The Budget

[Glaucus]

Originally Posted by Matblack

I must be blind because what you describe is not what I see when I go to work everyday. Education is going to be cut and I honestly can't see where to cut it, there are very few people in our organisation who aren't vital and I certainly don't see a lot of assistants running around wasting resources. Maybe I am the waste of resources

MB

There's far to much red tape and paper work in education. Thing is like all Public sectors, the way things are done needs to change. then they can be more efficient and spend less. In private sector this happens gradually and progressively as Private sector seeks for more profit. Unfortunately no such mechanism exists for public sector and budget cuts does not lead to these efficiency increases. which is why reviews are need and back to the floor work experience for this body of reviewers, who then need the balls, to say x,y,z is wrong.

It also says could be upto 25% over 4 years. Not that it will be 25%.

[Garp]

Here's something that made me double take.

First up Labour had a group at the treasury working on getting UK into the Euro.
I'm not sure who they thought they were kidding. The UK is a long way from ever going Euro. I doubt more than a quarter of the population would be seriously in favour of it, and last I recall it was something that was going to come to a referendum anyway. So why waste tax payers money on such?

The second thing about that was that the staff have been transferred to other departments, which is what is precisely wrong with the civil service. It's all too much a job for life. To quote "The Bureaucracy is growing to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy". If one department decides to slim down a bit to balance its books, staff all too often get transferred to other departments who have a budget surplus rather than let go.

The way the government handles budgets is drastically flawed in the first place. Since when do you reward people for spending all their budget? Commercial sectors rarely operate on that basis. There being thrifty is encouraged. In Government you see them wasting money as the budget year draws to a close to ensure that they've spent all their money so they get the same amount or a raise, rather than face a budget cut next year.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by AcidHell2

There's far to much red tape and paper work in education. Thing is like all Public sectors, the way things are done needs to change. then they can be more efficient and spend less. In private sector this happens gradually and progressively as Private sector seeks for more profit. Unfortunately no such mechanism exists for public sector and budget cuts does not lead to these efficiency increases. which is why reviews are need and back to the floor work experience for this body of reviewers, who then need the balls, to say x,y,z is wrong.

Same goes for every section of PS. Governments are focussed on getting metrics out so that they can show how well they're managing the PS by making them spend ages producing facts and figures.

[Matblack]

Originally Posted by AcidHell2

There's far to much red tape and paper work in education.

I tend to use Selotape and try to run a paperless office, but I bow to your superior knowledge of my industry [bows]

MB

[Tiggy]

Education cuts are not what this nation needs!

[Glaucus]

dads been a teacher for years and has seen a massive increase in red tape and paper work over his career.

[Kitten]

Originally Posted by Desmo

And the private sector have been losing jobs and had pay freezes way before the public sector. I took a pay cut 18-24 months ago as have many other people. I can't see why the public sector can't join us.

I've been working in the private sector for around 8 years in this current industry. Year one I went from 11k (1 yr temp contract) to 12k because I was made permanent. We then had a 3 year pay freeze, and despite going from answering the phone to managing the office, I got NOTHING. When I handed my notice in, I was given a 3k adjustment, and after leaving a year later, I started at my current company on a better wage. 3 years later, I've had a £500 pay rise in that whole time although I now do a job that used to be a management role (the role doesn't exist any more) so it's not a promotion and there's no adjustment. Yet we work in the same building as public sector workers who get 4 extra days off a year, and who are always on strike because they're being threatened with being forced to live with conditions that we've suffered for 5+ years.

Welcome to the party.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Matblack

I tend to use Selotape and try to run a paperless office, but I bow to your superior knowledge of my industry [bows]

MB

Sarcasm. That's always useful in getting your point across, and great at earning sympathy.

I've been your side of the fence not all that long ago. We saw new funding initiatives come through from the government for things like high-achievers. The principal looked at the paperwork involved and how convoluted it was and figured that we'd actually make less money applying for the funding. That was far from the only piece of red-tape encrusted funding. Pretty much every initiative I saw come out of government during the time I was in education resulted in more paperwork and more admin time for very little gain. The government would have done better to cut all it's silly little programs and fenced off funding and just bolstered the general amount given to education.

If you're not dealing with government red-tape on a regular basis, you're either lucky, or someone is handling it for you.

[Lopez]

Originally Posted by Desmo

And the private sector have been losing jobs and had pay freezes way before the public sector. I took a pay cut 18-24 months ago as have many other people. I can't see why the public sector can't join us.

I have to agree, my pay has been frozen for 2 years now and we have closed 1 centre completely, and until very recently, over 35% of our CS staff who had left/transferred/been promoted/been sacked were not being replaced, meaning a gradual but eventually massive increase in work for everyone else.

[Matblack]

I have no interest in sympathy I sorry if it came across as if I did but really, no thanks.

Angry, upset, concerned about my own future and the financial implications for my family yes, seeking sympathy, no.

That's all from me I'm afraid

MB