Is there broad support for the current Public Sector strikes?

[arbitron]

The actual diagnostic yield of imaging is often surprisingly low. In some situations, only a single digit % of scans find something that changes management. So the number of delayed diagnoses will likely be far smaller than the number of cancelled appointments.

And a delayed diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean a worse outcome. For many conditions, whether you're diagnosed now or in a few months makes little difference to the eventual effectiveness of treatment. Delays will cause anxiety, inconvenience, pain, and other problems, but that isn't the same as long-term harm.

During previous big HSE strikes, we carefully triaged patients, prioritised urgent cases, and rebooked cancelled appointments, absorbing them back into the system within 8 weeks.

 

[Purple]

Is this how it works in your business? 'Sorry guys, no bonus this year. If we spend the money on wages, then we can't expand the business, fund new equipment, get more customers, make more profit'?

Yes, that exactly the way it works. We can only spend our money, not other people's money.

 

[Purple]

Are pay levels "vastly" higher? Teachers granted! Pay the at the higher levels, certainly, is significantly lower than the private sector, I would have thought.

Over 50% of the public service are on the SPSPS now. The value of the scheme is no better than a standard private sector scheme. In fact, that's part of the reason entry level salaries are on the raise, the value of the pension contribution is so low that extended periods of a career could result in very poor pension provision. This is cited as a major cause of retention issues in the uniformed services.

There is plenty of atrophy on the ground. Retention crisis in the Defence Forces and Gardaí, massive amounts of vacancies in STEM teaching, Junior Doctors are still run ragged, recruiting specialist IT skills is a farce.

I agree with most of that but there is a shortage of skilled labour in every sector, a global shortage of doctors, and plenty of people in teaching, nursing and medicine who willing to go and work in and support despotic blood soaked police states in the Middle East in order to get a tax free income for a few years. Unless we also start having slaves we'll never be able to compete with that.

And the State in not exactly a benign employer. They seem make agreements with workers, extract the work practice changes then don't fulfil the pay end of the bargain. Not least the Defence Forces - subject to significant curtailment of their civil rights (conditions of service), so the State have total control, free of the threat of strike and their conditions have been total mess for decades. Contrast that with the slightly more militant Gardaí and the very militant teachers!

Good point. The pay and conditions for the Armed forces has improved but is still not good enough, especially at higher ranks and in specialist roles.

The Government padded the profit margins in the hospitality sector at the expense of tax payers. They padded fuel prices - benefitting the largest users. This strike action could be seen coming a mile off.

Yes, both were massive mistakes.

 

[Deiseblue]

Jack Chambers is eventually coming to the conclusion that pay is the starting point in negotiations and that the €1.2 billion mentioned in the budget is also negotiable .
Progress which hopefully will bring both parties to the table.