March in London on the 26th?

[Von Smallhausen]

I've only ever worked in the private sector and have never enjoyed a 'meal allowance'.

I suspect this is part of the problem. Public sector workers get used to enjoying generous benefits and then think it is outrageous when they are taken away.

It depends on the job dd.

I work unsociable hours, deal with unpleasant people, risk ( and have been ) being assaulted, deal with very unpleasant situations, death and carnage. I can be ordered to stay back after a 12 hour shift if it is warranted and no matter how bad conditions get, I have no right to strike.

As such, I expect that to be a two way street where some benefits sweeten that such as a good pension and decent overtime rates.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Then she is very unique as thats far from the norm. Mind you there are plenty on here who brag about the enormous on-call allowances they get for extra days. I beleive our union friend is one of them..

What? £14 per day/£30 for weekends?

Yeah - massively generous, but then that is the PRIVATE sector for you

 

[semi-pro waster]

Run semi-pro, your views are not welcome in this thread!

Maybe.

Relax - the level at which we are cutting is very slow, and much slower than various other EU countries.

I'm perfectly relaxed but thank you for the concern. You may have missed it but rypt is demanding instant solutions as below.

If anything the cuts are TOO slow, I advocate overnight cutting the spending to '97 + inflation levels personally, none of this phase it i over 4 years.

Hence why I'm querying what level of knowledge he speaks from when he advocates it, as it's not something I've heard any economists suggesting and possibly I'd venture that the reason it isn't being suggested is because it's not a sound idea.

 

[dirtydog]

I'm not sure that a meal allowance is a generous benefit for a paramedic really - most of them work 12+ hours straight and get paid less than £20k a year. It's probably the least they should get, given the work they do!

They probably work 12 hours straight for no more than 4 days a week though.

I used to work 12 hours a day for £3.37 an hour. I certainly didn't get any extra allowance on top Life is hard. If you don't like it, get better educated and get a better job.

 

[[TW]Fox]

What? £14 per day/£30 for weekends?

Yeah - massively generous, but then that is the PRIVATE sector for you

So if you work a days overtime you get £14 for it?

 

[[TW]Fox]

They probably work 12 hours straight for no more than 4 days a week though.

I used to work 12 hours a day for £3.37 an hour. I certainly didn't get any extra allowance on top Life is hard. If you don't like it, get better educated and get a better job.

I sort of agree with your sentiment but if everyone got better educated and got a better job than a parademic we'd be in trouble. It's a hugely important yet largely poorly paid and thankless job. If we give them a meal allowance then so what - they hardly got paid a fortune.

 

[dirtydog]

It depends on the job dd.

I work unsociable hours, deal with unpleasant people, risk ( and have been ) being assaulted, deal with very unpleasant situations, death and carnage. I can be ordered to stay back after a 12 hour shift if it is warranted and no matter how bad conditions get, I have no right to strike.

As such, I expect that to be a two way street where some benefits sweeten that such as a good pension and decent overtime rates.

You and they get paid decently in the first place. I wouldn't want to be a copper and have to put up with the stuff you do, and I respect the police, but you do get paid well for it IMO. Again nobody is forcing you to do the job. I don't see any shortage of people applying to be policemen, firemen, paramedics. Market forces at the end of the day.

 

[dirtydog]

I sort of agree with your sentiment but if everyone got better educated and got a better job than a parademic we'd be in trouble. It's a hugely important yet largely poorly paid and thankless job. If we give them a meal allowance then so what - they hardly got paid a fortune.

There will always be someone willing to do it, especially when what they get paid is massively more than millions of other workers get paid.

 

[[TW]Fox]

There will always be someone willing to do it, especially when what they get paid is massively more than millions of other workers get paid.

It does require some unique skills, though. You wouldnt just hire anyone to be a paramedic.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

So if you work a days overtime you get £14 for it?

No, the £14/£30 is the standby/on call rate.

If I do get called out then I get paid by the hour - single time or time and a half at weekends/bank hols.

Planned overtime is just flat rate during the week, time and a half weekends/bank hols - can't remember the last time any overtime was planned though.

 

[[TW]Fox]

No, the £14/£30 is the standby rate.

If I do get called out then I get paid by the hour - single time or time and a half at weekends/bank hols.

Maybe I wasn't thinking of you then but there are usually threads in here where people are arguing until they are blue in the face that plugging some CAT5e into the wall is worth £300 a day, yet when there is a whiff that a nurse or something might perhaps maybe get similar (I'd doubt it personally, I didnt think it worked like that) you get big complaints?

 

[Deleted member 66701]

News just in -Treasury Minster Justine Greening ABSOLVES the TUC/marchers of all responsibility for the anarchists currently on the rampage though Oxford Street. She said the TUC had "taken all reasonable practical steps to ensure the march was peaceful".

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Maybe I wasn't thinking of you then but there are usually threads in here where people are arguing until they are blue in the face that plugging some CAT5e into the wall is worth £300 a day, yet when there is a whiff that a nurse or something might perhaps maybe get similar (I'd doubt it personally, I didnt think it worked like that) you get big complaints?

I do know of other private sector companies offering that level of compensation for on call - unfortunately it's not the case here (one of the TUPE'd T&C's we've not been able to improve upon ).

 

[DM]

News just in -Treasury Minster Justine Greening ABSOLVES the TUC/marchers of all responsibility for the anarchists currently on the rampage though Oxford Street. She said the TUC had "taken all reasonable practical steps to ensure the march was peaceful".

You just be careful with all the idiots about

 

[Randell Floyd]

The meal allowance is actually a availability allowance, I should have been more clear on that. It was introduced by management by force, to allow our dispatchers l to break our once in a 12hr meal break, as it worked out much cheaper than having the required crewed ambulances in the service.

We now have some Paramedics earning as low as £22k after three years in Uni, which included 50% night shifts on the rota. Some might say that's a good wage, but I dare anyone to come and do the job for a year and end up saying there only worth £22k a year in their role. Our new EMT 1's earn pretty much the same as a checkout worker in a Supermarket, and again that includes 50% night rotas.


Dirtydog, it's fine saying that, but loosing a very experienced and trained work force that are only in their late 30's or early 40's will leave the service with staff counting down the last few years of their service, and a young inexperienced work force. Is that really what the nation want in a Emergency Service?

The uncompetitive wage of the EMT 1's role, means that we now have very young, life inexperienced and sometimes not very clever people coming out on the road as front line staff, all because the quality of candidates applying due to the wage on offer.

 

[Von Smallhausen]

You and they get paid decently in the first place. I wouldn't want to be a copper and have to put up with the stuff you do, and I respect the police, but you do get paid well for it IMO. Again nobody is forcing you to do the job. I don't see any shortage of people applying to be policemen, firemen, paramedics. Market forces at the end of the day.

Decent wage but not fantastic although I agree entirely nobody forces you to do it. 11% of my salary is pension contribution before I pay anything in tax, NI and other contributions.

 

[DM]

I can't be sympathetic to my co-workers or other members of society? I can't wish for them to do well, be treated fairly and get what they are contractually entitled to when they took their job just because I'm fortunate to have done well for myself?

Why does having a decent standard of living mean that I should no longer have compassion for my fellow man? I thought you of all people would have understood this - it's the very definition of charity.

FYI - you can criticise me, I really don't mind - i'm all for debate. As long as you allow me to defend myself then it's all good.

Life would be terribly boring if we all agreed all of the time.

I do understand charity, and believe me i regularly give a bit back for my good fortune.

But because of the idiot element that these things will always attract i just dont see them as viable methods of getting a point across any more.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

You just be careful with all the idiots about

I'm done - I've given up trying to stop it and there are LOTS of police moving in - I've done what I can, professionals turn now.

I'm actually off to Great Queen Street soon for a meeting @ 8pm - remembered to bring my suit

But because of the idiot element that these things will always attract i just dont see them as viable methods of getting a point across any more.

The trouble is, what better way is there?

 

[DM]

The trouble is, what better way is there?

I just dont know sadly, but this aint it.

 

[robgmun]

amigafan2003 - i'm watching the news, your march has failed badly as the anarchists have taken over. Nothing will change now