Pay Rises

[pickledseal]

After reading this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20978487

I get paid well as a teacher and I've worked hard for promotions to keep my salary rising. However we're in 3rd year of pay freeze (apparently this year equivalent to a 3% drop) and *if* we get a rise next Sept it'll be 1% and 2014 the same. However I'm sure pay scales will be abolished by then...

Just wondered how others were getting on?

 

[BrettieAngell]

What's a payrise?

Had a 10% paycut (re-instated after 6 months) and redundancies in the 2 and a half years I've been in my current job so I guess im lucky I've still got a job.

 

[Pubey]

Work is doing ok, my annual increment is about 3%, and our pay negotiation for this year came in at a 1% increase.

It's not the pay scales that are the problem in academia, it's the fixed term contracts. Fortunately I'm in a research department and so we 'earn our keep' and research hasn't dried up. However departments that are either less research active (and more teaching focussed) or less good at research have really suffered and People have lost jobs and whole departments and groups have shut down.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

If you surveyed teachers I'm sure they'd all think they deserved a substantial payrise.

I don't think it's overly controversial to suggest that the Prime Minister has the most important job in the country but his pay isn't at all commensurate with that.

MPs should be paid more in order to make it a more viable option for intelligent, successful individuals.

If the current lot are no good, we need to take a long hard look at ourselves as the electorate who elected them.

 

[Cricko]

If you surveyed teachers I'm sure they'd all think they deserved a substantial payrise.

I don't think it's overly controversial to suggest that the Prime Minister has the most important job in the country but his pay isn't at all commensurate with that.

MPs should be paid more in order to make it a more viable option for intelligent, successful individuals.

If the current lot are no good, we need to take a long hard look at ourselves as the electorate who elected them.

I agree. Those top 20 millionaires in the cabinet must find it hard to make ends meet whilst they help their business mates but cut the very living out of the poor people..

Lets give them a rise. :moon:

PS: We never elected them, they formed a coalition.

 

[EastStandBlue]

The news agency I work for held a company conference in November 2011 to outline the company's five-year plan under which they wanted to challenge Reuters and Bloomberg (delusions of grandeur), and also threw in that wage increases would be frozen for at least three years in order to keep the company in profit. Two weeks prior to that journalists at Reuters threatened to walk out after being offered a 7% pay increase which they deemed derisory, so you can probably guess how that particular announcement went down. Still, in the 14 months since that conference I've had my pay increase by just over £4kp/a on the back of two promotions, so the company seemingly remains meritocratic in that respect.

I'm in a slightly advantageous position as, if times are tough and I need a little extra cash, I can freelance a little on the side. The going rate's roughly 20p per word, so a 1,000 word feature article can provide a nice little earner.

That particular story will spark predictable outrage though, mostly because the headline's misleading. MPs haven't "called" for it at all, they've merely been asked to suggest a wage that they think they deserve. They have, actually, frozen their salaries for this year. I doubt there's many people who wouldn't think they deserve a pay rise if they were forced to work the hours MPs have to.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I agree. Those top 20 millionaires in the cabinet must find it hard to make ends meet whilst they help their business mates but cut the very living out of the poor people..

Lets give them a rise. :moon:

PS: We never elected them, they formed a coalition.

We elected every MP.

 

[Cricko]

We elected every MP.

As individuals maybe but as a government no. We will no doubt live to regret this misfortune.

Unless :smile:

 

[steveo]

Sore subject with me. We try and give everyone a pay rise every year if possible. Last year the bloke we gave £750 per year was disappointed that it wasn't more. This year his rise was £500. He was even more disappointed as he was getting less. I tried to get him to view it as getting more - as it was a rise- but he was fixed on the fact it was less than the year before. I know a lot of people who haven't had any sort of rise in years and are grateful to have a job.
I was disappointed that he was disappointed. Am I being unfair?

 

[Cricko]

They live on planet Zog.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20978487

 

[Bielzibubz]

For the first time in four years I got a 4% rise this year which considering the market sector I work in is a bloody miracle. To tell you the truth I see it as a massive bonus as it could so easily have been jack all or worse still no job at all when you factor in where we were as a business back in June of last year ie nearly bust.

It does tend to get on my thruppeny bits slightly when I hear of some moaning on about a pay freeze or low wage rise. Just be bloody grateful you still have a job to wake up to in the morning and your still able to put food on the table for your family without having to go cap in hand to the government.

 

[OldBlueLady]

You may consider teachers' pay reasonable Andy, but my end of the scale, TAs, the pay is absolute dog ****!

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

My ex company hav'nt given a pay rise for over 4 years (apart from to themselves, the Directors), and to keep their own standard of living high, made me redundant at Christmas. Happy New Year!

 

[pickledseal]

You may consider teachers' pay reasonable Andy, but my end of the scale, TAs, the pay is absolute dog ****!

Very true. It's shockingly low. Living wage my arse!

 

[Mad Cyril]

I work in a 'financial services' and find out next week.

Many in the industry will be getting a donut (nothing) but that is better than receiving an unwelcome phone call and free cardboard box.

 

[Berrichonne shrimper]

I gave myself a 5 euro a hour payrise,first one in 4 years but the i am a tightwad.

 

[Mad Cyril]

If you surveyed teachers I'm sure they'd all think they deserved a substantial payrise.

I don't think it's overly controversial to suggest that the Prime Minister has the most important job in the country but his pay isn't at all commensurate with that.

MPs should be paid more in order to make it a more viable option for intelligent, successful individuals.

If the current lot are no good, we need to take a long hard look at ourselves as the electorate who elected them.

Unlike the Prime Minister most teachers don't earn millions from consultancy fees, books and the after after dinner speech/lecture circuit.

 

[Mad Cyril]

We elected every MP.

But we didn't select the government.....

 

[hockleyeast1964]

At least when they retire they still get final salary pensions which are linked to the RPI so i wouldn't moan too much if i were a teacher.I would have to stick away 1.5 mio to receive the pension my father in law gets.I haven't had a payrise in 8 years as i am bonus related.

 

[South Bank Hank]

I wouldn't be an MP if they offered me four times what they're currently paid. Our MPs are far from perfect but it's quite frankly wrong to assume they're all dishonest or all in it for the money. For those who have made it to the top in politics, there are probably far less stressful ways to make the same living!

As ESB points out, the headlines are completely misleading and it's the aggressive, deceitful, scandal-craving Media in this country that have made spin a necessary requirement for every politician. We want MPs that speak openly and honestly but the Media will smash them to pieces if their opinion isn't politically correct - and so many of the weak-minded, tabloid reading public will lap it up with their easily offended moral indignation.

Just like everything else, those that criticise our MPs, doubt their honesty, think they earn too much or even feel that they could do a better job themselves could quite easily affiliate themselves with a party and ultimately put themselves forward for election if they so wanted. The great thing about politics is it's open to everyone and, as others have said, the MPs are the people WE put there.