Irish Property Market chat II - *read mod note post #1 before posting*

I know people who work in private sector, who got no pay increases in March.... Who work in the real estate sector.

So don't presume everyone is getting pay increases.

I don’t disagree with you. But what we want to happen doesn’t make it so.

This government with more money it knows what to do with, struggling for popularity will not endure public sector strikes on the way up to an election under the guise of

’you need to reduce your living standards so we don’t fuel inflation’.

That would be a hard message in long term interests, and why would the government do that, save money in a rainy day fund for SF to blow on random crap when instead they can give the pay rises to try to stay in power. It’s inevitable, and people should be aware of it when thinking about the future of the property market.

I did get the pay increase you mentioned in March but others didn't get it.

So a mix bag.

Your first sentence is inaccurate there, do a little more research.

I agree with the sentiment that civil servants unhappy with their remuneration should find a new job. If they cannot find a higher wage elsewhere, then they are not overpaid. However, as someone who once worked in the public service, I can assure that that is not the way the cookie crumbles in there.

That said, I would not be at all surprised to see double digit increases in public service pay. These are the same people who contributed to the high inflation via their various actions over the last few years, so I see no reason why they would take up fiscal responsibility now. Also, don't forget that many of the people who make these decisions are themselves civil servants. conflict of interest?

Most people I know have had a significant pay ise at this point and the pnes who havent have been promised one coming soon. My company tried to get away with it and had to cave in thios year as people started leaving. We all ended up getting 10% pay rises and 10% more promised by the end of the year. They even threw in a €2000 Christmas bonus too as a gesture of things to come.

I doubt it. More likely, it will be paid for by debt.

If the government give the PS a huge pay rise at a time when they are handing out one off payments/solutions for the rest of us in the unwashed masses there will be a general election as everyone is feeling the cost of living pressures not just our public sector. I didnt hear clammer from the teachers looking for a pay cut when their wage increases outstripped inflation in the years from 2013/14 to 2018/19 (funny that it is only an issue when inflation is higher). If the government have scope to give money back out then they need to take the foot off the neck of all income tax payers and seriously reduce the amount of tax they take off the cohort who as Leo says "get up in the morning" pandering to a sector (public sector) that is paid over 20% (all verified via the CSO) than the productive sector, a guarantied pension and a job for life is the wrong way to do business, you only have to go to your local A&E for a visit to see the sh1tshow that they the government are in control of and are p1ssing away money hand over fist I mean year after year the HSE overspend is in the hundreds of millions and its getting worse and of course any wage increases in this sector will see zero improvements or greater efficiency for it. Its time to go through our spend and cut the fat (when the IMF were in town they had the chance and made so many promises about this but they didnt have the balls to face our perma government) and if there is wiggle room the focus should be on addressing the odious burden income tax payers are forced to carry in this country. So if we have money to spend and time to make some changes I would prefer they concentrated on the following.

Income tax reduction

House building/ramp up of modular homes

Increased infrastructure - Roads, Schools, Hospitals, etc

A complete overhaul of our Public sector spend

A complete overhaul of our Welfare spend

This list seem fairly obvious to me but not one party out there is going to do it.

I am waiting for the Public servants telling me all the teachers are leaving and forgetting that there are far more non public sector workers heading for the exit door and this is due to how the cards are stacked against all young people (not just teachers) ... They cant get a house to buy or rent and have to pay a serious amount of income tax to work in this country at least teachers will have a pension at the end of their career and Carlsberg holidays (probably the best in the world) same cannot be said for the rest of us. Until the income tax bands are widened and the financial demands are significantly less for someone working I can see a good chunk of our younger population heading off to other countries at least they will be able to afford the rent.

Have a look at...

It's based posts like this that keep me coming back to this forum. God bless you, sir!

Every company wont follow as in a lot of cases in the private sector - private companies are now essentially locked out of borrowing due to the high interest repayments they don't have the bank of TAX PAYER POCKETS to pay or borrow for everything. The cost of everything like heating, petrol, insurance and every other necessity that someone running a business has to pay has shot up over the last 18 months and in a lot of cases pay rises to staff will be the wave that drowns them. Already insolvencies in Ireland in 2022 are up nearly 40% on 2021 and PWC are predicting that this figure will ramp up this year. Yeah but its hunky dory in the private sector pay rises for everyone maybe in the Walter Mitty land you work in but it is not the case for the vast majority of private sector companies out there.

https://www.pwc.ie/media-centre/press-releases/2023/restructuring-update-q4.html

Yes, but the difference is that many (if not most) of the civil servants who will get a pay rise would not find a job in the private sector that would offer a higher salary. As I've always said, if one believes themselves to be underpaid, that must mean that there is someone who is willing to pay them more than their current employer to do the same job. If there is not, then they are not underpaid.  

Taking myself as an example. I earn slightly above the average salary for someone in my area with my level of experience. I would like more money, but I would not get a lot more if I were to move to a different job. Ergo, I'm not underpaid. The civil service unions are trying to get a blanket increase for people regardless of performance, and regardless of the demand for the job that they fill. This is also ignoring the many boons that working in the civil service offers such as security, flexibility, a pension and near impossibility of termination.

"Every company will be following if they have not realized that already."

Private companies are not the civil service. It's apples and organges. If they were comparable, then thousands of civil servants would have been made redundant during the crash.