notthereyet Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 (edited) Will it happen? Edited July 4, 2009 by Itsalongwaydown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpo Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 this will be hugely inflationary....... not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Dunno - but soon and about the same time as they cut tax credits? (heck the local paper printed my letter about that rumour today!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live Peasant Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 They'll be lucky to get away with a freeze when the private sector is taking 20% cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Volio Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 They'll be lucky to get away with a freeze when the private sector is taking 20% cuts. Data ? Is it so that the the entire private sector is taking a 2% cut ? I don't seem to be. Most people I know seem to be getting a small or zero pay rise; some are taking cuts, for sure, but not all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest absolutezero Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 A lot of firms have cut hours etc and have not become front line news because they are smaller companies,a lot of low paid will get some of thier cuts made up by tax credits etc. Most public sector workers have had below inflation pay rises (i.e. cuts) for years.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1888 Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 and cutting the 10p rate of income tax is actually a rise of 150% (?) on the lowest earners of our society the ones who actually do get off there erses rather than chavdole it out and the 40% to 50% rate rise is .......? stop talking about "cutting" this rate and talk about the hypocrisy of the NuLabour movement Browns next claim will be that people are contributing more to society than ever before and and and this is a good thing If Cameron cant nail him on this and his doing whats best for hard working familys the party of the many, and the do nothing party opposite jibes he's in the wrong job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Will it happen? Probably. Most negotiations seem to be around RPI. As this is now around zero, pay freezes could be ahead. The problem for the next government will be how to implement pay reductions. They'll need these to reduce public sector spending. But there again it is hugely deflationary. The multiplier effect onto consumption of reducing wages in the public sector [as well as the reductions we are seeing the private sector - bank bonuses aside] means a weakened economy for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Probably. Most negotiations seem to be around RPI. As this is now around zero, pay freezes could be ahead.The problem for the next government will be how to implement pay reductions. They'll need these to reduce public sector spending. But there again it is hugely deflationary. The multiplier effect onto consumption of reducing wages in the public sector [as well as the reductions we are seeing the private sector - bank bonuses aside] means a weakened economy for years. the plan wil be to cut public sector pay as private sector is recovering, thereby balancing each other out, I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three pint princess Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wires 74 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Why is the Observer calling it a `threat ` ? When theres even companys such as BP ( which recently announced massive profits ) operating a pay freeze for employees in 2009 as well as scrappping their pension scheme - and many other companys doing similar then the least we can expect is for the Public sector to follow suit ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Where is my pen? Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Will it happen? It will ALL happen. You mark my words. The state is going to undergo a major collapse in size and scope - we simply cannot afford even half of it. They (we) will not just let it happen however, we will destroy the currency and most of the remaining bit of the economy that works in the process of trying to maintain status quo. Dig in. We have had the tremors, 2007, 2008, now the finale is heading our way into 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashConnoisseur Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 (edited) On the same note will they freeze benefits and more to the point for this forum housing allowance? Effectively that's already happening. Most benefits are uprated every April in line with the Rossi index (RPI less housing costs). for the previous September -- that's likely to be negative unless inflation takes off. The rates of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) are set monthly to cover an average rent for the area (excluding upmarket property). In most areas rents are now static or falling so LHA rates should follow the market down. Edited July 5, 2009 by CrashConnoisseur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Needs to happen the tax revenues are collapsing. Wage cuts and/or sackings need to happen. The wise in the public sector will be paying down there debts whilst they still have chance. The stupid will be carrying on as normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash4781 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 And to think they went to all the effort of negotiating 3 year pay deals. Cutting wages could mean Labour lose union support. The Guardian, Wednesday 9 January 2008The government moved urgently yesterday to open talks on three-year pay deals in the public sector, initially focusing on teachers, nurses and the police, as it began a determined effort to contain inflationary pressures. The plan, leading to talks as early as this week, was unveiled by the prime minister at a press conference in which he indicated he wanted to keep pay awards again within 2% a year, saying this was the expected inflation level at the end of 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/ja....publicservices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aa3 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 They could consider the bizarro plan.. increase everyone in the public sectors wages by £4,000 next year. Since there is 5.5 million people directly employed by the state that would cost £22 billion. But hey they are already looking to run a deficit of £220 billion this year. So whats another 10% on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jborg Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 the plan wil be to cut public sector pay as private sector is recovering, thereby balancing each other out, I guess Great, more people getting sacrificed for the mistakes of the private sector. Roll on another winter of discontent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr ray Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 They could consider the bizarro plan.. increase everyone in the public sectors wages by £4,000 next year. Since there is 5.5 million people directly employed by the state that would cost £22 billion. But hey they are already looking to run a deficit of £220 billion this year. So whats another 10% on there. Actually this is how I thought they would feed the monopoly money they are printing into the economy based on the fact that this is how they did it in Zimbawe (who are ahead of the curve in economic terms) Cutting the wages of a huge proportion of the population will really boost the housing market and all the banks' bad loans will suddenly disappear and Gordon Brown will be hailed as Saviour of the World and voted in for another 12 year term. Or maybe not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacGuffin Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Great, more people getting sacrificed for the mistakes of the private sector. Roll on another winter of discontent... In what way is a bloated and inefficient public sector a mistake of the private sector? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Deflation Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Laughable, really, how people want to punish the public sector for economic damage done largely by the private sector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Deflation Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 They'll be lucky to get away with a freeze when the private sector is taking 20% cuts. A recent HPC poll showed that more people had actually received pay rises in the last twelve months. Private sector workers taking cuts of 20% are few and far between - but when they do happen they are reported in the media like they're the norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the flying pig Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 (edited) Laughable, really, how people want to punish the public sector for economic damage done largely by the private sector. i agree to some extent but there's not any alternative. and it won't lead to any real suffering whilst inflation remains relatively low. i'd start with the NHS GPs, ludicrous that they their average earnings have breached six figures... there are around 100,000 of them, earning an average of over £100k, i'd happily strip each and every one of them of £10k each and feel that a billion pounds a year had been saved in an entirely painless fashion. Edited July 5, 2009 by the flying pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Deflation Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 In what way is a bloated and inefficient public sector a mistake of the private sector? Bloated and inefficient? Could just as easily apply to the banking idustry - or pretty much any private sector industry. Yes, the public sector, like the private sector, needs a trim, but a blanket pay freeze will do nothing but breed resentment and create industrial strife. OK, nurses and NHS staff rarely strike, but police, teachers, fire fighters, etc, are quite happy to down tools on a large scale. To adjust the public finances they just need to stop squandering money on ID cards, pointless and irresponsible wars and local councils spending thousands taking people to court for non-crimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Deflation Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 i agree to some extent but there's not any alternative. and it won't lead to any real suffering whilst inflation remains relatively low.i'd start with the NHS GPs, ludicrous that they their average earnings have breached six figures... there are around 100,000 of them, earning an average of over £100k, i'd happily strip each and every one of them of £10k each and feel that a billion pounds a year had been saved in an entirely painless fashion. I can see your point - ten grand is neither here nor there when you're earning in excess of 100K (unless you are MEW'd up to your eyeballs on a "portfolio" of BTL properties) - but I think there are better ways of reducing public expenditure than cutting (or freezing) workers' salaries. Although GPs rarely strike, pay cuts - of any magnitude - would breed resentment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 So it looks that public sector wages held steady while private sector wages where driven down. That can be explained by the fact that the private sector has little union density protecting wages and conditions from the effects of globalisation and neo liberal policies. When you factor in that pensions are just defered wages and that employers are ending pension schemes in the private sector the situation is much worse for workers in the private sector. The answer is not to drive public sector workers wages down as well but to drive private sector wages and conditions back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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