Do you get the feeling that Ireland has possibly the weakest Government in years, when it may well need the strongest? This fragile Government faces an internal insurrection led by public servants who feel that the recent recovery in the economy should be theirs. It’s hard to fault the logic of the teachers and the gardaí. After all, they have been led to believe there is a direct link between tax revenues and their salaries.
Let’s be clear, there is none — or at least there should be none. However, given the way this country has run itself over the past three decades with that creature called ‘partnership’, public-sector unions have managed to create some line between tax revenues and public-sector costs.
During the downturn, this link was underplayed as the private sector shouldered the bust in the guise of mass unemployment and emigration. The public sector was protected from this traumatic fate.
Now that finances are slightly more buoyant and, more crucially, because the Government is — structurally at least — the weakest in living memory, the link between tax revenue and public-sector salaries has been miraculously reinstated. This is against not only the spirit but the letter of the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
Whatever the merit of the gardaí or the teachers’ cases, it should not be the case that when the revenues of the State increase for whatever reason, that such increase is automatically the property of public-sector workers. Traditionally, wage increases should be linked to productivity.
Therefore, it should be up to the State, together with the unions, to come up with productivity measures for both teachers and gardaí and if they collectively, or more fairly, individually, meet these or better these measures, then they should be paid more.
However, if the unions simply want to tear up the Lansdowne Agreement because they see the Government as being weak and they see this as an opportunity to orchestrate a smash-and-grab exercise, then the rest of us, those whose taxes pay these wages, are entitled to feel aggrieved.
The future of industrial relations in Ireland is at a crossroads.
Will the Government give in to every demand? Or will it compromise so much that it may as well have given in? Or will it stand up and fight on behalf of the majority of the electorate, who are not in the public sector?
The first scenario is easy enough to plot out. As the growth rate of the economy remains fairly constant — and no one expects a massive surge in tax growth this year — the cost of higher public-sector wages will be paid by those taxpayers who are not in the public sector. It can’t be any other way. Clearly, the State could borrow to pay higher wages, but it isn’t going to do this. Remember we are still running a budget deficit, implying that we can’t even balance our books right now, let alone after a huge hike in the public-sector cost base.
In short, we are dealing with a plot against the ordinary working person by a public sector that has direct access to the political class. The unions know that a fragile Government is dependent on them as a voting bloc. On the basis that an election could be one or two political screw-ups away, the unions can hold the Coalition to ransom.
With the Government so fragile and Fianna Fáil breathing down the Cabinet’s neck, pay negotiations become like a hostage situation. The public-sector unions threaten the Government: pay up or else we will strike across the board. The unions know that a weak Government is likely to buckle under the strain of industrial conflict because the likelihood is that some Independents wobble, the Government collapses and the unions instruct their members to vote for the party that promises them the biggest ransom.
But who pays the ransom?
Well, the average taxpayer who is not a member of one of the cosseted unions.
This is how it works when the electorate delivers a vote which is nothing more than an inconclusive mandate to do as little as possible and hope for the best.
When we look in more detail at public-sector workers, we see their pay is already more than 30pc higher than the private sector, plus their huge unfunded pensions are nothing more than a debt pyramid. The reason we can describe the entire public-sector pension structure as a debt pyramid is because public-sector pensions are not based on some investment that makes money or some dividend or some return to savings — as is the case with everyone else’s pension. The public-sector pensions are a tax on new entrants into the labour market because they are paid directly out of current taxation. Therefore, one older worker’s windfall is another younger worker’s taxation. This money is not earned but appropriated.
Thus, you can see one route is the way to chaos where the unions ransack the public purse and take money out of the pockets of other workers. This is the route that will be paved with governmental good intentions.
The other route is for the Government to stand up for the 1.7 million other taxpayers who are not public-sector workers. Clearly, there are deals that have to be honoured under the Lansdowne Road Agreement, but there should be no more. This way the teachers and gardaí would get a fair deal, but not a special deal.
This route, the route of holding the line, demands political mettle.
However, there is little doubt that a government that stands up for the interests of 1.7 million against 300,000 is doing the democratic thing.
The choice is clear. In fact, it couldn’t be clearer.
Nope. If they wouldn’t stand up to banks, I’m not going to say they should stand up to people.
If everyone is just going to let the gov’t fill the pockets of the wealthy, then I’m going to root for the front-line workers getting their share. Good for them. I’ll cheer them on and vote against anyone who gets in their way.
Want me to support reigning in public sector pay? Well then we fix it at the top *first* and then we work our way down.
A real cheap shot article I’d say.
Why don’t you focus your ire properly?
http://news.efinancialcareers.com/ie-en/159654/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-structure-and-level-of-salaries-and-bonuses-at-goldman-sachs-jpmorgan-citigroup-and-merrill-lynch-international/
It is becoming more difficult to make an honest living in Ireland these days.
If you are a Gombeen, a Spoofer, a Party Hack, an Insider, a bare faced liar, someone who would shaft their own Mother, someone who would misrepresent their skill set (Bertie the Accountant) and so forth then you will be fine.
What Ireland needs is a change in Business culture, a change in how it does things. Ireland needs a Paradigm shift in its Cultural Web. The Cultural Web identifies six interrelated elements that help to make up what Johnson and Scholes call the “paradigm” – the pattern or model – of the work environment. By analyzing the factors in each, you can begin to see the bigger picture of your culture: what is working, what isn’t working, and what needs to be changed. The six elements are: 1. Stories – The past events and people talked about inside and outside… Read more »
Great Article.
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It’s a real lazy cheap article David.
Wages are cut…people’s benefits ,who they pay for , are cut.
Two tier pay system for Garda,Nurses & teachers.
Here’s a mad idea ….. what if companies paid a corporation tax of 12.5% ? …every year.
What if we nurtured are natural resources ??
Instead of giving them away……
Do you think that would help ? Do you ?
Who has a full time job now ?
They are becoming a thing of the past.
Sometimes I wonder about you David…
Barry
RR6
come up with productivity measures for both teachers and gardaí and if they collectively, or more fairly, individually, meet these or better these measures, then they should be paid more. These are your own words David and they fit exactly the situation young, teachers, nurses, Garda and firemen are in. They are doing the same work as their colleagues but are on totally different pay scales. This is really shoddy journalism as you state whatever the merits of the Garda and teachers cases we just should not bow down to pressure from the unions. Last year Ireland looked to employ… Read more »
Agreed. There is no money in the pot.
I was back in Ireland last week and had the same conversation with people. Gardai are really well paid, as are the public sector. Why load more debt on our children, 183bln is not insignificant and as it turns out, our debt has not inflated away to date.
If the public service don’t like it, let them enter the private sector of no pensions and actual results expected.
This guy has completely lost the plot and is way out of touch.
The HSE had problems recruiting nurses for many reasons including a current world-wide shortage of nurses. Certainly the cost of living here is a factor. Having said that, why the HSE needs more nurses when we have one of the highest ratios of nurses per population in the OECD does suggest crisis management. One element missing from the Public/Private debate – and it is an important one – is the component of supply & demand. I remember some years ago Tony Blair facing down the Firefighters who were striking for higher pay – he said their work was very important,… Read more »
“In Ireland, direct elections by universal suffrage are used for the President, the ceremonial head of state; for Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas or parliament; for the European Parliament; and for local government. All elections use the single transferable vote (STV) in constituencies returning three or more members, except that the presidential election and by-elections use the single-winner analogue of STV, elsewhere called instant-runoff voting or the alternative vote. Members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas, are partly nominated, partly indirectly elected, and partly elected by graduates. STV is a form of proportional representation,… Read more »
“Central banks, Governments and regulatory authorities are too often keen to highlight the benefits of the cashless society, e.g. efficiency and speed of transactions, ease of compliance and reporting, etc. However, the same agencies promoting cashless society evolution never mention the downsides or costs associated with creating a market structure in which private transactions become fully public through electronic trace-ability and centralised storage of information.”
http://www.goldcore.com/us/gold-blog/cashless-society-war-cash-benefit-gold/
David,
Thank you for writing the article. The rest of the workforce is fed up with the nonsense that is coming from a return to Bertonomics.
Really disappointing article……’public sector workers get paid 30% more than private sector workers’…..not that meaningless factoid again! There is no private sector equivalent to a Garda, army private, etc so there can’t be a 30% differential, unless you compare a Garda with a worker in McDonald’s. As a former public sector worker who now works in the private sector, my real problem with ps unions was their restraint during the guarantee and subsequent bank bailouts…..’industrial peace’ and ‘stability’ they called it, when that was precisely the time for the country to revolt and as the biggest civil society organisations out… Read more »
Most of the Guards are Crooks !
And, overpaid as Guards too even if they were not Crooks.
Updates on topic which is not off-topic ; . USA Presidential Election 2016 . . Hillary Clinton “Rally” VERSUS Donald Trump “Rally” . https://twitter.com/jamesperloff/status/789281915081752576/photo/1 Photo speaks a 1,000 Words. . . All media reports will be rigged on election night to proclaim Clinton the winner no matter what… Trump urged to challenge the fraud . After reporting faked election results, the media will be pressuring Trump to admit defeat as quickly as possible . Donald Trump must REFUSE to concede on election night and must challenge the widespread election fraud that has been engineered by the democrats . Democrats are… Read more »
Irish-American, & oft-times people’s choice to be President of USA, Pat Buchanan telling u the truth here.
And, “u betcha” it is the same here in The Irish State for rigging of Dail Elections & Referenda.
Heck, the Garda-Landlords / Landlord-Gardas 8-) were even caught helping to rig the “same-chromosome” marriage referendum in favor of the Chuck Feeney — George Soros type — agenda in making Irish State more crass.
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Is the System Rigged ? You Betcha.
PAT BUCHANAN • OCTOBER 18, 2016 • 900 WORDS
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http://www.unz.com/pbuchanan/is-the-system-rigged-you-betcha/
Green shoots had rotten roots. If the real inflation rate is deducted from the GDP figures the results are an annual growth rate of negative 3-4%. That is the economy is actually in recession/depression and has been for the last 8 years. No wonder the locals are voting for trump. The locals have finally figured that everyone else is lying through their teeth.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/10/19/fed-risks-repeating-lehman-blunder-as-us-recession-storm-gathers/
https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2016/10/20/post-election-social-unrest-000938
Governments are fragile alright.
“People are frustrated, restless, angry. And officially, we aren’t even in a recession yet. Officially, the inflation rate remains below 2%. What happens when the economy and stock market start tanking? Or when costs for fuel, food, and other consumer goods start taking off again?”
One of the reasons governments are so fragile is that they are bought, paid for and controlled by others. Mostly leading back to unlimited funds. We know where those funds originate. Loose central bank policies of unlimited money production now called QE to infinity. “It also offers yet more evidence that we do not live in a world where our leaders are elected, they are selected; and on top of that, they are beholden to moneyed interests, to the point where they are routinely emailed and told (like Clinton) how to intervene in international affairs, and directed what to do.… Read more »
If only some people were as concerned about the quality of state services, being given to the public, as they were about pay rises in the absence of improvements in either productivity or quality. There is a massive problem within the state system in terms of productivity and quality of services. There are two root causes. 1. Nepotism. Political parties, IBEC, ICTU, the oligopolists, the golden circle sticking their own into state institutions and bodies, and running them like little empires, on their own whims. This creates enormous underperformance in terms of management. Think of Cowen’s mate in charge of… Read more »
This article by David’s is a very important piece of Public Service to the Irish Nation, & the foreign tax payers here — not in Civil Service [ Some are ; And, in very sensitive privacy roles ] — also suffering.
Good Stuff !
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/dan-obrien/you-cant-rely-on-state-figures-if-you-want-a-fair-public-pay-debate-35145674.html . Shocking Cost for in the main shockingly “ineffective” AND “inefficient” AND “rude” AND “non-transparent” Services to captive market [ the Citizens ]. Grgegorz has plenty of evidence about some examples. . Civil SERPENT pro-active destructive actions against citizens is also part funded by this shocking cost in salaries. Other funding for nefarious activities of Civil SERPENTS is from department costs other than salaries, & atimes relevant bribes given by corrupt elements of private sector to said Civil SERPENTS. . e.g. . Social Welfare claimants not even getting their basic statutory entitlements ; . e.g. . I myself for… Read more »
By the way, the system also encourages people to be forever on the welfare. In fact it creates two behavioural models. Drones, and worker bees. Everybody knows some family that have been dolers for 20 years or more. Intergenerational dolers. Free stuff, and a series of claims that run for decades. Without them there would be no ammuniation for the Fairness agenda. They are useful in keeping the institutional complex in it’s firmly statist empowerment. Welfare in return for no effort at the very top of the institutional state. And expensive welfare in return for no effort at the top… Read more »
The state has welfare programs at the very top and at the very bottom.
Endless provision for the dossers in your neighbourhood, who manage to never stop dossing.
And nice juicy income streams for Rody Molloy, Bertie Ahern, Enda Kenny, Der Geraghty, Patrick Neary, Patrick Honaghan, the directors of the CRC, Rehab directors, etc…
Speaking of Des Geraghty ; . http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/shane-ross/quango-veteran-des-is-back-in-his-old-haunts-30656058.html . Cute Hoor “Communist” [ “Some are more equal than others” ] with loyalty to “The Internationale” is well able to feather his own nest. Not to be underestimated. Very deft & articulate. A proper Bolshevik / Trotskyite gangster in my opinion. . . Actually, there is a very strong case to be made that the top union bosses are part of conspiracy to destroy the Irish Nation & so usher in EU communist regime here. So, minority in multi-national employment + many as well-paid Civil Servants [ Although, at this stage, even… Read more »
There yee go ! . Get a dose of the under-scoring LIES coming from Irish State about how much the salaries of the Civil Servants [ incl. Civil SERVANTS ] — The “Permanent” Government ] cost ; . . And, this despite the Irish State indebting the Irish Nation present & future — with attendant “dire poverty” “homelessness”, & “homelessness + rooflessness”, & “forced emigration”, & “suicides” [ notwithstanding Bertie Aherne — friend of the Nomenklatura / Civil Servants — recommending suicide to those citizens not benefiting ], inter alia– forced on many poor citizens so as to “effectively” assure… Read more »
Typo ; . Largest = I MEANT TO REFER TO THE SCALE OF D & M BOMBINGS IN HISTORY OF MODERN CONFLICT WITH BRITS; The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of co-ordinated bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland. 3 bombs exploded in Dublin during rush hour and a fourth exploded in Monaghan almost 90 minutes later. They killed 33 civilians and a full-term unborn child, and injured almost 300. The bombings were the deadliest attack of the conflict known as the Troubles, and the deadliest attack in the Republic’s history.[2] Most of the victims… Read more »
Many members [ at least Garda ] of Irish Civil Service / The “Permanent” Government of Irish State AND “The Deep State” of Irish State / “The Hidden Government” of Irish State involved in the whole Dublin & Monaghan Bombings atrocities. . CAPITAL Crimes. . Treason too. Ushered in more of “police” state regime. Helped Margaret Thatcher to get into power in UK also. . Here is some more info. on the so-called incompetence — Hmm…m ; Nay, downright naked criminality — of the Irish Civil Service against the Irish citizens, & foreign persons in Irish State too ; .… Read more »
What would a productivity increase be for teachers? Would that be increasing the number of pupils in a class? For primary schools, would that be for the teachers to do after-school child minding? For secondary schools, would that be increasing the number of classes they teach. But what happens when they reach 8-hours of teaching only? This is a typical simplistic economist’s analysis of labour: increase productivity and we’ll increase pay. Increases in pay for productivity increases is reasonable; but that should be above increase in pay to deal with inflation. Why should workers have to suffer decreases in standard… Read more »
There is no private sector workers versus public sector workers. That is a union invention to deflect from the 140 bn overrun of public servive costs. What % of the 140bn have public service unions recieved? There are public service costs versus the greater public good. Golden unfunded pensions plus lump sums handed out by school teacher politicians to mainly school teachers and their golden circle peers are an unconstitutional tax cost effecting everybody elses services plus the next generations services. We ALL want guards, nurses and teachers to recieve fair pay and access to the same constitutional pensions as… Read more »
http://www.jimball.com.au/blog/shoe-drop-maybe-%EF%BB%BFjames-okeefe-promises-blockbuster-video-next-week%EF%BB%BF-american-thinker/
In Ireland we have 50% more nurses than the UK but refuse to find very sick children and old people a bed in A&E. They get a bed eventually but are first used as bargaining chips by unions that call for more nurses and more money before they service 10% more beds. Terminally ill cancer patients are forced come through A&E for emergency admission. “OK whats your name and prsi number” they are asked after spending three years in the very same hospital. My distressed terminally ill friend from salthill(2k from hospital) in galway had to wait for an ambulance… Read more »
I’m a little unclear here Mike. Are you serious or are you just imitating a character from “Viz?” The cop would just give them a clap on the year, and they’d go home sorer, but it worked….
Perhaps the cops could increase productivity by bringing back the heavy gang.
And what happens after you’ve stolen all the teachers’ holiday time to make up for inflation over the years? What are you going to expect teachers to do then?
My comment on the way MSM reported on the Mr Trump’s locker-room tapes (he should apologise to whom exactly for dirty talk in private – to Mr Billy Bush?!) and some female air passangers accounts of their sexual phantasies involving Mr Donald Trump (as Nietzsche wrote in ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’, “And thus spoke the little old woman: You go to women? Do not forget the whip!” Disclamer: this is not a reflection of my treatment of woman – traditionally old Polish culture deified women, which found its reflection in the First Republic inheritance laws and is still responsible for family… Read more »
Hillary’s War Crime Paul Craig Roberts Today, October 20, 2016, is the fifth anniversary of the murder of Muammar Gaddafi by forces organized and unleashed by US President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Remember the killer bitch’s performance, with gleeful laughter, on CBS “News”: “We came, we saw, he died”. Muammar Gaddafi was the most progressive political leader in the world. Gaddafi used Libya’s oil wealth for the benefit of the Libyan people. He lived in a tent, a nice tent, but not in a palace, and he did not have collections of European exotic cars or any… Read more »
Any thoughts anybody on “Britain could cut corporation tax to 10% – report”? http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1023/826194-brexit-banks/ If all-out economic war breaks out between the EU and the UK on which side does Ireland’s best interest lie? It cannot remain neutral as it did in WWII. This time it will have to decide. If Britain uses corporation tax as a weapon Ireland will have nothing to gain by siding with the side that landed its first bomb on Irish soil. The mere fact that the UK has threatened to use that weapon and drop that bomb should warn us to be prepared with… Read more »
https://spidercatweb.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/hillary-clinton-begs-forgiveness-from-rothschilds/ . EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE ; Article includes some of the actual emails. . “Hillary Clinton Begs Forgiveness From Rothschilds In Leaked Email Hillary Clinton asked Lady de Rothschild “Let me know what penance I owe you” after requesting Tony Blair accompany her on official business, preventing him from attending a Rothschild event scheduled for that same weekend. Though the influence of money in politics is well-known, many people are amazed to learn that most of that money comes from a very few individuals – the 1% of the 1% as it were. These individuals comprise the global elite, whose… Read more »
To summarise or even generalise – The public sector with guaranteed employment and pensions are leading the charge for pay rises while the rest of us are taking the hind tit ie paying for their largesse to themselves. Always remember everyone is a special case and I mean all of us. Meanwhile in the US 50% of the electorate are thinking with their mamary glands and a bit less than 50% with their penis’. Which only goes to show that the punchline to a very old joke – I’m going to vote (it’s actually give it to) for the one… Read more »
Equality and from what base? With the rent crisis we ask the daft trinity guy from what base are rents rising. How much is the rent in a 300,000e apt or a 400,000e house. What % of net income is a fair rent? Does a 300,000 apt command a certain rent? Nothing to do with the market but based on costs. Most progressive companies will help pay for your masters if you want to improve your skillset. You get a pay rise in the future if you pass an interview for promotion. The main politicial parties in Ireland are run… Read more »
New entrants are underpaid.
Older gerontocrats are unconstitutionally overpaid.
There are 2,000 teachers trained every year for 500 jobs. A teacher job is golden in Ireland. They are brilliant people and deserve fair pay.
Nurses are brilliant people and deserve good, FAIR pay. Like pensions, having 50% more nurses than the UK is a REAL VALUE COST.
In my own oponion the most underpaid group are the gardai. I wouldnt do their job for all the tea in china or all the booze in the dail bar.
Opinion
Taoiseach contender Mr. Me-hole Martin is clearly highly motivated to arrange for Prezzie contender Ms. Hillary Clinton red carpet upon they both winning their imminent respective contests. She would relish that surely Me-hole Martin food for thought is aimed to give succor to the Prezzie contender when she finds time to munch it. . http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/ff-leader-trump-has-values-of-europes-far-right-35155485.html . . FF leader: Trump has values of Europe’s far right Cormac McQuinn Twitter PUBLISHED 24/10/2016 | 02:304 COMMENTSSHARE Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)1 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Micheál Martin has backed Hillary Clinton as his… Read more »