How has the recession affected you?

The last thing I want to do is turn this into a Public vs Private slanging match

I just don't see why an argument of "I thought I was guaranteed this salary so I got a mortgage on the back of it" should be any reason to renegotiate any agreement
 
DB74 said:
The last thing I want to do is turn this into a Public vs Private slanging match

I just don't see why an argument of "I thought I was guaranteed this salary so I got a mortgage on the back of it" should be any reason to renegotiate any agreement
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I am trying (sigh) to explain the factors that were taken into account when civil servants were granted mortgages - and a secure, guaranteed salary was a strong and salient feature of civil service employment until recently. Therefore, when their mortgages were being stress tested, elements such as salary decreases did not form part of the process while the liklihood of a civil servant being fired would have been weighted quite lightly. Therefore, civil servants who bought houses they could afford on their current salary scale five years ago ,were not being irresponsible or short sighted, and many are now suffering a lot. Therefore, Orka's statement that he couldn't see that public servants had taken much of a hit is unfair and untrue.
 
liaconn said:
civil servants who bought houses they could afford on their current salary scale five years ago ,were not being irresponsible or short sighted, and many are now suffering a lot.
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Do you have any examples liaconn? I've asked a few times (not to you but on a few threads) and there have been no examples given. Even without increments, the salary scales moved up a lot in the past five years before being moved back down in Jan 2010. eg a HEO at the top of the scale in 2005 was on 54,173 (38,151 net) - by Sept 2008 the gross (no increment, just scale changes) was up to 62,210 and then in Jan 2010, the gross moved back to 58,294 (net 36,993). So from the time of their responsible purchase in 2005, the net has reduced from 38,151 to 36,993 - a 3% drop - surely a drop that the stress-testing would have judged liveable-with?
 
Orks, it is easy to cherry pick figures and turn this into a Public V Private sector argument. The real reality is that lower paid people in the Public Service have been screwed with a 17% reduction in take home pay over the past year.

We can argue figures to the Nth degree but the bottom line is that the people who caused this recession are still living in the lap of luxury. Perhaps I am becoming bitter in my old age, but I want to see these people in prison.

But, of course this will not happen; it didnt happen in any previous recession.
 
Leper said:
Orks, it is easy to cherry pick figures and turn this into a Public V Private sector argument. The real reality is that lower paid people in the Public Service have been screwed with a 17% reduction in take home pay over the past year.
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I have been looking for example because I don't want to cherrypick (or be accused of cherrypicking). If I wanted to cherry-pick, I would have picked someone still getting increments - they are doing fine (and keeping quiet about it) - picking someone at the top of a scale is as uncherrypicked as it gets...

Could you tell me what salary level has seen a 17% reduction in take-home pay in the past year?

The reality is that most public sector workers have seen big drops in the past year or so but it is just reversing the benchmarking which saw most get large increases in take-home pay in the preceding 3-4 years. Pay went unaffordably high and now it has to come back down to a level that the country can afford.

My overall view (hence request for examples to prove me wrong) is that, yes, some public sector workers are suffering but due to the same reasons as some others are suffering (poor choices, poor timing, overspending, overborrowing) - not because the public sector is being singled out for persecution.
 
orka said:
I have been looking for example because I don't want to cherrypick (or be accused of cherrypicking). If I wanted to cherry-pick, I would have picked someone still getting increments - they are doing fine (and keeping quiet about it) - picking someone at the top of a scale is as uncherrypicked as it gets...

Could you tell me what salary level has seen a 17% reduction in take-home pay in the past year?

The reality is that public sector workers have seen big drops in the past year or so but it is just reversing the benchmarking which saw most get large increases in take-home pay in the preceding 3-4 years. Pay went unaffordably high and now it has to come back down to a level that the country can afford.

My overall view (hence request for examples to prove me wrong) is that, yes, some public sector workers are suffering but due to the same reasons as some others are suffering (poor choices, poor timing, overspending, overborrowing) - not because the public sector is being singled out for persecution.
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. I'm personally down a few hundred every month which makes a big difference re my mortgage repayments. And I only have a 2 bedroom apartment in Firhouse so I didn't exactly go mad. And there's people who have taken bigger drops than me. So I don't think your comments are fair, but I think this argument has been done over and over and over so lets leave it as we're obviously not going to agree. This thread has gone way off point.
 
Ok, lets try to get the thread back on topic. Can those who have taken cuts let us know to what year's level their pay has dropped. I have posted that my pay is now at 2004 levels.
 
Roughly 2003/2004 levels but it feels like 1993 because I had no kids back in 03/04!
 
Net I am at 2005 levels. I am down 32% on my 2009 net - I got a big salary increase at the end of 2007 but I knew it would only last if things went well so I never really considered the extra 'mine' and didn't change much in my lifestyle because of it so I can live with the drop (still miss it though...)
 
OK, had a look. That was a truly horrifying exercise!

Checked turnover. Solicitor. Sole practitioner. Back to 2000 levels.

mf
 
I'm at the level I was at before I was made redundant in 2008. Between now and then I've taken a €5,000 cut and another €2,000 cut on top of that, I have been back to my 2008 level since May of this year. (Bear in mind I am only 23 so my starting salary back in 2008 may not have been as high as someone in the same position as me)
 
Actually doing better now than ever. Huge pension and don't have to worry about the stresses of work. Sorry to hear about all your difficulties.

Cheers

M. Fingleton
 
Sunny said:
Actually doing better now than ever. Huge pension and don't have to worry about the stresses of work. Sorry to hear about all your difficulties.

Cheers

M. Fingleton
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lol.

Have had no salary decrease (got 2% increase this year) so only down levies. However my husband is no longer working (health issues) so down one salary.
 
Salary static for the past couple of years so no decline in base rate. Changed industry in December 2008 and was lucky to get the same basic. Where I am down is my bonus which were huge at he height of the boom. We still got a bonus in 2010 though we did not get one in 2009.
 
Just looked at my wife's payslips over the past few years and took a mid year date in each. She works in the Public Service in junior management. Her take home pay now is less than she had in 2006 and a 0.75c per week more than in 2005. There have been no changes in deductions (just to keep matters straight) I calculated this is an 11% drop in take home pay.

Also, I had a look at my own pay. I am self employed and I pay myself a wage every week. My wages are up, but business has always been good. We made some decisions years ago regarding the business i.e maintain good service, good after sales, good customer relations without pandering and treat staff like humans. Furthermore, we tended by-in-large to do business with those who do business with me. I think we did a few things right and when dealing with prospects I always held the belief "The market place looks different from where the Customer stands" (Feargal Quinn from his book many years ago;excellent and easy read for anybody dealing for profit).

I know I am digressing now but most on here would not remember the early 70s. Now there was a recession (calling the period a resession was doing it a favour). Women in the Public Service had to resign from employment on marriage, for them the kitchen sink beckoned. Ireland was an emerging state and everybody was broke. Few cars were on the road. RTE television opened at 5.30pm and closed service at 11.30pm. There was hardly a penny about. That guy who wrote "Penny Apples" was a millionaire compared to the rest of us.

And you think were are in a recession . . .
 
Dropped about €60k on the stock market that I won't get back. Could have...should have.....but didn't ......sums it up.
 
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