I'll meet any of you for a pint and go through some of the issues I've come across in my time in a few state organisations. If you have a few hours to spare of course!!!
As an example, 1 org I worked in had several staff in 1 section who simply did'nt work. They just did nothing. They sat all day reading papers and listening to the radio on headphones, which was a fine example to the younger and newer staff! I had to get overtime arranged for a few Saturdays as some areas of work had fallen behind and some of the staff mentioned above showed up on the Saturday/Sunday!!! I was told under arrangements with the union, we could'nt hand pick staff for overtime- if it was offered to 1 staff member in a section, it had to be offered to all !!!
And don't start about their manager not managing them. I spoke with their manager on several occassions about them and was told that if they did do any work, it would take more time to check and correct it afterwards than it was worth. No other section, even those short of staff, would take them. And as you know there is no compulsory redundancy in the public service so what could you do with them. And they knew that!
By the tone of Deiseblue and Complainer, you seem to be indicating that there are no abuses in the public sector. Would you consider the example of the electricians in St.James as being an abuse, an outdated work practice, a waste of taxpayers money? Or are they right in their actions?