Time off for Christmas shopping in public service.

[AlbacoreA]

I worked in the public library service in Dublin many years ago, and one year, following phone calls to Gay Byrne complaining that the libraries closed for over a week at Christmas. the City Librarian decided to open for 3 days between Christmas and New Year.

Over the 3 days, the branch I worked in issued 32 books in total - 16 customers. The numbers were similar around the city.

The libraries didn't open again between Christmas and New Year during my time there!

One company I worked in kept a record of every day they'd ever been open and business done etc. Therefore they could forcast which days were worth staying open and which days just weren't. Always surprised I haven't seen this kinda of simple record keeping more often. Very few places seem to do it.

 

[AlbacoreA]

You are being obtuse. A person doing an clerical job in the public sector who gets 30 days annual leave but has to work Christmas Eve is still better off than a private sector employee who gets 20 days annual leave but doesn’t have to work Christmas Eve. Your attempt to muddy the water on what is a very straightforward point is bordering on the ridiculous.

Thats because its not straightforward. Your trying to make a sweeping general comparision by cherry picking a single criteria (annual leave) and ignoring all other factors (remuneration) which make the comparision invalid.

You can't decide to work in a shop, then complain about working christmas eve, or working long hours. If you don't like it go get a job in an office or something. If you want lots of annual leave get a job as a treacher or something.

Personally I couldn't work as a teacher no matter what the leave, or work in the tax office, or dole office. I also wouldn't work in retail (again) unless I had to.

I agree. I presume you include the public sector workers who were moaning about working Christmas Eve in that group?

Of course. People are the same everywhere. Public private no difference.

 

[Purple]

Thats because its not straightforward. Your trying to make a sweeping general comparision by cherry picking a single criteria (annual leave) and ignoring all other factors (remuneration) which make the comparision invalid.

OK, you are definitely being obtuse. Let me make this as simple as I can; other posters were complaining that they had to work Christmas Eve and were suggesting that those in the private sector who didn't have to work Christmas Eve were better off than them (in the context of holiday leave) because of this. I was pointing out that working or not working Christmas Eve needs to be judged in the context of overall leave. It was a point refuting a point made in isolation about working Christmas Eve. That's it. Nothing else. It really is that simple and straightforward. NOW do you understand???

 

[Orga]

Dear dissenting debaters,

You'd swear the public service closed completely on Christmas Eve - it doesn't -nor Christmas day either - sections do close and sections of private industry close also. Could we not all just agree that leave for public servants needs to be explanatory in a transparent manner so that should questions arise they are easily answered and the current arrangements are not transparent - they are probably fair, but not transparent. If Mr or Ms Private industry or Mr or Ms Public Service are paying taxes that fund services then there is an accountability due of those services to provide reasonable explanations for the manner in which they are delivered and this includes accounting for the deployment of staff. On that note I have a big beef with the bin collectors who unilaterally change the date of collection around Christmas - I'm voting with my money and changing my bin collector

 

[AlbacoreA]

OK, you are definitely being obtuse. Let me make this as simple as I can; other posters were complaining that they had to work Christmas Eve and were suggesting that those in the private sector who didn't have to work Christmas Eve were better off than them (in the context of holiday leave) because of this. I was pointing out that working or not working Christmas Eve needs to be judged in the context of overall leave. It was a point refuting a point made in isolation about working Christmas Eve. That's it. Nothing else. It really is that simple and straightforward. NOW do you understand???

No. Because the previous comments also made reference to xmas bonus'es, gifts, disparity of pay, experience of the same leave in the private sector etc.
It makes no sense to take leave in isolation from everything else. Its not top trumps. (or benchmarking for that matter ).

 

[Noilheart]

Just noticed your post there now Blue Steel and may say - well done, this needed to be said and it brings the meagre pay of the majority of civil servants into perspective compared what has gone on in this country for the last ten years at least

 

[rmelly]

Just noticed your post there now Blue Steel and may say - well done

Zoolander?

 

[SISSOKO]

Banks and other offices in Galway shut for half-days during Race Week.

Better than that i'm afraid , finish at 11 on the 2 big race days.
and half a race day for sept meeting.

 

[Noilheart]

Hi rmelly,

By the way , I did mean Blue Steel's post as per below.

Give me a break. I work in the public sector and yes we got 3.5 hours off for Christmas shopping and yes I took it. Big deal. Last year I was working in the private sector and got a 5 grand bonus. I know which I'd prefer.
I think the Public Sector witch-hunt is getting a little out of hand during this downturn. Nobody gave a damn about the half day shopping when they were making lots of money themselves but now all of a sudden its an outrage. I have been in the Public sector for 4 months now and I can tell you it is a lot more stressful than the private. There are lots of us dealing with the most vulnurable and unruly in society and providing a service that goes largely un-noticed. I had a far handier number in my old private sector job but when offered this post could not turn it down given the current economic circumstances. I think people need to remember who caused this crisis - fat cat bankers and greedy developers who have left the country scarred with innumerable ugly, unrequired, half-built apartment blocks. Working people should be venting their anger at them and not each other. Public or private, we're all facing the same problems.