MP salary rant (NLC)

[vet111s]

So the ipsa seem to be suggesting that basic parliamentary pay should rise from £66k to nearer £75k and the government is powerless to do anything about it. Moreover, a poll of MPs suggested that an appropriate level of pay should be over £86k. This is in stark contrast to virtually every other public employee who have had little or no pay rises for years now and have none in the pipeline.
This is on top of them still having a final salary pension scheme unlike most other public employees who, at best, are now on average salary schemes.
And all at a time of austerity when the mod is making soldiers redundant!
Are they actually so stupid as to not see the hypocrisy of this move?!?!?
Rant over, sorry

Ali

[jimbo]

+1

Sent from my GT-I8750 using Board Express

[BiggestNizzy]

+1

Edited to add a little more than a +1

Looking at my local MP Cathy Jamison

You get +£45k for expenses

[Ferg]

a poll of MPs suggested that an appropriate level of pay should be over £86ki

A poll of me suggested I should be paid /puts pinkie to mouth/ 1 Miiiilllliiiiioooonnnn dooolllaaarrrsss

[robin]

It is funny to watch the MPs say "well, it's not us, it's IPSA recommending the changes and we're powerless to do anything but continue to stuff our pockets with cash". I wonder how they would react if IPSA decided they should all take a 50% pay cut? Then they would be less keen to follow independent recommendations. Of course IPSA is not independent really. They get a nice wedge:

http://parliamentarystandards.org.uk/Ab ... salary.pdf

And who ultimately controls IPSA? Why SCIPSA, of course. SCIPSA is the Speakers Committee for IPSA. They appoint the IPSA management and approve the IPSA budget.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker%27 ... _Authority

So no conflict of interest there, then.

Cheers,
Robin

[flyingscot68]

Sounds fair enough to me, my fork-lift drivers and storemen in Oz were on about £80k pa for a 60hr week on a 4/1 rotation, so the MP's salary isn't really that good in the big scheme of things.

£45k expenses though? How can you have an expenses allowance like that for a public servant, surely it should all be accountable and that £45k figure is just an estimate???

[BiggestNizzy]

I got the £45K from a guardian link I googled. To be honest she was cheap.

[mikeyb13]

It is funny to watch the MPs say "well, it's not us, it's IPSA recommending the changes and we're powerless to do anything but continue to stuff our pockets with cash". I wonder how they would react if IPSA decided they should all take a 50% pay cut? Then they would be less keen to follow independent recommendations. Of course IPSA is not independent really.
Cheers,
Robin

This part of it is particularly annoying for us public sector worker who are draining the countries resources. As those same MP's chose to abandon our "independent" pay review body when they had the cheek to recommend Nurses salaries should be in line with Teachers.

[BiggestNizzy]

Why not link MP's to nurses, firemen etc

[pete]

There's nothing wrong with the MPs being assessed at being worth more, but there is something massively wrong with them applying one rule for themselves (independent pay review panel) where as everybody else in teh Public Sector is being assessed on a "oh my god we've crashed the economy the public sector'll have to pay for it" basis.

As the OP says - rank hypocrisy.

[Rag_It]

where as everybody else in teh Public Sector is being assessed on a "oh my god we've crashed the economy the public sector'll have to pay for it" basis.

I'd say that is a frankly laughable opinion!

As with any job though, there will be those that deserve to get paid the money, some that should get more, and those that are just there to collect a pay cheque and maximise expenses to afford the lifestyle they have easily been allowed to become accustomed to.

Dave

[pete]

where as everybody else in teh Public Sector is being assessed on a "oh my god we've crashed the economy the public sector'll have to pay for it" basis.

I'd say that is a frankly laughable opinion!


Dave

It's a frankly quite badly puntucated opinion, I'll give you that, but laughable? Which bit do you disagree with?

The Public Sector are having their pay capped because of government driven austerity. Such austerity is the government response to the state of the economy. It is not the only response, but it was the one they chose.

Should they be exposed to performance related pay (as you describe)?

Well I would question whether that is suitable in every industry but it is not relelvant to my point which is that at the behest of MPs, based only on the state of the economy, Public Sector staff are experiencing a pay freeze. With the exception of MPs who are having their pay independently assessed.

Rank hypocrisy.

[Rag_It]

Hi Pete,

This is just my opinion, but one that has always made laugh, so not to be taken too seriously! The public sector for years have had it relatively easy, enjoying pay grade increases year on year (almost as an entitlement) which is very different from my experience of the Private sector. Also, from memory, those on 21k or below were exempt from the pay freeze and many have ended up getting their pay increases anyway, as long as it does not surpass the upper limit of the pay bracket that they are in for that job!

I know quite a few people in the public sector (nurses, teachers, armed forces and doctors aside) who are quite happy working in the public sector, they've certainly enjoyed the good times, love the healthy pension they get, flexi working time and other benefits, and almost see it as a job for life and not one that you have to bust a gut for. Again, a far cry from my own experience of the private sector.

If you want better in the private sector, you often have to vote with your feet and get out there and find yourself another job.I am however not disagreeing with the whole exception of MP's being assessed independently!

Dave

[j2 lot]

Dave, its not often I agree with Pete but you have either been in a coma or the Big Brother House (same thing really) since 2005.

[Rag_It]

Dave, its not often I agree with Pete but you have either been in a coma or the Big Brother House (same thing really) since 2005.

Perhaps both! How so?!