tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post2072488371606379531..comments2023-12-20T19:39:29.865+00:00Comments on Munguin's Republic: SO WHO IS GOING TO BRING 800,000 PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS TO SCOTLAND?Munguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16475165830302054002noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-46326362789675368172010-06-11T19:48:45.980+01:002010-06-11T19:48:45.980+01:00Aye Brownlie... the nose picking is probably less ...Aye Brownlie... the nose picking is probably less painful with well filed nails.<br /><br />Well, that's what I have been talking about really, the admin staff, who sit there at reception and give people a foul look if they clear their throats and dare to interrupt a private conversation with colleague about last night's activities, or indeed about the iniquities of the boss and their deadlines which they can stick up their... etc.<br /><br />And the completely useless management and supervision that allow this to happen.<br /><br />I agree that standards across hospitals in Scotland should be more or less the same, but I can assure you they are not. They probably aren't from ward to ward.<br /><br />The trouble is that there are far too few senior staff likely to turn out at night. The chances of being caught having a fag out of a window, or sitting at the desk telling jokes while patients are crying with pain are few and riskable. And with the sisters spending their entire time filling in paperwork and the cleaners being contracted out, and therefore not under the control of the staff nurse, they don’t bother their lazy backsides.<br /><br />I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for anyone's report. They take years sometimes... (Pressure of lunch, er I mean work.)<br /><br />I hear that the English Dept of Communities bought themselves 28 Parisian-designed sofas for their London Offices at £4120 each to provide ‘’a peaceful oasis’’ at work..... = £134,000. The Parisians must have thought that they had won the lotto.<br /><br />Splendid, though to have a peaceful oasis at work... if you're a camel. People are usually there to work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-21059643668847163912010-06-11T15:55:36.276+01:002010-06-11T15:55:36.276+01:00tris,
Maybe they have to file their nails to make...tris,<br /><br />Maybe they have to file their nails to make nose-picking less painful.<br /><br />I'm by no means saying that all is well but in general the face workers are okay. If they are not then their supervisory structure is inadequate and is not geared to the needs of the public. There is absolutely no reason why one hospital should be dirty and unwelcoming whilst another is clean and helpful.<br /><br />In our local social services office there must be around forty administrators and only half that much social workers and as these workers do their own paperwork what on earth are the administrators doing? Human resources, which you may be familiar with, have more personnel than there are social workers.<br /><br />I put in a report to the toothless and useless Care Commission regarding childrens' unit and, according to the front-line staff, their inspector was outraged and promised action. He then went to HQ and nothing more was heard. That was three months ago and I'm still waiting his report.brownliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-35902164280565977412010-06-11T14:29:19.369+01:002010-06-11T14:29:19.369+01:00brownlie
Maybe I've just been unlucky. Ninewe...brownlie<br /><br />Maybe I've just been unlucky. Ninewells hospital for example, is the dirtiest most unmpleasant place to be and the nightshift staff on at least a couple of wards take some beating for their lack of care and attention and ability to pick thier noses on duty. To the point where there's something going on here on my part with the Minister responsible. So, I'll say no more here.<br /><br />I admit however that the opposite was true in Edinburgh Royal to teh point where I will not set foot in Ninewells for aftercare. I prefer to make the journey to Edinburgh, painful though it is.<br /><br />I've rarely had the pleasure of a truly helpful person in Dundee Council. But there's time, who knows, maybe one day. Pretty much the same can be said of JC+, the Inland Revenue, DVLA. Of course there are good staff, but they are well outnumbered buy bad ones. Maybe it's management's fault. No, no maybe about it. Thew staff are not trained properly and are rude and curt. A half way decent manager would stop that.<br /><br />I've glad you've had such a positive experience though. I'd hate anyone else to go through I went through in Ninewells.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-124293545299607852010-06-11T09:42:27.785+01:002010-06-11T09:42:27.785+01:00Dean, ma man, i don't believe that the public ...Dean, ma man, i don't believe that the public sector in Scotland is unsupportably large - the work my wife and her colleagues do is actually vital to the interests of the country (i won't say what it is cos Scotland's a wee country and i don't want her to be identified).<br /><br />I reckon the public sector should be supported by a progressive taxation system which takes money off rich people and invests it in the national interest. There are too many uber rich cats in Scotland who do not contribute enough to the public purse. And i hate to keep going on about this (not really) but it was the Fred Goodwin types who bugggered it all up for us in the first place. They should bail us out not people like my wife.<br /><br />Tell you what though, mate, it could all have been so different if Charlie had stopped at Edinburgh, put the Stuarts back on the throne of Scotland and left England to fight its own silly battles with France.naldohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17563789247589179756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-81016990471549024372010-06-11T00:22:16.405+01:002010-06-11T00:22:16.405+01:00Naldo you are right- these are people's jobs, ...Naldo you are right- these are people's jobs, these are sources of family income. However there comes a point where the gap between what a country can afford to spend on public sector jobs and functions has to be balanced off against what we can afford.<br /><br />Sadly in areas like Scotland, North East England, Northern Ireland we see an unsupportably large public sector. Thus we need to rebalance -i.e lay off people.<br /><br />Hardly something anyone can take delight in. But tell me, what is progressive about supporting an unaffordably large public sector and simply passing the debt over onto the next [my] generation? I have to agree with Lord Myners on that one...Dean MacKinnon-Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221192592535723681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-71619056111000661102010-06-10T23:02:49.144+01:002010-06-10T23:02:49.144+01:00Niko...
Who was improving the road and rail infra...Niko...<br /><br />Who was improving the road and rail infrastructure?<br /><br />It's the worst in Europe. It's even bloody well worse than England's for heaven's sake.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-60932476190934806272010-06-10T23:00:46.732+01:002010-06-10T23:00:46.732+01:00Allan,
The minute you put public sector work in t...Allan,<br /><br />The minute you put public sector work in the hands of private enterprise, you have to expect that for the same money you will get less because someone has to be making a profit.<br /><br />I can't comment on your example, Ineus, because obviously I don’t know their work, but I can say that I've seen these private companies doing JC+'s contracts on a pay by results basis, and it is a disaster.<br /><br />I won't quote actual examples because it's possible that some people would recognise themselves, but I will say that, the margins paid by the government are very small, and there is a balance between what you get paid for taking someone on to your books, and what you get paid for placing them in work.<br /><br />In your bid for the contract you have to specify what percentage of your clients you guarantee to get into work within 13 weeks. JC+ demand 55%, but in order to get the contract you have to be prepared to offer a bit more. But it’s dodgy. These are 'difficult to place' people... but there are hard to place and hard to place..... So some you are going to turn down because you know that even if hell freezers over, you will not ever get them a job. But turning them down means your cash is tight for registration payments. However, if you take them on to get the registration payments, then you have to be aware that when you don’t place them with 13 weeks, your placement percentage will go down. It’s a balancing act. But I’ve seen some very very unsuitable placements made, just to get the money.<br /><br />But here’s the big question. People who work in private and public sectors are not different. The culture of management is different.<br /><br />If what we are looking for is the efficiencies of the private sector, all we need to do is kick the asses of the management of the private sector and make them work as if there were in the private sector. Then we get the efficiencies without actually having to pay the 10-20% over the top for the fat cat profits....<br /><br />PS.. I’ll remove the rogue post.... As Spook always said to me when I did that... ‘It’s OK Tris, I clean up your mess!!’Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-30981246934585039842010-06-10T22:44:14.328+01:002010-06-10T22:44:14.328+01:00Jeez Naldo. I'm left of Stalin in many ways, b...Jeez Naldo. I'm left of Stalin in many ways, but I do see what I see. I know that there are hard working people at the bottom of the civil service and there may even be one or two in Dundee Council, although frankly I doubt it. Certainly their management are the worst you could hope to meet anywhere probably in the entire universe and they spend most of their time doing health and safety and equal opportunities and performance indication and bollox like that. All the time the roads are falling to pieces and the public transport is a joke .<br /><br />I understand that the private sector is necessary, in as much as anything is necessary to bring in money, but there instead of laziness I see greed from bosses and stress in workers.<br /><br />If I had my way it would be to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, which would probably go to the private sector, by building roads, railways and what have you that would bring us up to the standard of the average European country instead of some third world dump, which is what we have been allowed to become by the English governments that thought of us as some weird little county to the north of Cumbria... and Cumbria itself was a weird little county somewhere to the north of something or other... .<br /><br />Anyway, I'm glad your wife's nails are nice. It makes a big difference to a woman, dontcha think?<br /><br />LOL<br /><br />I'm getting it in the neck from the left wingers here for being too right wing, and I'm getting it in the other side of the neck from the right wingers for being too left wing.<br /><br />It's one of these can't win nights for poor wee Tristan.<br /><br />I think I'll have an early night..... I don’t think I’m cut out for blogging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-26358768628070766742010-06-10T22:33:26.981+01:002010-06-10T22:33:26.981+01:00Allan, do you realise that these cuts in the publi...Allan, do you realise that these cuts in the public sector that you seem so keen on are real people's jobs? Actual livelihhods?naldohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17563789247589179756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-19371799779156700672010-06-10T22:30:35.778+01:002010-06-10T22:30:35.778+01:00Tris, i reckon it would take a lot more than you&#...Tris, i reckon it would take a lot more than you've dished here to offend my wife. <br /><br />And to be fair, she really does have impeccable nails, a hawkeye for the risk and a tendency to chew gum. Really.<br /><br />Okay, i'm a bit o a leftie delusionist but i genuinely believe the private sector's overrated. It's full o money grabbers and it was the banks not the cooncils who got us all into this bloody mess.naldohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17563789247589179756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-85297857666130231962010-06-10T22:27:08.895+01:002010-06-10T22:27:08.895+01:00Oops only part of my last comment posted.
Tris.
...Oops only part of my last comment posted.<br /><br />Tris.<br /><br />There are huge areas in the public sector that could be privatised. Take Ineus, a private company who help long term unemployed people get back into work. I have worked beside the company on several occasions during recruitment days and so on and the support they offer long term unemployed, regardless of backgrounds, do a great job and have a high success rate.<br /><br />They do a far better job than the JCP yet have a fraction of the staff.<br />Any public department could be privatised even if it does not make a profit. I just think huge public sector departments make a hash of running themselves where if they were privatised then more accountability would come to the foe.<br /><br />Obviously health, policing and education would stay public but the current waist in the public sector should be cut.<br /><br />But I agree with you and we do need more manufacturing jobs and get people back into skilled employment again.Allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12264783996137140609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-40409938865868918792010-06-10T22:08:55.977+01:002010-06-10T22:08:55.977+01:00I appologise to all public sector workers.
I'...I appologise to all public sector workers.<br /><br />I'm one myslef actually.<br /><br />Maybe I'm just unlucky with the lazy unpleasant twats I meet in Dundee City Council and Tayside Health Board, particularly the filthy and unpleasnat ones at Ninewells Hospital. These people include people I work closely with when I get get them to get their lazy arses into gear.<br /><br />I meant no offense to any of your wives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-55752591544535493022010-06-10T21:51:03.037+01:002010-06-10T21:51:03.037+01:00tris,
I foster three children so work very closel...tris,<br /><br />I foster three children so work very closely with public sector workers who are ultimately responsible for the children. One of them has, for example, responsibility for thirty "difficult" children and their families. <br /><br />I have found them all unstintingly dedicated and helpful but if one of their managers make a mistake and I've seen a few over the years it is the poor worker at the coal-face that gets the blame.<br /><br />When I was incapacitated for a while they spent hours of their own time helping me, literally, to get back on my feet.<br /><br />Of course, there are idle and incompetent individuals in public service but I would suggest that they are the exception rather than the rule.brownliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-48180538539475712622010-06-10T21:36:35.931+01:002010-06-10T21:36:35.931+01:00Tris, you're unreasonably harsh on public sect...Tris, you're unreasonably harsh on public sector workers. In fact you grossly generalise. My wife's a civil servant and for the last year and half has been by far the largest earner in this household. She earns about half of what i'd expect someone doing a similar role at say Standard Life (where i've worked) to earn. She now faces the real prospect of redundancy on very shabby terms after 26 years service. She chose to work for the civil service because, she's (what you may consider) naive enough to believe in providing a service for society. She never wanted to work for a bastion of capitalism like Standard Life. <br /><br />I've contracted in both public and private sectors (banks, insurance companies, local and Scottish governments) and have to say that the levels of waste, number of slackers and mismanagement were similar in both sectors. The only difference was that so many people in the public sector genuinely believed that what they were doing would benefit real people and so many in the private were in it simply for the money and the free bupa cover.<br /><br />For at least the last 4 years, the workforce in my wife's department has shrunk alarmingly. When someone moves or retires, they are not replaced and their workload is passed onto those remaining. There is a freeze on promotions, pay rises have been risible and the fantastic pensions you bang on about are related to final salary, which in her case, will not be much at all.<br /><br />Why do you hate the public sector so much and where do you think we'd all be without low paid employees who work so hard to support the services that we in a welfare state take for granted? <br /><br />Maybe we'd all have been better off if Churchill's Tories had won the 45 election eh?naldohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17563789247589179756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-54662718036394587512010-06-10T20:41:49.070+01:002010-06-10T20:41:49.070+01:00Tris
Just in case you haven't noticed (you h...Tris<br /><br /><br />Just in case you haven't noticed (you haven't) the people who were 'improving our road and rail infrastructure for example'<br /><br /><br />are being made redundant already under the Labour Government cuts........<br /><br />there is going to be a hell of a lot more of them.<br /><br />Your problem like many is a blind hatred of public sector workers some like in all walks of life are bone idle(but they are also crafty)<br /><br />and at the end of this those bone idlers will still be there 'filing nails' and a lot of good people will be on the dole for a very very long time....<br /><br />and the brunt of any cuts and their consequences will not fall on the South East of England (Toryshire).<br />It will be the North and North Britain to feel an almighty pinch once again..<br /><br />still make the snp happy.Nikostratoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581441869560921339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-86119160767893969342010-06-10T19:43:01.391+01:002010-06-10T19:43:01.391+01:00Niko: There are far too many jobs in the public se...Niko: There are far too many jobs in the public sector where the main points of the job description appear to be:<br /><br />Filing of nails;<br /><br />Being abrupt with people (including customers) who interrupt filing of nails;<br /><br />Filling in a risk assessment for filing nails;<br /><br />Gossipping about last night's date whilst filing nails;<br /><br />Going on courses, and filing nails;<br /><br />Talking on the phone to friends;<br /><br />Filing nails whilst talking on the phone to friends;<br /><br />Chewing gum whilst doing all of the above.<br /><br />Time they disappeared. Half of Dundee Council could go tomorrow and no one would notice.<br /><br />If we are going to have public sector work, it should involve improving our road and rail infrastructure for example.<br /><br />(Oh and a traffic warden on duty outside my house to book the lazy tosser who can't walk 10 yards, so he parks on double yellows right outside my house!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-87675017870166253282010-06-10T19:34:36.427+01:002010-06-10T19:34:36.427+01:00Race Equality Secret Service;
Your blog and your ...Race Equality Secret Service;<br /><br />Your blog and your post appear to be racist to me.<br /><br />I deplore racism, of any kind, and although I accept that everyone is entitled to their opinion, if their opinion is racist, then they can have it anywhere else but here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-52403348772165950802010-06-10T19:31:26.972+01:002010-06-10T19:31:26.972+01:00Aye dean... full fiscal control would be a good st...Aye dean... full fiscal control would be a good start....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-15085724437277035432010-06-10T19:29:59.268+01:002010-06-10T19:29:59.268+01:00Well Allan, I agree that we need to encourage the ...Well Allan, I agree that we need to encourage the private sector. It beats public sector work that we have to pay for and the idiotic pensions we have to pay them.<br /><br />But I have to say thatI can't understand how public services can be run by a private company. We've already seen Labour's PFI, and how much it has cost. The rich banks get richer and we pay more in interest and rent payments a year for a hospital than the whole thing cost in the first place.<br /><br />Every pound that government puts into them, they scrape off the first 20% for profit. So to my way of thinking it is a waste of my taxes.<br /><br />Private sector jobs have to be real private sector. They need to make things.<br /><br />We used to do that. The Germans still do. Industry's not all in China or Vietnam. There is just a demand for good quality manufctured good. Scotland can go that as well as Germany. <br /><br />We just need people to trust us.<br /><br />And we need entrepreneurs. But you don't get them with the kind of banking sector we have.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-89035312863376240992010-06-10T19:19:07.891+01:002010-06-10T19:19:07.891+01:00Tris
There is too much PC when it comes to jobs. ...Tris<br /><br />There is too much PC when it comes to jobs. When I was at school there were guys who could not pass an exam to save their life, but give them a bit of wood or some metal and they could make things.<br /><br />now if you cannot pass exams you cannot get apprenticeships so the guys that are no very good with their hands are getting the apprenticeships and the guys without qualifications are on the scrap heap no matter how good they are with their hands.<br /><br />In an independent Scotland we would still need laboring type jobs, but if we had our own industries at least we could pay decent wages.Dubbiesidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14351210091827242674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-80152901018526997312010-06-10T18:48:51.700+01:002010-06-10T18:48:51.700+01:00Cynical.... Time to be Chinese don't you think...Cynical.... Time to be Chinese don't you think?<br /><br />I note that they are all over bothr French and English Africa like a rash, taking away anything that is of any use. Just like the Europeans before them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-17337240368900439382010-06-10T18:46:01.588+01:002010-06-10T18:46:01.588+01:00Dubbieside:
I think you should send that to the S...Dubbieside:<br /><br />I think you should send that to the SNP. You're dead right. We don't want cheap jobs but we do need factory jobs, and the green technology is right where we are going to find them.<br /><br />But even at that we have to have the kind of Labouring jobs that some guys are happy doing. Hard physical work. Time after time I've heard lads asking me if I can find them a good "man's" job. of course it's politically incorrect but no number of PC police is going to make these guys want to be typists.<br /><br />Once we have control over our taxes we might be able to encourage more good work here, possibly from other parts of the islands.<br /><br />Meanwhile another 5,000 apprenticeships this year, announced by the First Minister today, is a big boost. 40,000 in all. That's fantastic... and to quote Mrs Thatcher "Rejoice at that news".<br /><br />Above all we must find jobs for young people before they get into the habit of idleness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-22638434960428225912010-06-10T18:19:11.168+01:002010-06-10T18:19:11.168+01:00"My point, and indeed the Union’s point , Sub..."My point, and indeed the Union’s point , Subrosa, was that, under the government's new policies there will be 25,000 chasing 800 jobs"<br /><br />Brilliant point. But Scotland does need to have a stronger private sector [even most SNP supporters acknowledge that it would help their cause also].<br /><br />But Tris is right, if you cut and dice the public sector employees, then you need to encourage new business start-up....perhaps it is time that the Holyrood parliament got powers over Scots business tax rates? ... oh heck, lets just have full fiscal autonomy!!!!!!!!Dean MacKinnon-Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221192592535723681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-65420734462103889212010-06-10T18:16:52.568+01:002010-06-10T18:16:52.568+01:00"Withdraw from the EU and take control of our..."Withdraw from the EU and take control of our borders and fishing grounds."<br /><br />Unacceptable under any situation. So thats a non-starter ...Dean MacKinnon-Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221192592535723681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-45439858564720948902010-06-10T17:54:26.476+01:002010-06-10T17:54:26.476+01:00Tris.
I think what the Tories will do is to priva...Tris.<br /><br />I think what the Tories will do is to privatise some of the public sector areas that can easily adapt to cutting off the apron strings for Mr Public sector.<br /><br />I agree with Subrosa and Scotland and indeed the UK have to be kinder to the private sector. Scotland depends to much on the public sector and Labour have created a culture of big resource waisting governments.<br /><br />People do have to be more creative in today's society and remember we don't live in a something for nothing culture that Labour dreams off.<br /><br />Unemployment will rise through the Tory policies but it will be nothing like the 80s and today's people will be more adapted to change than those who lost jobs in heavy industry.<br /><br />The name of the game is, some pain today and tomorrow's gain.Allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12264783996137140609noreply@blogger.com