‘A Fundamental Misunderstanding Of Work Itself’

at

haddingtonroadbanner

Risk averse?

Unfireable?

Often ‘demotivated’?

But enough about Karl.

Why is the public sector so unhappy?

Writer, broadcaster and former civil servant Eamon Delaney writes

Public sector workers took pay cuts and endured hardship like the rest of us. But let’s keep things in perspective. The first pay cut was actually a pension levy, a contribution to the sort of rock-solid pensions that private sector workers could only dream of.

And under the Croke Park and Haddington Road agreements, public sector workers endured pay cuts which were nothing like what was happening in the private sector, where people were facing huge cuts and job losses.

The lack of job losses is the key bit. [Tanaiste] Joan Burton claims that Ireland was unique among the bailout EU countries in that there were no strikes. But why would there be, with the Croke Park deal ensuring absolute job security?

By contrast, even the left wing Greeks have had to fire Civil Servants which Greece could not afford. But nothing like that happened here. Instead, tens of thousands of private sector workers lost their jobs and emigrated. Always remember that: the people who could balance out this debate have emigrated and are gone – in their thousands.

And yet despite these advantages, the public unions have been clamouring for the immediate reversal of the pay cuts they have had to endure. And they want this done ahead of tax cuts for the wider public.

Where is the sense of community solidarity, given that it is the working poor who have had to pay more in taxes to pay for precisely these public sector advantages? There is a double injustice here.

But the trade unions are in world of illusion. They act as if we never had the crazy policy of benchmarking, where unsustainable pay rises were given to civil servants in every boom time year. Imagine if we did that reverse, when we went into a crisis?

The language is one of entitlement. The trade union leaders say things such as that the pay cuts were monies ‘borrowed’ by the Government and now they want them back.

They also talk about the ‘extra productivity’ they had to endure and ‘increased efficiency’, as if these weren’t good things always to be welcomed..

Joan Burton speaks of the ‘huge changes’ in work practice. But most people I know who work in the public service, or deal with it, see no huge change. Burton’s first example, incidentally, was of ‘IT changes’, as if it was the 1980s again!

No wonder that under the performance review carried out last November (under the Haddington Road agreement) only an incredible 0.75% of public sector workers received a score of less than 3/5 or 60% ! It’s hardly credible.

All of this shows a fundamental misunderstanding of work itself. The unions talk of achieving ‘efficiencies’ and ‘productivity’, just as they talk about how hard many public sector workers have had to work in recent years, as if this was such an onerous demand.

But surely all employees should work hard, not just as a goal for their employers, but for themselves and for their sense of fulfilment and well-being, which itself increases productivity

I have worked in both sectors. I worked in a Government Department with outstanding and hardworking people but also with slackers and clock-watchers, who put great effort in dodging work and evading responsibility. And they were always the most miserable of workers and the most unfulfilled, spending time bitching about management and fellow workers. I also worked in a publishing company, full of driven, hardworking sales people.

They had no security, no fall-backs and no time to waste on coffee breaks and mandatory sick days.. But they were invariably content -ambitious, and full of adrenaline and drive. They relished challenges as well as risks. And they usually felt that the greater the risk, the bigger the reward which is why they would not begrudge those risk takers who made lots of money.

Gulp.

Why do our politicians indulge a sense of entitlement in the public sector? (Eamon Delaney, The Irish Daily Mail – unavailable online)

Sponsored Link

66 thoughts on “‘A Fundamental Misunderstanding Of Work Itself’

    1. Jonotti

      Eamonn Delany? The guy who said the Iraq War would be a good idea? And who thought George W. Bush was a fearless, brave leader. Ah yes, intelligent guy.

  1. Jonotti

    Plenty of public servants have up sticks and left, myself included. Many more have joined the private sector for a livable wage.

      1. Jonotti

        You find it hard to believe because you’re probably clueless about the public sector. Have you worked in the sector the past five years?

          1. munkifisht

            Speaking personally, I work in St Thomas’ hospital in London where many of the Nurses are Irish trained. I worked in the HSE before I left.

  2. Custo

    “No wonder that under the performance review carried out last November (under the Haddington Road agreement) only an incredible 0.75% of public sector workers received a score of less than 3/5 or 60% ! It’s hardly credible.”

    Performance is rated on a 5 point scale.

    The 3rd point of the scale is a ‘fully satisfactory performance’ or words to that effect – about the same level of performance in a standard job as everybody else in the country.

    1. edalicious

      The way I read that was that it was literally unbelievable that less than one percent scored below 60%, or fully satisfactorily as you put it. As in, the testing criteria were far too lax so the whole thing was a bit of a sham. I mean, in any (even quite-well functioning) company, you’re probably going to have about 10% of people who are not quite pulling their weight (says he commenting on broadsheet).

  3. Selfie Sensation

    The Idea that everyone who works in the Private sector is an eager, self-fulfilled go getter who spends all their time working their socks off and reaping the just rewards is a load of horsesiht. Walk into any office or warehouse in the country and you will find plenty of workshy layabouts doing the minimum. some of them even post on broadsheet!.

    1. smoothlikemurphys

      The fella that cleans my windows once also cleaned the windows of a fella that used to be a member of the same golf club as Denis O’Brien. I’m like, THIS close to the money.

  4. Tarfton Clax

    I am intrigued by the “mandatory sick day”. If one does not take a mandatory sick day will one be punished? Or is Eamon Delaney yet again speaking ill-informed gibberish?

  5. jayfella

    That’s odd considering I have now 3 additional pension deductions (one called pension related deduction) added to my original pension deduction. Also decrease of my gross and longer working hours. Also job security, if you do your job….I know some people have been let go for not meeting standards. So you clearly don’t have a clue

    1. #Selfie Face

      Examples Jayfella. Public sectors workers lost their job, where they in contract roles? He is talking about people in permanent roles. Surely you can differentiate.

      1. jayfella

        They were in permanent roles, past their probation period. People were forced to leave also cause some couldn’t/ didn’t have the ability to do the work.

  6. Anomanomanom

    Didn’t bother reading past his “pension” levy comment. Where has this idea of great pensions come from. It is not a pension levy, it does not go into my pension, Oh the thing no one mentions I ALREADY PAY FOR MY PENSION, It’s a PUBLIC SECTOR TAX simple. If my pension cost to the state is so great, then why have I no option to leave. Like myself, the lower down public sector get screwed to top up the rest.

    1. ahjayzis

      Do you pay for the pension without the pension levy? Or just from regular tax? My understanding was public sector pensions were unfunded and just paid out of the current account.

      It IS a whopper pension scheme though. I don’t want to take it off public servants, but I wish someone was talking about everyone having a similar security…

      1. Helen 2.0

        All public servants pay a contribution to their pension the very same as any private scheme….it is not for free. The difference being the public one is guaranteed by the state. The pension levy does not go towards pensions…it is another tax. Public servants also are not entitled to the old age pension even though they make the same prsi/usc contributions.

        1. Anomanomanom

          Thank you. The first comment iv read that actually sums up what the pension actually is. We pay for it, our of our own wages.

      2. Anomanomanom

        If its so “whopper” then why have i been trying to get out of it, like a lot of other public servants

        1. Sean

          I worked in the public sector as a contract staff member. It left me with a very jaundiced view of the public sector in general and permanent employees in particular. In all honesty, if I could turn back time I would never have applied to work there.

    2. Owen O'F

      Come on. Getting a 50% final salary + 1.5x lump sum on retirement is a distant dream for anybody but PS workers.

      And before the inevitable pile-on by the militant commenters, I don’t begrudge anybody that. In fact I’d share ahjayzis’ view that we should be looking for ways to sort out the DC pension timebomb, rather than hacking away at the public DB.

      1. Anomanomanom

        Your forgetting I pay for that pension. Also you forget to mention i don’t get 50% plus the state pension, which I also pay for.

        1. Owen O'F

          True on the state pension front. But again, on the ‘pay for’ bit, come on. 6.5% standard contribution, BUT with 13% employer contribution. That’s what makes the difference. If I could persuade an employer to pay in anything like that (it’s currently 3%, boo hiss) I’d be theirs for life.

          1. Anomanomanom

            I pay over €150 a month. Don’t forget the pension levy. I would still rather be allowed opt out the “fantastic” pension I’m told I have.

  7. wearnicehats

    Hear bloody hear. Well said. The amount of private sector people who were binned in the recession and this lot were kept on. Personally my employer stopped pension payments entirely and handed us lucky ones a 50% pay cut in the same month. The rest were let go. So every time I see these union bosses on 100+k spouting on about injustice and fairness and encouraging strikes I want to run rampage with very sharp things

    1. munkifisht

      Who said anything about unions you muppet? Union bosses represent public AND PRIVATE sector workers ye plank. Read the “article”. It’s a justification for the annihilation of hte public sector for no other reason than cost cutting. Services were destroyed while nothing was done to improve efficiency. Ye have something in common with Delaney, a failure to actually understand the situation.

      1. Selfie sensation

        In fairness the problem with the public sector is that there are a lot of people in it who aren’t providing services to anybody. Perhaps if we could shift some of them we could get a few more services around the place.

        1. munkifisht

          Absolutely Selfie. There was no need to destroy the front line. They should have restructured the entire system in a top down manner. Very tough, very hard work, but would ultimately have been much more rewarding. Rather what they have done is put a plaster over it for now, when the economy picks back up they’ll ignore it until the next time they realise the cost to benefit ratio isn’t there and do the same mindless actions again.

  8. YourNan

    LoL at the super irked civil servants getting their goat whenever REALITY is pointed out to them, screw you leeches.

    1. Bacchus

      It’s an open exam you know… if you think it’s such a great life why didn’t you apply? Did you think your poor grasp of English would hold you back?

    2. scottser

      you have a very poor grasp of REALITY there kid. i’d be more careful if i were you.
      love
      a public servant

  9. phil

    His last points are correcty weather it be Public or private sector, If you are busy the day passes quickly , if not you get bored , and loose your sense of self worth …

    granted its very hard to motivate ones self if bored, but management should motivating bored ppl

  10. Rob

    Eamonn Delaney says he worked in a publishing company – well I worked in that same company and it was not how he describes. It was quite a relaxed place with an old-fashioned boss whose office was dark and smelt of cigars. Delaney was going on recently about his early life as a punk – but when I knew him he was the only young person in the company who wore a suit. He didn’t even come to the pub on payday.

    1. Bacchus

      He was regarded as an arse in Foreign Affairs as well…. for the short time he was there.

  11. Mr. T.

    “Where is the sense of community solidarity”

    Destroyed by people like you Eamon Delaney, dividing and conquering and setting groups against each other just as you did in this pissy article. And just as Fine Gael and the Irish Independent do for all your small government / big business profit whores.

    You don’t have an ounce of solidarity. You got star struck as a junior diplomat all those years ago.

    1. ahjayzis

      In FAIRNESS now, I don’t hold a candle for the guy, but the whole ‘restore our pay first’ thing is throwing the rest of the country under a bus. Reducing the USC or whatever would lift all boats, giving civil servants a raise won’t.
      Or reducing class sizes or raising teacher pay, hospital beds or nurses wages. Saying PS wages are the first priority is incredibly me-fein-y.

      1. Ernie Ball

        What part of the word “emergency” in Financial Emergency Measures do you not understand?

        Is there still a “financial emergency”? No? Then time to roll back the emergency legislation.

        1. Dubh Linn

          You’re right. As we are no longer in an emergency, the first to get a pay rise should be the nurses, the firemen, the ambulance staff….. you know, the public servants we actually need.

  12. nellyb

    If productivity and efficiency arent measured in quantitative terms, than they are as meaningful as farts (Public or Private sectors or whatever). Where are the figures? Havent seen them quoted by either sides of argument. It renders the discussion pointless.
    One thing to note: most of us have to pay for private services cause public ones unavailable or waiting times are grotesque beyond any reasonable expectation. We are paying twice for lots: schools, health, road maintenance and now demanded to pay for water. I dont buy ‘systemic’ argement. If a manager is unsuitable or incompetent, then unions shoukd step back and let the ‘manager’ get demoted. And the ‘unhappy’ workers should look for another work place, slavery was abolished long time ago, everyone is free to leave. If one can’t or won’t leave – then shut up and do your job the best you can. This is like basic life’s abc stuff. There are exeptions ofcourse where poorhealth should be factored in.
    What have we become…

  13. Eliot Rosewater

    I have never worked in the public sector so I have approximately 7 years part-time in various cafes, 8 years in retail and (after being unemployed for a good three years) am just getting in to full time work in yet another private sector place. So, while I can’t speak for the public service, I can say that there are plenty of lazy people in the private sector. Some of them cunning enough to do no work, threaten management with harassment and come out with increases every single year (when those in the public sector were getting cuts). You don’t see it as much in places such as cafes, but retail and where I am now? Absolutely.

    Regardless, all that articles like this are intended to do is stir up a divide between the public and private sector. And despite all their efforts over the last ten years or so, it’s not working.

  14. ahjayzis

    My fortunately brief stint on the dole after college and before emigration has poisoned me against public servants I think. I’ve never felt more ashamed with the way every one of the dole office staff BEHIND SECURITY GLASS spoke down to me. And then the unions came out against Burton trying to remove the glass…

    Increasing efficiency shouldn’t have to come wtih a bribe, and the idea that public wages are the number one priority when the gov has a bit of money is laughable when the buildings, departments and services they work in are a shambles.

    1. Joe the Lion

      in fairness many of them would get dogs abuse.

      it’s an imperfect world , what are yo gonna do

      1. ahjayzis

        People who misbehave should be made in future to talk to the glass, other, polite, people shouldn’t have to roar their life story to some dozey bored looking slag behind glass in front of 50 other people.

        “What are you gonna do” doesn’t wash – I pay into the system now, don’t treat me like a f**king beggar should I actually need to use it again.

    2. Jonotti

      You’ve fallen for that old trap. People that spend 20 years dealing with nothing but sewer life (gardai included) lose a bit of their humanity. It’s understandable.

  15. Louise Hannon

    My partner is an HCA and an intern on two year contract. She earns just on the minimum wage. Pays pension and USC. She is also treated like a dogs body by nursing staff is bullied and harassed. Those on permanent contracts are on approx 50% more. Now HSE want to privatise and outsource staff. If they treat the staff they had well they might get things done. Low paid minimum wage is slavery. This guy must work for IBEC pure propaganda

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie