Alistair Darling states that he wants pay restraint ...?

Question

... and the Shell Tanker Drivers get 14% over two years, busting all sense out of inflationary increases. They state that they are a special case with untold responsibility but the truth is they can bring the nation to a stop with their greed and stop one of the richest companies from getting even richer. I work in the public sector and receive around 2% per annum ... and the police have been restricted to the same. Who is kidding who here? Do we really have a government that cares or do they not have the slightest clue about it all? Your voices please ..... I think we'll all be selling Big issue next ....

Answer 1

Yeah, 'cos it is a discussion forum after all.

Answer 2

Before he starts lecturing workers on pay restraint! He ought to sort out MPs pay!Might I suggest!Pay them for what they are worth!But there again!I can hear them say!I refuse to work for galvanized  washers!!

Answer 3

Alistair Darling is a t**t He is also the fall guy for Browns untenable actions when he was Chancellor.  All his talk about being prudent he must take us for mugs if he thinks we believe all that old twaddle.  I notice the first thing the Labour Government did when it came to power was to raise MP's pay, and look at all the underhand scandal about MP's fiddling their expenses.  I would like to see the nurses get a fair deal before anyone they have always been grossly underpaid for what they have to know and do.  Pensions in this country are a disgracefully low compared to the rest of Europe.  800.000 people claiming invalidity benefit !!!!!! Government wasting our money as usual

Answer 4

Our MPs will be debating a pay rise of 16% for them selves soon. Is that showing pay restraint.!!

Answer 5

I must advise you that any form of income restraint does not apply to politicians in this country. Making all the rules as they do they would avoid by some sneaky legislation any curb on their pay. This Labour Government (so called) appear to be unable to do anything either sensible or practical. Looks like a rerun of 1979 could be here soon

Answer 6

and MP's are now set to get a pay rise of up to 40K for giving up their massive allowances for second homes. wonder if our Darling will be restraining himself when it comes to that pay rise???

Answer 7

inflation bad news . Jobs go

Answer 8

A couple of things to say here but as you work in the public sector you may not like some of them.

First ( as I recall )  the drivers' employers had already offered a settlement to within 2% of what was finally agreeed so it makes me wonder why the strike was "neccessary". As for the drivers being a "special case" with untold responsibility - that was just soundbites.It sounds like the deal they eventaully got was just about affordable and within reach before any pickets dusted off their placards.

The soundbites about "rich greedy Shell" being able to afford it all were very poor justification in my view for the drivers case.Surely Unions can up with more effective arguments in support of their members interests than that.Or maybe not.After all that's why millions desrted after the 70's.

The Police should have had the full award given by the agreed pay review procedure.It was contractual.

The story so far as the rest of the public sector is that Labour has spent all the cash and there is not a lot left to continue the record public spending levels seen in the last decade - most of which has gone into public sector pay.

In spite of what Unison etc. might want you to think there is a limited supply of  "rich people" "fat cats" "obscene profits" and "middle class" targets generally from whom/which to transfer wealth.

I guarantee you will not be selling Big Issue this year or next.However some of us in the middle (but not middle class) could very well be.

Good luck anyway.

Answer 9

the truth is that the majority of the population earn less than £20,000 a year.. and when people are earning even less, you just need to look at the jobs they have to do...

they work for banks, building societies, huge retail chain stores or other companies that make hundreds of millions of pounds, or in some cases it goes into the billions.. and yet, they reckon they can only afford to pay the "majority" of their workforce about £6-10 an hour...  and that is scandalous.

if everyone in an office job who earn less that £20k a year.. and everyone who worked in a shop / factory decided to walk out on strike... the country would grind to a halt..

unfortunately i don't think that anyone could afford to.. and there lies the problem.. by the companies paying their staff so little.. but just enough to allow them to scrape by.. they control them and therefore couldn't be held to ransom.

but.. what should and could be done?....

a huge tax on the global conglomerates that earn so much money. remove all the tax breaks for the rich, where they use every accounting loophole in existence in order to secret away as much money as possible.

I'm not against people earning more money, h**l no.. but for a bank to be able to earn close to £10bn in one year in profit.. and then all of a sudden people can't borrow money from those banks in order to buy a house... well, it just smacks of hypocrisy.

if it was me.. i'd be taxing these huge companies and giving the money back to people by way of free loans to install double glazing, new solar panels on their roofs, cheap small brand new cars which are fuel efficient, free transport passes.

and also massively invest in the transport infrastructure of the whole country. better bus, tram and train links for everyone to make it easier to get to and from work.

we should dare to be different in this new age.

Answer 10

Well the government has no control over the shell tanker drivers' pay, but they do have control over their own. Pay restraint he says? What about the 25% increase MPs are asking for, I say...

The government doesn't have a clue - they don't have to pay for fuel, food, mortgages etc. they're not living on £20 000 a year, and they're not the ones who havn't had a pay rise in 7 years....My mother works for Barclays Bank at their HQ in London, who had profits in the billions last year, yet she hasn't had a pay rise in years, whislt inflation and general prices go through the roof. And it's the same for millions of other people, in and outside of London. This government needs to go out and realise just how much their inaction and poor action is affecting the general public.

Unfortunately Labour has sent our country into even more debt - then they go and borrow more to pay for their own mistakes (10p tax etc.), yet they are still greedy enough to sit there and say "don't expect higher wages" whilst giving themselves a nice pay rise from our taxes

do they think we're supid?