Frank Hovis Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm not sure how we got to a situation where certain jobs command very high compensation when they are jobs that have one hundred people queuing up for every post. Every little boy wants to be a fireman or train driver and they haven't even grasped the concept of wage compensation. You've got to hand it to the Unions who have got pay and conditions to where they are. My cousin retires from the fire service at age 53............£108,000 lump sum and £19,000 index linked annuity. 40 applicants for each fireman post I heard one time. The rules of supply and demand go out of the window in the unionised public sector. The fire service is an ideal candidate for being outsourced. There isn't the issue of confidential records as in the police or the NHS and the savings would be enormous. After all how much do you need to pay an unskilled person to sit around all day playing cards? Oh I forgot - "they save lives". The all-encompassing get out. Although that doesn't seem to apply to nurses and midwives given their poor pay and conditions. Sex discrimination case in the offing perhaps? Given that nurses and midwives are in skilled occupations that require a lot of training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilf Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 40 applicants for each fireman post I heard one time. The rules of supply and demand go out of the window in the unionised public sector. The fire service is an ideal candidate for being outsourced. There isn't the issue of confidential records as in the police or the NHS and the savings would be enormous. After all how much do you need to pay an unskilled person to sit around all day playing cards? Oh I forgot - "they save lives". The all-encompassing get out. Although that doesn't seem to apply to nurses and midwives given their poor pay and conditions. Sex discrimination case in the offing perhaps? Given that nurses and midwives are in skilled occupations that require a lot of training. You haven't got a ******ing clue to be honest. Lets hope you never have to call the Fire brigade out, of course you wouldn't really need to as you can just get your neighbour to use his garden hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 You haven't got a ******ing clue to be honest. Lets hope you never have to call the Fire brigade out, of course you wouldn't really need to as you can just get your neighbour to use his garden hose. As I need a binman to empty my bin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilf Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 As I need a binman to empty my bin. Like I say you haven't got a clue. I'm assuming there is 4 months solid training and the two year probation for a bin man, then of course his bin skills will be regularly updated with additional training. By all means think they get paid too much and I agree its nothing like as dangerous at it might have been, but your comments prove that you don't have the faintest idea about what people in the fire service do or the training they go through. For the record I'm not a fireman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exasperated Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Look around you, around your city/town/village. See any buildings on fire? Were there any buildings on fire yesterday? The day before? Tomorrow? My brother spent 27 years in the fire service and he can count the number of times he attended serious fires on the fingers of one hand. He spent most of his time in the gym, playing volleyball, table tennis or asleep. Four 12 hour shifts on, then four days off (fitting kitchens, to double his pay). Occasionally there was the excitement of a false alarm and admittedly he did attend a few horrific car crashes that needed people cut out. He retired at 55 on two thirds of his final salary and started the next day doing exactly the same job, same pay, for a different government agency. By the way, he was a fireman in the 1970's and took part in the strike which originally started the wage rises and pension rights, which are now excepted as their right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Look around you, around your city/town/village. See any buildings on fire? Were there any buildings on fire yesterday? The day before? Tomorrow? My brother spent 27 years in the fire service and he can count the number of times he attended serious fires on the fingers of one hand. He spent most of his time in the gym, playing volleyball, table tennis or asleep. Four 12 hour shifts on, then four days off (fitting kitchens, to double his pay). Occasionally there was the excitement of a false alarm and admittedly he did attend a few horrific car crashes that needed people cut out. He retired at 55 on two thirds of his final salary and started the next day doing exactly the same job, same pay, for a different government agency. By the way, he was a fireman in the 1970's and took part in the strike which originally started the wage rises and pension rights, which are now excepted as their right. A point well made. Whatever the merits of the high salary and pensions argument for firemen, many other occupations have made similar demands that the Government has caved into and we are now struggling with a 100 billion deficit and an eye watering debt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Sutton Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 You haven't got a ******ing clue to be honest. Lets hope you never have to call the Fire brigade out, of course you wouldn't really need to as you can just get your neighbour to use his garden hose. Fire brigade in Germany, Austria and switzerland is run by voulunteers and money raised by fundraising events. No need for over-paid professionals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Like I say you haven't got a clue. I'm assuming there is 4 months solid training and the two year probation for a bin man, then of course his bin skills will be regularly updated with additional training. By all means think they get paid too much and I agree its nothing like as dangerous at it might have been, but your comments prove that you don't have the faintest idea about what people in the fire service do or the training they go through. For the record I'm not a fireman. Anybody can do it. They are always begging for people to volunteer as retained firefighters who do nothing like that sort of training but do the same job and somehow manage. The two year probation is to make sure that the existing clique like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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