Should we scrap the Croke Park agreement?

whiskey_bar wrote: »

unfortunatley their are not near enough people earning over 100 k for cuts there to make a dent in the deficit , their are still too many people earning between 45 and 60 k per year , teachers , guards , nurses etc , harsh reality

Well. My OH earns under the 45k mark, but I don't see up to 50k, or even 60k being excessive for the work teachers, nurses and guards do. I have many a time sat and listened to conversations with my wife when other people start getting political and bash the "benefits" and how "easy" teachers have it. I find it funny when after all they have said, my wife asks "would you like to be a teacher then?" Their faces say it all. I don't think I would mind that much being a teacher myself, but I prefer being my own boss.

Also, I can't remember the exact details of what I am about to say, but my wife is also paying into some kind of pension pot (which is mandatory), which she will never be eligible to claim from, due to the amount of years she will be a teacher. Maybe some PS worker can clarify what I am trying to say?

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

It is grossly unfair. She's no better qualified, in some cases they are less qualified because a lot of new teachers these days also have their masters. There is no valid reason why they should be paid more than new teachers and hopefully they'll be brought down to that level fairly soon.

I disagree. They know what their salary will be, before they take the job. They also get paid extra for whatever qualifications they have. AFAIK, someone with a masters is paid more than someone with a degree, regardless of where that qualification lies, so you could have someone with a masters in history, teaching English and getting paid more, simply because they have a masters. Can you imagine what would happen if salaries were brought down to that level for people who are already struggling/failing to keep food on the table?

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

Sorry to be harsh but having an unsustainable mortgage is not a valid reason not to have a pay cut, if you had waited a couple of years you would also be able to avail of these half price houses you think these new teachers are benefiting from.

Don't be arrogant. You're not sorry at all. You're just trying to put your point across, so please don't be falsely apologetic. If I had waited waited a couple of years....give me a break. Many people, including myself felt that if we did not get a house when we did, we probably never would have. At the time, we were living in a small 1 bed bungalow on my inlaws land. Our son slept in the main house and our daughter stayed with us, in our bedroom. Rental costs were beyond a joke and we were cracking up. I busted my ass in a job I hated, just so we could get the figures right, so we could finally buy a house, to call a home. I'm clearly not the only one who was in this type of situation, as so many took out massive mortgages, just so they could house their family.

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

What extra hours?
The provision, with effect from the start of the 2010/11 school year, of an additional hour per week to be available to facilitate, at the discretion of management, school planning, continuous professional development, induction, substitution and supervision (including supervision immediately before and after school times).

Did I say extra daily hours? Every school works it differently and whatever way my wifes timetable is done, every 2nd week, for a day, her working hours are stretched and the staff are called to a scheduled meeting at around 5pm. Tough cheese if your classroom hours are finished as early as 2pm. You have to be there at 5pm to 8, or 9pm, depending on the way they schedule things.

ncdadam wrote: »

The paranoia is beginning to show now.

Look at the indo today, wall to wall croke park agreement. Barely a word on anything else. Why? to sell papers that's why.

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

Nope, they've also got rid of that for new teachers, no more allowance for having a masters or a first class honours degree, so someone teaching with a pass degree is getting paid 33% more than someone with a masters, yeah that's fair.
Struggling to put food on the table with a teachers salary, surely that's just bad financial management on their part and why should every other tax payer pay for that?

The allowance is still in effect for those pre-CPA. Look mate, the public sector is not the only area with these pay differences for qualifications and experience. In the Private Sector, there is more "who you know" to take into account if you want to go there. And why not throw in the argument of men getting paid more than women who hold the same position? My point was that new teachers know what they will be getting paid before they take a job and are more likely going to be able to manage their budget around that. Someone who is already in the system since before the lowering of salaries already have their expenses in stone (The Mortgage). What planet are you living on? I am now referring to the statement you made about a teachers salary and struggling to put food on the table. You seem to have difficulty grasping the concept that a mortgage is a very big bill, often consuming the majority of a couples, or singles income, depending on individual circumstances. Add the other bills in there and the costs of raising children (possibly for export) into the mix and you might begin to understand where i'm coming from, or you might just dismiss it, as it doesn't sit neatly with your previous comments.

I don't know many teachers. I know four personally, including my wife. Two of them are genuinely struggling to keep above the red. The other is a single man in his late forties who still lives at home with his mother, so he is doing just fine. At the moment, my wife and I are managing, but I can honestly say that a pay cut of €25-30% would most certainly leave us in a default situation. Our credit rating would be fecked. My cash-flow would dry up trying to keep a roof over our heads and two others would be out of a job. I know the landlord is barely paying his own rent/rates, so losing two rentals would mean he would have to default on the commercial premises. The other 3 occupied offices would suffer, but I can't say they would end up closing, but would certainly have to move.

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

Renting is just as costly these days as it was in 2008 but new teachers have to put up with that, they can't just go get a mortgage for a house. And even if they wanted to it's unlikely they'd be granted one so they can't avail of the lower priced houses.
And I wasn't being arrogant I don't want to see people struggle but just because you have a mortgage should not mean you are immune to pay cuts.

Wrong. Renting is much cheaper now than it was in 2008. The house beside me has been rented for nearly 20 years and I know the landlord. In 2006, he was getting €1600 per month for rent. Now he is getting €1050 per month. At the start of the year, A house at the other end of the street was advertised for €1050 also. Asking prices are higher than rental prices. Same scenario applies nowadays when buying a house, or a car. So, in 2008, our option was to pay €1600 per month renting, or €1900 on a mortgage per month and live in the house I grew up in. I have attached an example of a a 3 bed semi in the general area I live (infact, the selected house is in a nicer area and is a bit more expensive) http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1250965

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

They have scheduled meetings from 5pm-8pm regularly? That's not part of the CPA and tbh it's the first I've heard of it.
Unless it's paid supervision for evening study classes?

It's up to each school as to what way they implement those admin hours. The school my wife works at chooses to use them for late meetings. Maybe because the principal doesn't like to go home? She is a new principal, so perhaps wants to be seen towing the line more than needed. I don't know. What I do know is that the added hour per week is not being used properly and seems to be a waste of time. It would be like me keeping my secretary in for an extra hour (unpaid) on a Friday afternoon to make sure all the files throughout the week have been updated. But this work is done throughout the day anyway, in the same way a teacher will do admin when they have free classes, or supervision hours, or they will do the admin at home.

edit: I've just been speaking to my wife and it's 2 extra hours per week. One hour by CPA and another came in some tie later. The unions were in explaining it to the principals. What makes these additional hours so inconvenient is the fact that they have no consideration for anything else going on outside of school...ie...childcare arrangements. The principal also conveniently closes the school earlier on a Friday, so she can get by the rush hour traffic to her home to her country home. I noticed that none of the after school meetings throughout the school term land on a Friday. I know this, because the dates are in my diary to collect the kids. The extra hours are used every fortnight and fall on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, but NEVER on a Friday. Politician in the making, or what?

ncdadam wrote: »

Because the time has come for the PS to be brought into line with the reality the country is facing.
The government is supposed to be running this country, not the PS unions.
The sooner PS workers realise this, the better.
This is not aimed at the lower paid in that sector, rather the ones on over the €50k mark who's sense of entitlement is plain for all to see.

They could cut it in tandem with social welfare, child benefit and the pensioners.

Japer wrote: »

Its not just in these recessionary times that public servants are paid and pensioned astronomically. A long time ago David McWilliams pointed out:


[]Ireland's average public sector pay in 2004 of €45,643 is the highest in the range of six advanced EU countries and compares with Britain at €35,189 and Germany €33,905. Irish public sector pay is 30% higher than Britain's.

[]Ireland is unique in the group of six in paying its public sector more than private sector pay,a whopping 28% more. And that's before valuing jobs for life security and gold plated final salary pensions.This is a form of state orchestrated looting of the private sector.

[]In the other countries, private sector pay is higher than the public sector's: in Britain by 8%,Germany 5%,Denmark 8%,Finland 12% and Netherlands 0.4%.

http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2008/1...onomic-history

So would you say reverse the benchmarking agreement.

It would be stupid to scrap the croke park agreement "now", this government has managed to push through austerity with little to no public opposition. We never went "Greek", if they break that agreement there will be industrial chaos in the PS. Then it will spread thru-out the private sector.

I say see the agreement through and renegotiate another one, but not one as favourable to the PS.

maryk123 wrote: »

Clueless that an 18 year old can drop out of school and be handed 100 euro for sitting on their arse. its you who is clueless. they should be FORCED to train. what example are we setting the young people - here take 100 for doing nothing and get used to a life of sitting at home-is that what we are teaching the young of today. They should only get that 100 if they train and if they stop it should be stopped thats how you get the young people off their ass.

Also the people who are helping you pay your car tax are the ps who are sitting behind the desk taking forms answering queries.

honestly if it needs explaining.

Clap trap,

When I was going to school, 1 person left after the junior cert (he went and did an apprenticeship). That was 1 person from a class of about 90. I'd say for the most part many young people have a drive to do something with their lives and young people you are talking about who want to drop out of studies and do nothing are few and far between.

So brings me onto my next point. The opportunities for young people. College fees are too expensive and many young people and their families will not have funds for college and if income is low, loans may not be available for them. After that, they may they may look in perhaps a PLC or fas or another state funded study, such as failte ireland (known as cert, a few years ago). Such courses may be booked and full to the brim, that they may not get a place on a course that they are interested in. So I'd say there are many young people who are caught in a catch 22 situation. And then there are probably other young people who are doing course after course and gaining no employment afterwards due to the umemployment situation of the course.
So please don't shoot down young people. It's difficult for them.

I'm going to refer to something that you wrote earlier now:

maryk123 wrote: »

So the people who take in your car tax and the people who book you into hospitals and the people who type up the reports who cleaned the hospital while you were in there directed you where to go. the people who take your dole application and take abuse the people who investigate false claims. serioussly there are more than teachers and gardai in the ps. there are typists/porters/librarians/receptionist/kitchen staff/laundry/that keep the ps running and they are on nothing like the salary of the teachers and gardai and they are the ones the cuts will hit the most. will people get real this bull**** of the ps not taking hits is absolutely stupid. i agree with the above poster when the croke park is finished and they starting cutting wages from the bottom up which is where they will start because remember the politicians are on the ps wages so the cuts wont start at the top-then the public will be delighted that these people are struggling-some people have no idea how others live. dont think that ps workers are loaded and living comfortably because its the opposite everyone is struggling and finding it hard. cut the dole for the young people and get them doing courses instead of sitting on their arse at home being handed 100-186 euro a week. start with that before cutting the people who are keeping your children in school, helping the sick in hospital, helping you pay your car tax, keeping libriaries, fire stations open. there are other ways of saving money. get real.

I'll agree with the top half of your post, most certainly. I'm sure that there are many, many in.the ps that have no comfort or security or whatever and they find themselves in hard times to.


You mentioned it here in your own post of a major problem. Cuts should be happening from the very top down, but that won't happen because the very people at the top are the politicians and civil service, the very ones that will be emptying their own pockets. Greed really. But younger generations and everybody who find themselves in difficult times are being strung to keep other individuals, sitting comfy.

But even all the pay the poloticians and civil service get wouldn't fill the deficit that Ireland has. The problems run much bigger. What's needed is reform all across the board and work and jobs for the unemployment sitaution. Instead what do we have. A jobsbridge schemed where it is being abused, no end. Taking real jobs and paying jobs out from the economy. Incompetency from our leaders and those in power.