Was close to tears today when i opened my payslip this morning i actually hate this selfish greedy government who run this country am actually sick thinking how bad things are going to get after this mini budget i paid €340 euro on pension and the 1% levy sickening. i know i have a job and im very lucky to be in a permenant position but its just really got my blood boiling. any body else get paid today and feel this way
you obviously get paid by the month lou. i've been paying it for the last few weeks now,not a happy camper at all..
Its a disgrace to target public sector workers in such a way. Its pathetic the way public and private workers are pitched against eachother. I am a public sector worker facing 60% paycut
Symapathise with you to an extent lads but on the other hand there is plenty of people out there who would gladly take the pension levy rather than losing a job. I completelely understand your frustrations about having your wages reduced through paying extra into your pensions on top of the levy, but your pensions are guaranteed and your jobs are guaranteed, in these tough times thats something that not everyone in this country can have. If you ask the 36000 people who were put out of work in jan which they would rather - Pay more into their pensions or lose their jobs i know which one they would take. I wonder what would happen if you went on strike and then government then decided to scrap the pension levy and decided to cut staff numbers, I reckon a lot of public workers would then change their tune. So without sounding insensitive lads i reckon you should accept the fact that you have guaranteed jobs in the worst economic crisis in living memory and if that means paying more into your pensions which you will eventually see the benefits of then so be it.
I have to agree with ElNino9 to a large degree on this. They said that the pensions that public sector staff are entitled to when they retire private sector staff would have to pay between €20k-€25k each year out of their own pocket to have one that matched. You look at the people that have lost their jobs now, their company pensions are probably lost and if they had personal ones no longer have the money to pay for them and as is the case with most pensions the thousands and thousands they have contributed so far they may as well as set on fire for all its worth to them now, imagine their panic now with no nest egg to fall back on. What would happen if the goverment scrapped the public sector pension because they couldnt afford it anymore or made people to contribute to it to keep it at the level its at now, I can guarantee you it would cost a lot more each month than what is being taken by the levy. I know a lot of people that are in the public sector because of the guaranteed pension. The public sector jobs are guaranteed so you can strike and probably get it overturned and the jobs are safe if this levy was on the private sector waht would the recourse be? nothing whatsoever because as ElNino9 pointed out its better to have a job and pension than be on the dole.
i have been paying it for the last couple of weeks its a disgrace.typical of this government they make my blood boil.
Totally agree with that. It's very easy to generalize though. I know people in the public sector on very nice money. The levy is a pain but they can afford it in these hard times. I of course understand this is not the case with everyone in the public sector but it's true, at least you have job security. You've every right to be pissed off but striking isn't really going to solve anything. What IS unfair is those family where BOTH earners are in the public sector. That's a big chunk of that families income wiped out right there. And never mind this private sector vs public sector business. In the private sector people are LOSING 100% of their income by being let go. And those still in a job will be hit by more taxes soon enough. Both sides are facing hard times. No need to start fighting against each other.
I can see both sides of the coin here in relation to the pension levy but at the end of the day neither the ordinary public or private sector workers caused the mess that we are in at the moment. Celtic tiger my arse, the only ones that benefited from it as far as I can see are the greedy selfish f**kers being the banks, builders and politicians I might add! - the likes of people who us as tax payers are bailing out at he moment because of their sheer greed. As usual it's the ordinary joe soap who has to pick up the tab for all these w**kers. The easy targets as usual instead of the politicans having the balls to go after the real culprits. Unless the people at the top of the chain are made to feel pain for their actions I don't blame people being pissed off and going on strike. People in the Civil Service who are on a very modest wage at the moment are being asked to give money they cannot afford, as will the private sector workers in few weeks time who are "lucky" enough to still have a job. Meanwhile the people who can afford to take a hit are being let off very lightly in my opinion. Even the way the levy is organised at the moment, its the lower paid workers who are being hit harder than the ones who can afford it. It's all wrong and I don't blame people feeling bitter. As someone said a few weeks ago - people who weren't invited to the party are now being asked to pick up the tab and they resent it. There needs to be fundamental change in how this country is run, it's a disgrace what is allowed to go on. I can't stand this country at the moment, sick to death of it and the greedy incompetant arseholes that run it!!!. Rant over Slightly off topic but here's a good article by Vincent Browne in the Times yesterday, it would make your blood boil to read it. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0325/1224243363745.html
i started working in the public sector in the mid 90's.the celtic tiger was starting to roar and people were telling me i was mad to take a job there.there was plenty of better paid jobs out there.they were chasing the money and thought the good times would never end.any time i played the "guaranteed pension" card i was laughed at.those same people are now throwing that same card back in my face...
Haha No I wasn't - I'm off sick at the moment, unpaid I might add! I'm in bad form today and the keyboards getting it
1) Not all public sector workers have guaranteed jobs! Me included 2) Pension is worth sf all to me as I will be leaving sector in next year or so.. many private sector workers are also in "guaranteed jobs" and have taken no paycut! This is a populist attempt to reduce public sector wages in reponse to its poor managemnt by the government over the past few years... eg cost of managment in HSE up by 90million/year between 2005-2007. This at a time where the cervical cancer vaccination roll out is scrapped for the sake of 10 million.
As usual its the ordinary 5/8 who pay the price because the politicians and bankers fuked the whole country up. Its no coincidence that Drumcondra's favourite son got out of goverment by a matter of weeks before the shit hit the fan. I have no sympathy for Cowan, he was the money man for years and now he is trying to bully his way out of it by penalising people who are already on hard times. At the moment its the public sector, next month it will be everyone when we all face handing over more of our wages to these clowns. What about your fat cat buddies Brian? I know there is a worldwide economic crisis, but some of the sh*t that has gone on in the last few years is beyond belief. Get 20% tax on anyone who earns over 200k a year. They are mainly the ones who got us into this mess in first place.
I have to admit, that mad makes my blood boil, never mind the polititions...some of the things he has come out with over the last few years was ridiculous...
Been paying for my own pension since i started work so welcome to the club LOU2. Why should others pay for your pension.
Well i'm sure he is contributing to it as well. Problem with this is that the Pension levy is not been used for a pension fund. It's just another tax to plug the hole like the other 2% we're all hit with. Also how many people in their 20's will still be working in the public sector come retirement age?? A lot of people will be in this for no return. That's the main gripe i'd imagine. I not in the public sector but i can see both sides.
Just to foreworn you if you didnt like it then wait till you get this months levy installment on your payslip!