To all my readers - my very best wishes for an enjoyable Christmas and hopes for a peaceful new year.
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A weblog of the Labour councillor for Newport East ward on the Isle of Wight. "Although the Tories hold all the trump cards, there is something about this man which makes them nervous" and "Regarded by many IW Tories as rather more dangerous than Osama bin Laden" (Charlotte Hofton, IW journalist)
Newport East
My patch
Newport - from the sky
My adopted hometown
17 comments:
All very well Geoff but does this mean like the rest of the civil service and public sector you're about to take two weeks off on full pay?
I note the council are shutting down for a fortnight again too.
Can't be bad, you lot get decent money, a secure job, generous gold plated pension, paid at 60, 10 days 'sick' per person each year and a nice long break every Xmas.
Where did the rest of us go wrong?
Merry Christams to you too mate. See you in January.
Not sure where you get the idea the council is closing down for a fortnight! I work for at County Hall and I'll be there right up to 4pm Xmas Eve then I'll be back at my desk on Fri 2nd. Other departments are back sooner and some working right through.
retire at 60! I wish! Many employees are well over 60, why are they still working if they could be drawing such a good pension?
ps I haven't had 1 day sick this year let alone 10, certainly not in my terms & conditions
CW
Happy Christmas to you too, Geoff, and thanks for an informative and entertaining blog!
To the first Anonymous.
Your comments are not clever, or even accurate.
Obviously you don't like the facts to get in the way of your blind prejudice.
As a self-employed person who regularly deals with Council staff I find them generally a decent, hard-working bunch of people. Like in any sort of business there are one or two who can be a bit off-hand at times but if they have to deal with Mr Anon above I can undersatnd that.
I have to meet some Council staff next week so I know the offices will be open. Again like any business there are bound to be some who use their annual leave to lengthen the break.
To you Geoff, Merry Christmas and thanks for your entertaining blog. I don't agree with everything to say but at least you seem to be sincere.
Funny how you all bite so easily.
Happy Christmas.
Funny how when some people lose an argument they pretend it was all a bad joke.
It was a bad joke - if I were serious it would've all been about the pensions!
Bad joke ? Not even that - you don't even know the difference between an Officer of the Council and a Councillor - the latter don't get a salary, pension etc they are politicians democratically elected not employees..get your facts right dummy.
It's the season of goodwill remember.
Geoff is an elected member AND a civil servant. The original post was of course, correct.
I'm no dummy.
And by the way, our elected Councillors get unaffordable government backed pensions too - or didn't you know? It's always worth checking your facts before becoming abusive. Why not make that your new year resolution?
With top councillors on up £35,000 a year (£700 per week for Pugh) it must be a decent pension too?
Even no -shows like Win Mc thingy got £150 a week. By her own admission it doesn't look like she was doing very much for it, not for 6 months at least.
Happy Christmas
Dear Dummy
'tis the season to be vile.
Elected councilor MAY become members of the local government pension scheme IF the council in question nominates them to be so. What's IWCC's position on this. Do tell...
LG pensions are contributory with members paying graduated contributions as a % of their salary which has increased in the past year - by a further 1.5% for the highest earners. LG staff now retire at 65.
It's easy to take one element of the pay package in isolation and get all heated about it. My best friend is self employed and a good tory. He earns 2/3rds of what I earn, but pays ony 1/10th of the tax that I pay and 1/5th of the NI contributions because the taxation scheme favours the non PAYE earners. Is this fair? No, but then I get sick pay, paid leave and a pension - it's swings and roundabouts dummy.
As for anon 10.06 you poisionous little twerp. My understading is that this woman (who I do not know personally) was tending her terminally ill husband. What sort of slime are you exactly for making comments like this. Still, what goes round, comes round...it will be my christmas wish for you. Enjoy.
From the Twerp.
I suspect many people who obtain things to which they were not entitled thought they had a good excuse. Let's face it, the press court reports are full of them, week in and out. I wonder if the former councillor plans to repay any money taken in error?
As for your 'friend' we don't know what he or you do. How can we judge your pay differential? Councillors at IWC have been part of the local gov't pension scheme in the past. I see no reason to suppose any of them are stupid enough not to still be in it. New or recent employees may well work until 65 but most already employed can leave at 60 or before. Try and be truthful.
Those of you working for the state always scream about lower pay. What rubbish. Low pay exists in the private sector too you know. Doh! Most of those on the minimum wage don't get anything like your benefits, sick, holidays etc.
Like it or not, the next government will cut your pensions. It has no choice, you don't pay anything like enough to get the ludicrous sums paid or promised. The country is f*****. Your time is up. Join the real world you greedy fool.
Happy New Year.
Actually, it was poisonous little twerp - do keep up.
You compound your complete lack of empathy and sheer dog in the manger outlook by equating a person looking after a terminally ill partner with criminal acts. If you listen carefully you can actually hear my skin creeping.
It doesn't matter what my 'friend' and I do dimwit - taxation is not based on what you 'do'. The point I am making is that superficially at least he could be regarded as having the benefit of self employed tax status and liabilities which, at first glance, look very attractive. The same can be said for looking at one aspect of public sector pay (ie pensions) - it is a narrow (and in this case, self serving) analysis.
Some local government workers can still retire at 60, but a growing number have to work until 65 and have had their pension contributions increased. Very soon it will be 100%, so let's stop this 'you can retire at 60bollocks'.
You don't know the number who can still retire at 60, neither do you know what proportion of IoW councillors could be (and actually are) members of the pension scheme. You are getting into a froth over something that may not exist. Perhaps you still beleive in father christams too?
Whose time is up lado? The fat lady hasn't sung yet. Don't count your chicks luv. Unless you really beleive that the Eton brigade are going to pull it off. I wouldn't count on it.
In any event, I would rather be a fool than a knave.
It's Labour who will remove your silly, greedy selfish pensions old friend, not the wicked Tories. They took ours when first elected, now it's your turn.
Be as bitter as you wish but your selfish attitude is no different than that of a Hummer 4x4 driver thinking he can consume as much fuel as he wishes. What most of you in the state sector care about is you. Your perks, your long holidays, triple sick days and of course ludicrous pensions. You care not that they are mostly funded by others, some of whom earn a pittance. Pass the sick bag you sad selfish grasping idiot.
Bit too much christmas sherry me thinks!
A pair of old style party supporters! Give it up lads. Neither of you are listening.
Merry Xmas.
I resent the word selfish. Sad and grasping I may be, but the line has to be drawn somewhere!
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