As a tax payer and voter and not employed by the States (as with the majority of workers) what feelings are surfacing over the public sector wanting an increase in wages ? If this is not possible (reading between the lines) a shorter working week and more holidays and or other benefits should be offered, hence the return to collective bargaining push wanted by the unions, who clearly are aware, there is no money in the bank.
On the news tonight as a healthy contrast, dustman in Leeds have been on strike for seven weeks because their management want to cut their wages by 30%.
Applied across the public sector in Jersey this would save over £90 million pounds and get rid of the looming deficit and halt thoughts of tax increases.Just a thought.
As a part time, small time contributor thought I would offer others who's views highlight the States pathetic housekeeping in these difficult times. Staff costs are a significant cost in the private sector does CM Le Suer or Treasury minister Ozouf go far enough with a wage freeze? Furthermore judging by Kevin Keens figures the spin machine has been at work big time and we are paying £290,000 for the machine to keep spinning.
To read the full article please hit the links.
Ben JEP
The Council of Ministers have smashed that record with cuts so breathtakingly cynical that a small part of you has to admire the courage it took to write them down.
Here’s a sample: Cutting baby milk supplies in maternity. Reducing heating in the General Hospital by five degrees. Putting up bus fares. Closing Environment Department visitor centres.
In case you missed it, here’s the underlying message – the States are so stretched for cash that if you cut so much as 0.5% (£4m from a £754m budget) newborn babies go hungry, sick people shiver, bus passengers have to hold whip-rounds for petrol money and we have to close down the countryside.
Ask yourself, when did you see a package of cuts proposed that would have removed funding from traffic wardens, or slapped a five-year pay freeze on everyone earning over £50,000 or capping overtime for all States staff?
Never, that’s when. And you never will either. Those things might be popular, and that would ruin everything.
Because, while ministers keep indulging in the kinds of games we have seen in the Business Plan, they don’t have to look at the kinds of savings that might get controversial,
like cutting back on the insane pension deals in the public sector, seriously reviewing pay rates or supplementation, or looking at how much middle management we actually need.And why look at those things at all? You can just propose cutting some cheap services that a lot of people use or come into contact with, killing three birds with one stone (how’s that for efficiency?).
First, you give the impression of a service at breaking point, where the slightest cut – and 0.5% ain’t huge folks – appears to mean drastic cuts.
Second, you can keep your fingers crossed that someone will lodge an amendment to restore your funding and put more cash into your department.
That’s why you don’t see the proposals to cut unpopular services (I’m picking on traffic wardens this week, but you can probably come up with a few more), or a pay-freeze for high earners or a cap on over-time.
And thirdly, you don’t even have to do the shouting, the moaning or the protesting. The unions have people who are elected and paid to protect jobs and salaries that will do it for you.
Remaining on the subject of the Business Plan just for a moment, the press conference a week ago saw a repetition of what must be a contender for the Most Irritating and Nonsensical Argument of the Year.
It was Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf who reminded us all, in case we’d forgotten, that Jersey’s economic situation represented ‘a far better picture than most other countries and most Treasury or Chief Ministers in any other country’.
Yeah? And so what?
We’ve got less rain than Bangladesh, less unemployment than Spain, and less knife crime than central London.
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/07/27/a-week-in-politics-48/Kevin Keen did not listen to the spin, and compiled his own figures.
Quote
• In spite of a pay freeze, a lot of ‘shroud waving’ and a projected drop in States income of £94 million. Net revenue expenditure will actually grow by £26 million or 4.6% next year.
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/08/27/cutting-costs-is-a-must/The three hundred and one million pounds wage draw, plus more than thirty one million pounds in employers social security payments to service the wage bill, was one day going to sink the island and that day is approaching. How can an island of 48 square miles cope with public sector wages of over £332 million and rising ? Attach to these facts, there is a working population of around fourty nine thousand and business is contributing far less, major financial surgery is needed to get spending under control.
Unless the States members who think Jersey can go on like this, join the real world, we are sunk. Increasing tax will only hurt the low and middle earners. Jersey will be more even more expensive, and for many not worth staying.
Those leaving will not be on cosy benefits, will not be working for the States and will not be superwealthy enjoying happy tax breaks. The very slow but downward spiral continues.
Boatyboy 
