Education Minister Admits Teachers May Face Redundancy

[rockdweller]

They are I think.

[keyboarder]

I could name plenty get my vote!

 

I bet you could - the education system certainly seems to have served you rather poorly.

[manshimajin]

It's many of our politicians that should be being sacked NOW, most of them have been incapable and redundant for years. At least take the extra education budget out of their expense accounts, or their way above average pension I say.

This potential problem is arising because of the 'agreed' salary increases"

In previous years, when wage increases have been agreed, they were often funded through supplementary votes in Tynwald, but with no extra cash available from Treasury, the Department of Education would need to fund the £1.6 million to meet the cost of agreed pay increases from within its budget for the 2009-10 financial year, Mrs Craine said.

1. If there is concern over redundancy in the teaching community surely it is better to forego salary increases?
   
2. What sort of budgeting experience is there in the Department - precious little by the sound of it - "oh we agreed some pay increases but we didn't know that these had to be included in the Budget"!!!!!!!
   
3. I agree with everything said about numbers of MHKs and their pensions and expense accounts - I bet these were included in their Budgets so none of them have to be made redundant...
   

 

At a slight tangent, I read the other day that in the Netherlands the Prime Minister earns about €165,000 and that NO public servant can earn more than that. The fat cats argument that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys does not hold true in the Netherlands which has excellent education and health services - maybe monkeys are more intelligent than fat cats...

[oldmanxfella]

Teachers may lose jobs

 

I just wondered what people's thoughts were on this.

 

I just find it exceedingly strange that most government workers still seem to expect that the current harsh economic realities are only going to be experienced in the private sector.

 

If you look how government has been run over the years you've just had Ministers scurrying for more Tynwald resolutions to provide more cash everytime they have needed to go over budget to give in to wage demands or staffing requests. Where has this money come from? Us. Who has no more money anymore? Us. You don't need to be a maths teacher to work it out.

 

The single biggest problem Government has here is how much Government has been allowed to grow in an unchecked and unaccountable way over the last 15 years. The Island simply cannot sustain this level of cost going forward.

[T.I.N.G.]

It's many of our politicians that should be being sacked NOW, most of them have been incapable and redundant for years. At least take the extra education budget out of their expense accounts, or their way above average pension I say.

This potential problem is arising because of the 'agreed' salary increases"

In previous years, when wage increases have been agreed, they were often funded through supplementary votes in Tynwald, but with no extra cash available from Treasury, the Department of Education would need to fund the £1.6 million to meet the cost of agreed pay increases from within its budget for the 2009-10 financial year, Mrs Craine said.

1. If there is concern over redundancy in the teaching community surely it is better to forego salary increases?
   
2. What sort of budgeting experience is there in the Department - precious little by the sound of it - "oh we agreed some pay increases but we didn't know that these had to be included in the Budget"!!!!!!!
   
3. I agree with everything said about numbers of MHKs and their pensions and expense accounts - I bet these were included in their Budgets so none of them have to be made redundant...
   

 

At a slight tangent, I read the other day that in the Netherlands the Prime Minister earns about €165,000 and that NO public servant can earn more than that. The fat cats argument that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys does not hold true in the Netherlands which has excellent education and health services - maybe monkeys are more intelligent than fat cats...

 

Good idea, TB's salary;

36.441 + 6.178 (expenses) + 80% for being chief minister (29.153) + trainig allowance 10.00 par day + daily allowance for absence from IOM 120.00 par day + mileage, up to 52p per mile.

Not bad? As of April 2008. Probaly gone up now.

[Albert Tatlock]

The single biggest problem Government has here is how much Government has been allowed to grow in an unchecked and unaccountable way over the last 15 years. The Island simply cannot sustain this level of cost going forward.

The problem is though, cutting costs and reviewing jobs in government now would only double the impact of the recession here in employment terms. They should have been reviewing civil service levels over the last 10 years instead of forever expanding the civil service, and should have linked the civil service to economic development and immigration levels here etc.

 

It's a helluva mess we are in really. I don't think most people have any idea how deep it is going to be here yet. The front line services such as health, education etc. should be the last thing to be affected, but as usual as they are big spenders and they will be the first.

 

I deeply suspect they will announce unemployment to be over 1000 this month, and maybe closer to 1200 next month despite the season kicking in. Personally, I think we need to seriously start thinking about spending our way out of this one, and commit around £200M of our reserves for infrastructure projects, including for future expansion ready to bring high value product manufacturers over here.

 

If reserves are for anything, they are for times like now. If work permit legislation is for anything, it is for times like now, and should be being applied far more rigoursly.

[oldmanxfella]

The single biggest problem Government has here is how much Government has been allowed to grow in an unchecked and unaccountable way over the last 15 years. The Island simply cannot sustain this level of cost going forward.

 

The problem is though, cutting costs and reviewing jobs in government now would only double the impact of the recession here in employment terms. They should have been reviewing civil service levels over the last 10 years instead of forever expanding the civil service, and should have linked the civil service to economic development and immigration levels here etc.

 

You can't ignore the economic reality that firstly the pension bill alone is going to kill Treasury and they have failed to act on this and likely will continue to fail to act as they will be worried about votes (from the 30% of the population they employ) being lost before the next election and strike action. Secondly the only jobs advertised in the Courier last week were Government ones so they still have not got the message about cutting back and managing budgets and Allan Bell really needs to serious kick ass on this issue and just tell them "No more money, and budget cuts across the board".

 

It's a helluva mess we are in really. I don't think most people have any idea how deep it is going to be here yet. The front line services such as health, education etc. should be the last thing to be affected, but as usual as they are big spenders and they will be the first.

 

But we are starting to witness what is akin to economic apartheid - Government employees sat in a separate and cushy economic eco system of guaranteed job security and guaranteed pensions - paid by for everyone else who has no idea whether they will have a job next week. It really cannot continue on this basis because it will build up a huge resentment on such a tiny Island so fair play to Annie Craine for coming out and saying it as it is. There are no guarantees regarding employment.

 

I deeply suspect they will announce unemployment to be over 1000 this month, and maybe closer to 1200 next month despite the season kicking in. Personally, I think we need to seriously start thinking about spending our way out of this one, and commit around £200M of our reserves for infrastructure projects, including for future expansion ready to bring high value product manufacturers over here.

 

That would be a bad move. Sovereign states can do this as they can raise their own money and borrow. We have to run a budget surplus legally.

 

If reserves are for anything, they are for times like now. If work permit legislation is for anything, it is for times like now, and should be being applied far more rigoursly.

 

Yeah. But back to my point one - despite some good people by and large we have a totally gutless government that is not really up to the job and politicians too concewrned about how their mates will vote to do anything about it.