Yeah, those shocking pay rises that allowed us to earn enough to both buy a small house AND eat! We really shouldn't have been given those.
Isn't it funny how those people giving out about too high minimum/industrial wages are generally the ones who earn 6 figure salaries? Its the little guy earning a tenner an hour that ruined the country though.....?
And your point being?
I have seen them. But I've also seen the payslips for my family, and the hard won increase in my husbands pay (strong union) wouldn't keep you in newspapers. We live on amounts that you would laugh at, and its going down all the time, as we just lost the paltry bit of overtime and a split shift allowance that took years to win.
It was a cheap shot....and yes everybody involved in inflating our average wage and reducing our tax base is responsible for damaging the economy.Are you suggesting that this is actual evidence linking Purple's comment that the unions have damaged the economy or just another cheap anti union shot. I strongly supect it is the latter.
Yeah, those shocking pay rises that allowed us to earn enough to both buy a small house AND eat! We really shouldn't have been given those.
Believe me you would not argue that they earn too much if you were living on that money.
Well saidThe problem was the price of the small house not the level of wages.
If the average wage is the same as every other country but the small house costs double you look at ways to make houses affordable not inflate wages.
I realise I'm being wise after the event but even this wisdom still seems to be beyond a lot of people
Do people think that the majority of union members will vote for strike action?
Just from talking to some of my colleagues, there does not seem much appetite for it.
Do people think that the majority of union members will vote for strike action?
Just from talking to some of my colleagues, there does not seem much appetite for it.
the point is that on a broad general level the country could not afford the pay increases that were given out. On a specific level it is the case that some people are still underpaid for what they do but more are overpaid for what they do. Remember that people are paid according to what they earn, not what they need. The communists tried that and it didn’t work out too well for them.
I agree, I wasn't just talking about the public sector at all.I would aggree with a lot of that but I think it is worth saying that it was not only pay increases in the public service that was the problem.
The government has spent the past 10 years throwing money at problems whether it be increasing ps numbers in the health service, early childcare supplement, the bertie bowl, thorntan hall (new prision), e-voting machines (which now cost 700k a year to store), increasing social welfare benefits.
I agree, I wasn't just talking about the public sector at all.
For someone who didn’t understand my point you did a very good job of answering it (and I’m not being sarcastic)I do understand your point.
Then benchmarking him against our EU counterparts (the benchmarking that matters) he is not overpaid. I am not making a point specific to your husband/partner; it’s a more general point (and government policy should be set based on the medium to long term interests of the majority with social policy helping those that are left behind).My OH's counterpart in the UK gets paid more, and I'm not sure about the others. Would think they would be similar or more.
Both should be looked at from a broad perspective. Leaders should to lead by example. TD’s, in my opinion, should be looking at a 25% pay cut, the same for judges etc.I think though, that your last point is interesting. Doesn't Brian Cowen get paid far far more than his counterparts, like, anywhere? Probably true for the high court judge as well. But its still the minimum wage that always get attacked, not their salaries. Why is that?
Cost of living does go down quite a bit as wages drop. Property prices have dropped, as has rent, utilities and other input costs so therefore the cost of doing business has dropped. This allows retailers to drop prices to chase (but not match) the reduced consumer spending power that we have at the moment.And yes, its obviously a bad thing if other countries are cheaper than us. By slashing wage costs at the bottom, you may improve our attractiveness to overseas investment, obviously a good thing. But how are those workers to survive? Cost of living doesn't go down much.
NoAre we to suffer so we can get those investments so Brian Cowen can justify his big salary?
No, as money comes into the economy it will increase demand which in turn will create more jobs and lead to wage inflation again. As long as we don’t lose the run of ourselves again that shouldn’t be a problem.Money comes back into the country, somebody does well, but we just get poorer and poorer, and the unions long gone too if you had your way?
Are you suggesting that the highest after tax minimum wage in the EU, pushed for by the breaded Brethren, and two rounds of the Benchmarking fiasco have had no impact on our competitiveness?
Union leaders proliferate our state and semi-state boards, with the Eminence grise himself, David Begg, sitting on the board of both the central Bank and the ESRI.
The problem was the price of the small house not the level of wages.
If the average wage is the same as every other country but the small house costs double you look at ways to make houses affordable not inflate wages.
I realise I'm being wise after the event but even this wisdom still seems to be beyond a lot of people
I agree so why did the Bearded Brethren look for pay increases instead of measures to reduce the cost of housing (or at least stop the rate of increase)?Of course it affected our competitiveness but they had to seek pay increases to allow people to be able to afford homes. You might have noticed a slight rise in house prices from 1995 till 2006Also, the ESRI did warn the Govt about the affects of house price rises and the dependance on construction revenues.
Striking will lose me a day's pay for no hope of return.
I don't know if its standard across union, but ours only pays strike pay for strikes lasting more than 3 days. And its only about 150 euro for a full week, and thats if you stand on the line for your full shift everyday.
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