The economics of striking

[Corsair7]

If people are currently so skint, how can they afford to take strike action?

I couldnt imagine willfully taking action that would see my monthly wages dropped, so how can those public sector workers and rail/post/teachers etc do this?

[Fer]

They will argue that they cannot afford not to.

[KrazyIvan]

Becasue they believe that it will better their future....though the part of me wants to simply say that due to there blaoted wages (train drivers more so then teachers) they can afford to.

[gtdc]

Don't they get paid by the union. Surely the teachers will be as good as on holiday by the time they strike anyway?

[valiant1]

gtdc said:

Don't they get paid by the union. Surely the teachers will be as good as on holiday by the time they strike anyway?

They won't get strike pay as it's only a single day's action. (Usually have to be on continuous strike for some time before it kicks in).


Maybe they see it as a short term cost for what might end up as a long term gain.
Keeping their pensions in situ will be a hell of a lot more valuable than a single days pay.

[Du1point8]

are they striking during the summer holidays?

[elster]

I don't understand how striking is accepted in the modern way of life, it is the equivalent of being a petulant child.

I want my way or I stamp my feet kind of thing, not a great example from teachers.

Maybe they should do a poll of the population to see if we what we should pay the teachers pensions.

[Marf]

Interesting figure on Radio 4 news this morning

Public sector employee on a median salary of £24k would amass a £500k pension over a 42year service in the public sector, far and above what is available to private sector workers.

Pretty galling really that they feel aggreived at a small cut when they have it so bloody good in the first place!

[gtdc]

Blimey - how did that get by the BBC NuLab editors?

[Jackleman]

Can you imaging what would happen if a group of children striked at school over something they did not like!

These idiot public service people are really pissing me off.

I wonder how much they all pay the unions each year? would that money be better invested in funding their own pensions rather than disrupting childrens education. How many people will have to take time off work because their children cannot go to school as a result of these clowns?

[Dr_Gonzo]

Marf said:

Interesting figure on Radio 4 news this morning

Public sector employee on a median salary of £24k would amass a £500k pension over a 42year service in the public sector, far and above what is available to private sector workers.

Pretty galling really that they feel aggreived at a small cut when they have it so bloody good in the first place!

I heard it too. What was funny was that the unoon leader kept harking on about the average pension being only £4k p/a. What he didn't say was what this average consists of. For example, does it include part-time workers? And does it take into account the length of time people work to accrue their pension? If you add-in people that only work in the publice sector for a few years, and thus receieve a a tiny pension, the average would be dragged down to give a totally misleading figure.

[TTwiggy]

elster said:

I don't understand how striking is accepted in the modern way of life, it is the equivalent of being a petulant child.

I want my way or I stamp my feet kind of thing, not a great example from teachers.

Maybe they should do a poll of the population to see if we what we should pay the teachers pensions.

Well surely for those employed in the public sector it's the only option no?

After all, if you're employed as, say, an IT support worker, and the company you work for makes a change to conditions or employment terms that you don't like, you have the option to leave.

But if you're a teacher, effectively employed by the government (let's ignore the relatively small number working at Private Schools), then you can't really find a new employer.

Before I get roundly flamed, I would add that I have no sympathy for highly-paid public sector workers 'downing tools' over every minor slight.

[Digga]

TTwiggy said:

But if you're a teacher, effectively employed by the government (let's ignore the relatively small number working at Private Schools), then you can't really find a new employer.

Teachers who don't go 'native' - i.e. decide they will be cosseted by the public sector from cradle, through school and univeristy and then to a job (in a school or university), to grave - can and do leave education and undertake private sector posts. Most could never be arsed to.

[ralphrj]

Dr_Gonzo said:

I heard it too. What was funny was that the unoon leader kept harking on about the average pension being only £4k p/a.

Strangely the independent commission that investigated public sector pensions found that the average pension was £7,800 per annum...

Unions using deliberately false figures to try to argue their point - never!

[TTwiggy]

Digga said:

eachers who don't go 'native' - i.e. decide they will be cosseted by the public sector from cradle, through school and univeristy and then to a job (in a school or university), to grave - can and do leave education and undertake private sector posts. Most could never be arsed to.

Of course, but they cease to be teachers at this point.

[Esseesse]

TTwiggy said:

Of course, but they cease to be teachers at this point.

So?

[speedyman]

Theres a lot of bks written about public sector pensions in the newspapers, mostly done to wind up the pubic. Most public sector workers only have average pensions, its the fatcats at the top who are coining it.

Will the MP's be voting to cut their pensions, I think not.

[Marf]

speedyman said:

Theres a lot of bks written about public sector pensions in the newspapers, mostly done to wind up the pubic. Most public sector workers only have average pensions, its the fatcats at the top who are coining it.

Will the MP's be voting to cut their pensions, I think not.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13772326

"Mr Serwotka said the average civil service pension was £4,000 a year - but Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude highlighted different figures, stating that a worker on the median salary of £23,000 would have a pension pot of £500,000 - equivalent to about £15,000 a year - after 40 years' service.

An independent review of pensions by former Labour minister Lord Hutton put the average at between £5,600 and £7,800 a year."

and

"Someone who spends their entire working life in the public sector could expect to retire on a pension of two-thirds their final salary. "

Can you show us that these figures are false?

[TTwiggy]

Esseesse said:

So?

So... what if they want to remain teachers?

My 'imaginary' IT support worker could retrain as a Barrister, and make more money, but if they enjoy working in IT ,and want to continue to work in IT, that's not an option is it?

[speedyman]

Marf said:

speedyman said:

Theres a lot of bks written about public sector pensions in the newspapers, mostly done to wind up the pubic. Most public sector workers only have average pensions, its the fatcats at the top who are coining it.

Will the MP's be voting to cut their pensions, I think not.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13772326

"Mr Serwotka said the average civil service pension was £4,000 a year - but Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude highlighted different figures, stating that a worker on the median salary of £23,000 would have a pension pot of £500,000 - equivalent to about £15,000 a year - after 40 years' service.

An independent review of pensions by former Labour minister Lord Hutton put the average at between £5,600 and £7,800 a year."

and

"Someone who spends their entire working life in the public sector could expect to retire on a pension of two-thirds their final salary. "

Can you show us that these figures are false?

ok lets take the 5.6k - 7.8k that's still not a high pension. As I said its the fatcats who cream the money off and that includes MP's.

More to the point is how many employees spend their entire working life from 15 years old to 65 years in the public sector, I bet it's relativly few, but that's what's focused on as if everybody will be on that deal. They won't.

My wife will get about £5K after twenty + years of contributions when she retires.