault that Jacko is as dumb as a donkeys scratching post when it comes to economics.

bernardo mac

Yea I can't envisage Jacko leading the angry horde come the storming of the Irish Bastille;nevertheless ,the tumbrels will roll in time and the sooner the better for this corrupt state

irish_bob

Rantan wrote: »

you are joking..aren't you..?

im dead serious , the unions have been making reference to how the vulnerable will suffer if public services are cut , of course no one wants public services cut , we want public servant wages cut , theese are two different things but the unions sneakily associate public servant wage cuts with public service reduction , they have been using the poor as pawns in their battle against cuts

i dont for a second believe the unions represent the less well off but they certainly pay lip service to the idea

murphaph

Rantan wrote: »

I'll be on the dole by the time they are due to go out again. So was thinking of something like this, would like to hear any ideas or opinions as i would like to see the unemployed have a voice, to stand against the ingrates.

If those who have lost their jobs in the private sector could mobilise and counter demonstrate it would be quite something. There are afterall now MORE on the dole than in the public sector. Ingrates is right.

jimmmy

murphaph wrote: »

If those who have lost their jobs in the private sector could mobilise and counter demonstrate it would be quite something. There are afterall now MORE on the dole than in the public sector. Ingrates is right.

+1.
Plus there are many many thousands of low paid self employed people / people who are currently earning less than anyone in the public service....people like some construction workers, auctioneers, sellers + makers of luxury goods, salespeople, architects etc who have found business almost or totally dried up, + who cannot get the dole. Plus there are plenty of other people in the economy not as well off as the public service in income + pension terms eg many farmers.

nuac

Have to disagree with Skippy's claim that there are no cuts in the private sector. Many small private sector firms are working three day weeks and otherwise reducing staff costs in order to keep going.

Rantan

murphaph wrote: »

If those who have lost their jobs in the private sector could mobilise and counter demonstrate it would be quite something. There are afterall now MORE on the dole than in the public sector. Ingrates is right.

Jesus when you put it like that... something really should happen the next time they protest. How does one go about mobilising 450,000 or so dolers to come out on the same day??

NewDubliner

Rantan wrote: »

How does one go about mobilising 450,000 or so dolers to come out on the same day??

Cut the dole 30% and use the money to bail out the banks and property speculators??

Rantan

NewDubliner wrote: »

Cut the dole 30% and use the money to bail out the banks and property speculators??

or to pay the public sector workers who feel they shouldn't have their pay cut?

NewDubliner

Rantan wrote: »

or to pay the public sector workers who feel they shouldn't have their pay cut?

You mean stop paying people who don't work and pay it to people who do?:p

Rantan

NewDubliner wrote: »

You mean stop paying people who don't work and pay it to people who do?:p

pay them to actually work?? it's hardly the gulag..

bobbyjoe

These are the only people fighting against this Gov and they get slagged off. At least they are getting off their arses to do something.

irish_bob

murphaph wrote: »

If those who have lost their jobs in the private sector could mobilise and counter demonstrate it would be quite something. There are afterall now MORE on the dole than in the public sector. Ingrates is right.

i would be happy to join such a counter demonstration , its our country too

Rantan

bobbyjoe wrote: »

These are the only people fighting against this Gov and they get slagged off. At least they are getting off their arses to do something.

what a bunch of heroes and martyrs!! only concerned bout holding on to their own high standard of living while the rest of the country goes down the tubes

irish_bob

bobbyjoe wrote: »

These are the only people fighting against this Gov and they get slagged off. At least they are getting off their arses to do something.

yeah but if they win , everyone one else looses

murphaph

NewDubliner wrote: »

You mean stop paying people who don't work and pay it to people who do?:p

Sorry, I was under the illusion the bulk of these folks were until recently in employment and have been paying their PRSI

Tony46

To all those here that slate the public service workers at every opportunity, what's your opinion on those private sector workers who marched with and supported the protest on Friday?

Arathorn

Tony46 wrote: »

To all those here that slate the public service workers at every opportunity, what's your opinion on those private sector workers who marched with and supported the protest on Friday?

That they are in the minority and likely have a spouse working in the public service who made them go

TCP/IP_King

Arathorn wrote: »

... a spouse working in the public service who made them go

WTF :eek: Obviously you were on your way to the jackz with that throw-away comment !!

MaxFlower

Rantan wrote: »

what a bunch of heroes and martyrs!! only concerned bout holding on to their own high standard of living while the rest of the country goes down the tubes

Shouldn't the goal be for everyone to hold onto a high standard of living. I don't understand this desire for a collective race to the bottom.

NewDubliner

murphaph wrote: »

Sorry, I was under the illusion the bulk of these folks were until recently in employment and have been paying their PRSI

Correct. Is the amount being paid them as dole, equal to the amount they paid in?

irish_bob

MaxFlower wrote: »

Shouldn't the goal be for everyone to hold onto a high standard of living. I don't understand this desire for a collective race to the bottom.

i didnt send off my letter to santa clause yet

murphaph

MaxFlower wrote: »

Shouldn't the goal be for everyone to hold onto a high standard of living. I don't understand this desire for a collective race to the bottom.

What does Ireland Inc. do for the rest of the world that entitles it to a high standard of living MaxFlower? Is Ireland a centre of innovation, providing unique goods and services to the rest of the world? Or is Ireland just a (now expensive) European base for (mostly) US HQ'd corporations who are now leaving in droves? You can't force these companies to stay. If you are too expensive (and Ireland is) then they'll move to Poland.

We are not Finland or Sweden with our own indigenous industries of any note. We still depend utterly on FDI and it is totally unhealthy for our country, but that's the situation on the ground in 2009. It takes at least a decade to develop high quality 'knowledge based' industry to the level where we can command top-dollar for it and begin to replace FDI with it. We had our chance when we secured the initial waves of FDI and started the tiger to spend that money wisely on developing indigenous industry-we opted instead to give ourselves pay rises across the board and buy badly built housing instead.

Reap what you sow. Country's broke. Need to cut all costs and suck it up. Nobody forced ANYBODY to keep returning FF and the 'benchmarking' fiasco to power year on year.

thebman

Tony46 wrote: »

To all those here that slate the public service workers at every opportunity, what's your opinion on those private sector workers who marched with and supported the protest on Friday?

I'd say they work in companies with a highly unionised work force or for semi-state companies (also highly unionised).

murphaph

NewDubliner wrote: »

Correct. Is the amount being paid them as dole, equal to the amount they paid in?

It's called Pay Related Social Insurance. If your house burns down tonight (and touch wood it won't) will you only ask the insurance company for your premiums back? lol

The dole needs cutting of course, like all government expenditure. I wasn't making the point that the dole is too low or just adequate, just pointing out that the people on the dole are not scum-they are the workers who've been working throughout the boom to pay the ever inflating wages bill in the public sector and now their out of luck and need the public service workers to show them some solidarity

murphaph

thebman wrote: »

I'd say they work in companies with a highly unionised work force or for semi-state companies (also highly unionised).

Exactly. EVERYONE with half a brain knows what sort of 'private sector' companies are unionised.

squod

Today's Sunday Indo published a poll showing only one-third of the public sector protesters attending were front-line staff. This highlights my beliefs that pen pushers (bureaucrats) are hiding behind the uniforms of nurses and guardai.


Frontline staff should be protected from cuts as far as possible IMO. Pen-pushers, on the other hand, should bear the burden like the rest of us.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/poll-private-sector-snubbed-the-protest-1937115.html

dresden8

squod wrote: »

Pen-pushers, on the other hand, should bear the burden like the rest of us.

Apart from the rest of us who are still getting pay-rises and bonuses, and the rich, who we dare not say boo to unless they bog off to some other country.

Them "us"?