Up to €1 Billion in extra payments to State Employees

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Purple

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Pandemic bonus across public sector could exceed €1 billion, Minister warns​


Are we really going to hand out up to a billion Euro to people who didn't lose their job during the pandemic for, well, actually doing their job during the pandemic?
Admittedly for some it was probably the first time in their career they actually did their job properly but that's no reason to throw money at them.
 
Bear in mind as well that a lot of them continued getting paid while the services they were supposed to provide vanished. Passports anyone, Revenue help anyone?
 
I think a bonus should be part of the public sector pay generally based on GNP \ revenues \ surplus.

Instead of committing us to pay increases that need to be paid even if tax revenues tank.

Country has a good year, nice bonus.
Country has a bad year, no bonus, but you still have a job.

So I'd rather see a big once off bonus now, than instead give what looks like a small pay increase now but in the long run will cost far more.
 
odyssey06 said:
I think a bonus should be part of the public sector pay generally based on GNP \ revenues \ surplus.

Instead of committing us to pay increases that need to be paid even if tax revenues tank.

Country has a good year, nice bonus.
Country has a bad year, no bonus, but you still have a job.

So I'd rather see a big once off bonus now, than instead give what looks like a small pay increase now but in the long run will cost far more.
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Maybe GNI* but no way GNP.
There'd also have to be a surplus in tax revenue. Personally I'd like to see it linked to delivery of service targets within budget. They'd also have to get rid of the fixed pay increases they get for just shining the This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language of their trousers for another year.
 
Personally I think the starting point should be the families of those on the front line who lost their lives. 2 non-medical staff for example, (kitchen porter and cleaner) in one hospital that I am aware of.

secondly should be staff who have long covid and are unable to return to work.
 
Purple said:
Are we really going to hand out up to a billion Euro to people who didn't lose their job during the pandemic
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That compares to the multi-billions that was handed out, rightly in my opinion, to people who did lose their jobs.
 
There are a couple of things that could be done which would really help staff morale, particularly in the front line areas, such as acute hospitals.

Maybe provide night staff with some proper food/refreshments in the hospitals, subsidised or even free.

A well equipped gymnasium for staff, something like that.

In the long run, I think the " lockdown" provided quite a few people with a welcome sabbatical. A nice, relatively, stress free period of downtime.
Maybe all front line emergency responding public servants could be offered a three month paid sabbatical , for every 20 years worked. It would be a huge help to people who work in extremely stressful environments. I think it's hard for people to understand that working in Emergency Departments, or ICU, or Maternity Units, presents the staff with highly charged, sometimes battle zone type experiences, day after day. The staff train themselves to quash their natural responses, but, eventually it takes its toll.

Maybe a little thinking outside the box would be a better gesture, than a cheque for a couple of hundred quid, across the board.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Whoever first came up with this idea of a bonus for public sector workers, frontline, healthcare, or otherwise, should be taken out and shot. And then shot again just to be sure.

Absolute claptrap…nonsense of the highest order.
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Should we keep a few spare for there deluded cheerleaders, it would be pointless shooting them don't you know we vote for who they are, We never Question what they are going to do when they get Elected,:)
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Whoever first came up with this idea of a bonus for public sector workers, frontline, healthcare, or otherwise, should be taken out and shot. And then shot again just to be sure.

Absolute claptrap…nonsense of the highest order.
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I'm not so sure. Apparently in the hospitality sector there is a labour shortage in no small part to PUP being more than what employers were willing to pay.
I don't recall much complaining about unemployed restaurant staff getting €350 for doing nothing while they could have been used to deep clean the streets of Covid like they did in China.
But professional healthcare workers, working in the frontline over the whole duration look for something extra? - how soon we forget those that kept us healthy and treated our sick.

Personally, I think we all deserve a bonus. Money is free, is being printed at will, time to spread the love once more and party.
 
WolfeTone said:
I'm not so sure. Apparently in the hospitality sector there is a labour shortage in no small part to PUP being more than what employers were willing to pay.
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If they paid the same wages as Hospitality staff get in Germany Austria there would be no shortage of staff,
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Lots of people lost their jobs and faced penury.
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They lost their jobs, but did they face penury? Incomes were protected, nobody went hungry, homelessness was reduced, asset prices increased.

kinnjohn said:
If they paid the same wages as Hospitality staff get in Germany Austria there would be no shortage of staff,
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Exactly the point. The State is paying better to those who lost their job and are not working, than what employers are prepared to pay. Anyway you look at it, unemployed hospitality workers are a protected sector.
But people who were working, doing their job, are to be resented for wanting something extra?
That "we are all in this together" mentality has evaporated quickly.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
They did their job.

Lots of people lost their jobs and faced penury.

And we want to reward people with fulltime, secure, and pensionable jobs.

Important jobs, yes, but they were just doing their job.

Preposterous.
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Have you an opinion on who will see cutbacks and stealth taxes, why are we not blaming Mary Lou,

I might as well ask you what political party will benefit long-term from present Government policies,:confused:
 
WolfeTone said:
That compares to the multi-billions that was handed out, rightly in my opinion, to people who did lose their jobs.
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For the most part, they were getting paid a small amount when you factor in the social security there Employers and employees pay to the Government through payroll, along with Income tax each week,
 
kinnjohn said:
For the most part, they were getting paid a small amount when you factor in the social security there Employers and employees pay to the Government through payroll, along with Income tax each week,
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They were getting paid MORE than they would have got if the pandemic hadn't happened and they were still at work.
Don't get me wrong, give the nature of crisis I think the government did the right thing.
They protected social cohesion. The cost of that we can start to consider as economic activity returns to a new normal.
But we all cheered the healthcare workers, transport workers, food producers, suppliers and toilet roll manufacturers.
There is going to be significant changes in income levels and with it tax adjustments over the coming years. Now is a good time to put those frontline workers at the front of the queue.
Public sector workers have trade unions to support their position. Who have retail grocer and meat plant workers got?
 
I work in a hospital and I haven't heard any staff talking about a bonus. Certainly a lot of people are overdue a break but not many crying out for extra leave. The demand seems to be mainly coming from unions whose job it is to make themselves seen to be doing something for members. And I say that as a long-time union rep.

We can have an endless debate about whether healthcare workers are superheroes or just doing their well-paid, secure jobs, but most of us would rather see Slaintecare implemented rather than get a one-off token payment. As Allpartied said above, meaningful measures to boost morale would go a long way.

Laboratory staff have been treated like rubbish for years. Nurses have been highlighting understaffing and unsafe conditions as long as I can remember. Lots of burnout manifesting now that started long ago. Part of my job involves recruitment and retention of doctors and let me tell you it is a constant nightmare which pay rises will not solve.

WolfeTone is right, the government needs to address rights and conditions for the likes of meat factory workers and people in precarious work who have no-one in their corner.
 
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