Second day of strike action planned for Thursday Dec 3rd

nesf

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1124/breaking10.htm

Cause one day didn't make the point it seems.

Sizzler

How much will that save us

heebusjeebus

Nice little dig from the IT at the end...

Meanwhile, the AA has reported six-kilometre tailbacks on the road to Newry this morning in a suspected surge of people travelling to Northern Ireland to shop during the strike.

Jip

nesf wrote: »

Cause one day didn't make the point it seems.

Nah, it's because one trip up north wasn't enough to get all the chrimbo shopping in,they need one last trip before Christmas.

nesf

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Nice little dig from the IT at the end...

It's not a dig if it's the truth.. Then it's just reporting the facts no?

prinz

nesf wrote: »

It's not a dig if it's the truth.. Then it's just reporting the facts no?

The traffic jam is the facts. Trying to tie it into the strike is a dig.

Jip

Pretty big coincidence though.

Jeege

Sure we (the private sector) should all pack up for a few days too so.. Pay cuts, Job loss, reduced hours.. We're exposed to it all.
Only difference is, if I decide enough is enough, and strike off for the day, will I have a job in the morning? Eh.. Nope!!
So far this yr my daughter missed a day in school because of the elections, though there's a perfectly good community hall in our area, they still held it in the bloody school. Now she has missed today due to strike, and now possibly next week? Its disgraceful!!

And dont the department of education have a quota of days per school year? So when are our children going to end up repaying these days? GGRrrrrrr:mad:

marco_polo

So, if the estimates are to be believed, another 100 million cost to the economy next month as well.

That should help matters no end.

justsomebloke

Jip wrote: »

Pretty big coincidence though.

what that one midweek day when schools are closed that people decide to head up and shop.

Jip

marco_polo wrote: »

So, if the estimates are to be believed, another 100 million cost to the economy next month as well.

That should help matters no end.

Well according to some placards I saw today the public sector thing we simple can just borrow it if we need it, no need to worry about how it gets paid back

Joe the Santa wrote: »

what that one midweek day when schools are closed that people decide to head up and shop.

What now ?

doc_17

Fair play to them. Is this the only solution our highly paid government can come up with? Cut the pay of nurses? Clerical officers earning lss than 30k a year? I can't blame them. One thing that we could do is stop paying people who take sick days? How much would that save us? But then the unions would not agree to that

jenzz

& were back to public sector vs private sector again.. Im neutral here but if my wages got hit by 25% no matter where I worked in the last 12 months I think I too would want to strike or do something.. remeber a lot of people did not want to strike but if they cross a picket they are ejected from their union.( Fact - they were notified in writing of this) Take the schools for example. Many smaller schools are split with their unions where some were striking some werent/ Who can open the school for those not striking? The principal cant - If they do they are ejected from their union. So the board of management chairperson must do it - provided they too are not a public sector working in a striking union. Coming up to christmas who wants to lose a days pay ? many parents had to take a days leave to accomodate their children being off school. Take it back to the times of December 8th holy day where many parents took a day off work as the children used to have no school. That day was always spent shopping somewhere. So why should today be any different for any parent who had to take a day off to mind their children? The media natually are going to headline the tailbacks to sensational the news on this black day & set everyone off again on the public vs private.
& I personally take my hat off to anyone who would stand out in that weather for any reason today - Its vicious out there. I also wouldnt work on the frontline ( Gardai, teachers, Nurses, Doctors, Firefighters) for all the tea in china. These people provide us with a fine service its not their fault the "system" is so messed up.

nesf

Joe the Santa wrote: »

what that one midweek day when schools are closed that people decide to head up and shop.

Eh, what th IT said was people going to shop during the strike, it didn't say anything about whether it was those on strike or parents etc only that the strike was the cause of so many people having the day free to do things like this which is probably true.

eiresurfer

Shoppers swarm across Border

"Many of the shoppers were public sector workers who were reluctant to be identified but said they were taking advantage of the strike to stock up on groceries and goods."

Need we say more?

simu

Oh honestly - they're paralysing the country. It's enough to turn one into a rabid Thatcherite.

timmmy

I've never been on strike before and I wasn't really looking forward to being on strike today but it worked out grand. The weather stayed fine and it wasn't even cold. The spirit on the picket line was great and what really struck me was the level of support we got from passer-bys. From reading threads on here you'd be forgiven for thinking most people have been duped into believing this public sector - private sector divide nonsense. It was refreshing to see that is definitely not so. We were on a busy road and the waving and beeping was continuous. Quite glad now to hear we'll be doing it again next week.

Sizzler

timmmy wrote: »

I've never been on strike before and I wasn't really looking forward to being on strike today but it worked out grand. The weather stayed fine and it wasn't even cold. The spirit on the picket line was great and what really struck me was the level of support we got from passer-bys. From reading threads on here you'd be forgiven for thinking most people have been duped into believing this public sector - private sector divide nonsense. It was refreshing to see that is definitely not so. We were on a busy road and the waving and beeping was continuous. Quite glad now to hear we'll be doing it again next week.

Beeping may have been continuous as you noticed the cars beeping but Im guessing there was just as many if not more cars not beeping, surely that tells you something?

BroomBurner

timmmy wrote: »

I've never been on strike before and I wasn't really looking forward to being on strike today but it worked out grand. The weather stayed fine and it wasn't even cold. The spirit on the picket line was great and what really struck me was the level of support we got from passer-bys. From reading threads on here you'd be forgiven for thinking most people have been duped into believing this public sector - private sector divide nonsense. It was refreshing to see that is definitely not so. We were on a busy road and the waving and beeping was continuous. Quite glad now to hear we'll be doing it again next week.

I just want to say that I agree with just about everything you have just said.

brianthebard

There's already several threads on this, don't know why another union bashing thread was necessary.

nouveau_4.0

timmmy wrote: »

We were on a busy road and the waving and beeping was continuous.

I felt like beeping and waving (my fist), but not out of support.

eiresurfer

timmmy wrote: »

I've never been on strike before and I wasn't really looking forward to being on strike today but it worked out grand. The weather stayed fine and it wasn't even cold. The spirit on the picket line was great and what really struck me was the level of support we got from passer-bys. From reading threads on here you'd be forgiven for thinking most people have been duped into believing this public sector - private sector divide nonsense. It was refreshing to see that is definitely not so. We were on a busy road and the waving and beeping was continuous. Quite glad now to hear we'll be doing it again next week.

Well obviously I didn't pass by, cos I would have hurled abuse at you. And of course you'll have your guaranteed job and pension tomorrow.

Fighting Irish

eiresurfer wrote: »

Shoppers swarm across Border

"Many of the shoppers were public sector workers who were reluctant to be identified but said they were taking advantage of the strike to stock up on groceries and goods."

Need we say more?

lol people are acting like only public sector workers would do something like this

Fighting Irish

eiresurfer wrote: »

And of course you'll have your guaranteed job and pension tomorrow.

People know what the story is, it's not anyone's fault if they have a guaranteed job/pension

doc_17

so it's only the public sector that are shopping up north?

Le King

Typical unions. :rolleyes:

timmmy

Sizzler wrote: »

Beeping may have been continuous as you noticed the cars beeping but Im guessing there was just as many if not more cars not beeping, surely that tells you something?

It does. It tells me that you are preciously holding onto prejudices on the basis of a guess rather than actual, real experience.

KELTICKNIGHTT

timmmy wrote: »

I've never been on strike before and I wasn't really looking forward to being on strike today but it worked out grand. The weather stayed fine and it wasn't even cold. The spirit on the picket line was great and what really struck me was the level of support we got from passer-bys. From reading threads on here you'd be forgiven for thinking most people have been duped into believing this public sector - private sector divide nonsense. It was refreshing to see that is definitely not so. We were on a busy road and the waving and beeping was continuous. Quite glad now to hear we'll be doing it again next week.

hope your not getting paid too strike,may save gov few quid

KELTICKNIGHTT

Sizzler wrote: »

Beeping may have been continuous as you noticed the cars beeping but Im guessing there was just as many if not more cars not beeping, surely that tells you something?

they dont get out much too tell the difference:D

timmmy

KELTICKNIGHTT wrote: »

hope your not getting paid too strike,may save gov few quid

Do you have any conception of how this works? You don't get paid by your employer when on strike. It's a withdrawal of labour.

KELTICKNIGHTT wrote: »

they dont get out much too tell the difference:D

Ah now, that's not true. I do get out a fair bit. I've had to a lot more this year to try to make up what I lost with the pension and income levies.

KELTICKNIGHTT

timmmy wrote: »

Do you have any conception of how this works? You don't get paid by your employer when on strike. It's a withdrawal of labour.



Ah now, that's not true. I do get out a fair bit. I've had to a lot more this year to try to make up what I lost with the pension and income levies.

ENJOY your strike on 3th dec

KELTICKNIGHTT

timmmy wrote: »

Do you have any conception of how this works? You don't get paid by your employer when on strike. It's a withdrawal of labour.



Ah now, that's not true. I do get out a fair bit. I've had to a lot more this year to try to make up what I lost with the pension and income levies.

i have more of a conception than you will ever know laddie, like most in private sector,dont support your so called strike for alot of reasons
the more you strike ,the more the private will be againist you:)
i dont get paid holidays either as i work as contractor

eiresurfer

timmmy wrote: »

I've had to a lot more this year to try to make up what I lost with the pension and income levies.

Do you have any idea how the idea of Public Servants complaining about a Pension Levy makes those in the private sector feel physically sick? Unlike you, we didn't suffer a pension levy, because we have to pay for 100% of our pension. Unlike you lot, who get it paid for by the taxpayer.

Celticfire

eiresurfer wrote: »

Do you have any idea how the idea of Public Servants complaining about a Pension Levy makes those in the private sector feel physically sick? Unlike you, we didn't suffer a pension levy, because we have to pay for 100% of our pension. Unlike you lot, who get it paid for by the taxpayer.

Just wondering what percentage of your pay are you paying into your private pension fund and how many years will you have contributed when you retire?

nesf

eiresurfer wrote: »

Do you have any idea how the idea of Public Servants complaining about a Pension Levy makes those in the private sector feel physically sick? Unlike you, we didn't suffer a pension levy, because we have to pay for 100% of our pension. Unlike you lot, who get it paid for by the taxpayer.

We, in the Private Sector, do get something from the Government towards our pension payments because we get to write them off against tax to some extent. This means the Government is effectively giving us a % of our pension payments to the pension company for us.

gandalf

Well the time has come to remove tax relief on Trade Union Subscriptions to begin with. I will fully support any political party that will neuter these unions. They are protecting antiquated work practices and are holding the country to ransom at the expense of the majority of working people at a time of crisis.

dvpower

nesf wrote: »

We, in the Private Sector, do get something from the Government towards our pension payments because we get to write them off against tax to some extent. This means the Government is effectively giving us a % of our pension payments to the pension company for us.

But since they tax pension income at the far side, its a deferred benefit for the most part.

dvpower

gandalf wrote: »

Well the time has come to remove tax relief on Trade Union Subscriptions to begin with. I will fully support any political party that will neuter these unions. They are protecting antiquated work practices and are holding the country to ransom at the expense of the majority of working people at a time of crisis.

I think it only a €40 credit so removing it isn't going to neuter the unions.
I predict that they'll keep it.

gandalf

dvpower wrote: »

I think it only a €40 credit so removing it isn't going to neuter the unions.
I predict that they'll keep it.

Notice the phrase "to begin with" after that comment. I think it will give a very clear signal of intent to the Union Mandarins.

Josey Wales

eiresurfer wrote: »

Unlike you lot, who get it paid for by the taxpayer.

Every worker in the public service is a tax payer too.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

KELTICKNIGHTT

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

thats a good one

nesf

dvpower wrote: »

But since they tax pension income at the far side, its a deferred benefit for the most part.

Only if you view pension income as being somehow different to regular income for the purposes of taxation (i.e. if you hold the view that all income to a person should be liable to be taxed then this isn't a problem per se). Though, admittedly without it being tax deductible it'd be double taxation which would be a very bad thing.

Sleepy

marco_polo wrote: »

So, if the estimates are to be believed, another 100 million cost to the economy next month as well.

That should help matters no end.

How does a cost centre being shut down for a day cost the economy money?

Those in the private sector taking the day off to mind their children are using their holiday leave which is already factored into their pay and the opportunity cost of their day's work should thus already be factored into their employers' budgets?

Or is 100 million an estimate of how much was spent in Northern Ireland today?

JHMEG

Do most of the public/civil service have the 6th of Dec off for shopping? Some long standing thing?

nesf

Sleepy wrote: »

How does a cost centre being shut down for a day cost the economy money?

Those in the private sector taking the day off to mind their children are using their holiday leave which is already factored into their pay and the opportunity cost of their day's work should thus already be factored into their employers' budgets?

Or is 100 million an estimate of how much was spent in Northern Ireland today?

Well, parents who need to take a day off work will cost money in terms of tax not paid on hours not worked. They won't necessarily be able to take holiday leave and may have to take unpaid leave to do it! All appointments and operations and such will need to be rescheduled and somehow fit in on very tight waiting lists in some areas. There are probably other obvious costs that I'm not thinkings.

That said we get one day off the public pay bill, which has to be worth quite a bit!

JHMEG

nesf wrote: »

There are probably other obvious costs that I'm not thinkings.

It sends the message out internationally that we're closed for business.

Dannyboy83

nesf wrote: »

Well, parents who need to take a day off work will cost money in terms of tax not paid on hours not worked. They won't necessarily be able to take holiday leave and may have to take unpaid leave to do it! All appointments and operations and such will need to be rescheduled and somehow fit in on very tight waiting lists in some areas. There are probably other obvious costs that I'm not thinkings.

That said we get one day off the public pay bill, which has to be worth quite a bit!

If PS Wages are 30% and Social is 35%, and we are borrowing €500million per week, then I guess it must come in at something between €30 and €60million...........which may cover the recent flood damage I guess.

lmimmfn

nesf wrote: »

Well, parents who need to take a day off work will cost money in terms of tax not paid on hours not worked. They won't necessarily be able to take holiday leave and may have to take unpaid leave to do it! All appointments and operations and such will need to be rescheduled and somehow fit in on very tight waiting lists in some areas. There are probably other obvious costs that I'm not thinkings.

That said we get one day off the public pay bill, which has to be worth quite a bit!

Is it just me or is the whole thing complately selfish, the country is nearly bankrupt and these folk dont give a toss and down tools for something thats completely unsustainable, not only that the lower paid are just doing the bidding of the overpaid fat cats which the cuts are all about?

dvpower

nesf wrote: »

Only if you view pension income as being somehow different to regular income for the purposes of taxation (i.e. if you hold the view that all income to a person should be liable to be taxed then this isn't a problem per se). Though, admittedly without it being tax deductible it'd be double taxation which would be a very bad thing.

I wouldn't consider a pension to be income in the usual sense. Apart from the part of it that is profit from investment. The capital is just savings.

dresden8

JHMEG wrote: »

Do most of the public/civil service have the 6th of Dec off for shopping? Some long standing thing?

You're thinking of culchie shopping day.