You don’t think they’re in competition?

Why doesn’t the BIU use its considerable financial muscle to start a supermarket. It could charge fair prices, presumably significantly less than every other supermarket, and would provide a valuable service to the community. It could hire only Bermudians, and pay all its employees top wages, giving them 33 days vacation and 14 weeks sick pay a year, just like civil servants get.

Come on, BIUPLP, show us how it’s done.

So , keep raggin’ on about belco but don’t forget about rents , groceries (always increasing) and $10 a gallon gas.
Luxuries like cable , internet and to some degree cellphones , don’t hold your breath for real world pricing on them either.

BTW it isn’t really a 4.6% savings anyway, who is going to pick up the slack in work when the workers are sitting at home? A 4.6% pay cut is when you work the same hours and earn less money, not working less hours. Having 12 working days less a year will have a knock on affect somewhere…..

The comments about the private sector earning more money are ridiculous. Those jobs aren’t a birth right just because you are Bermudian. The people who have those jobs work 12 hour days, went to university to study for the position, continue to do exams to remain in those positions. For those of you who think you deserve the jobs then tell me how many insurance exams you have completed and how far along you are in the accountancy qualifications and then you will have an argument.

For the comments that will surely follow, yes I am Bermudian…….

I see.

In addition, you get 14 weeks sick leave a year. You have to get a doctor’s note? Big deal, so do I, for my maximum of 10 days sickleave a year (yes, 10 days, not 70 days). Getting a doctor’s note is easy, and worth the effort for another 14 weeks off.

There you go again. In the private sector EVERY level has been hurting, for years. EVERY level has seen cuts, downsizing, redundancies. No level has been protected. Yet in your mind thousands of public servants, even the ones who aren’t needed, should have guaranteed jobs and no impact on their pay.

In the private sector we’ve been seeing it for years.

And if you haven’t, maybe you’re in one of the few places where things have been rosy. Well good for you. For the rest of us, we’ve been dealing with reality, and it’s about time public servants have to deal with the same.

And yes, public servants DO get 14 weeks sick and up to 33 days vacation. You said : “Not until they have been there a very long time.” It takes 4 years to qualify for the 14 weeks sick leave. And vacations START at 19 days.

LOL

LOL

up to 5 years 19 days
5-10 years 21 days
10-15 years 24
15-20 years 27
20-25 years 29
25+ years 33

As for sick:
8 days uncertified sick. Any others have to be verified by a doctor. I never needed all 8.

But you certainly wouldn’t be able to just call in sick for 14 weeks of sick leave. It is a nice thing to have if you get cancer or some other long-term disease that keeps you out. I would rather be at work than get something that makes me sick for weeks or months.
On the other hand civil service don’t get bonuses, if you work hard you get more work given to you for the same pay, and only have the chance to move up when a spot above you becomes available when someone retires or resigns (neither are very often, especially now)

But noooo. The PLP was good at spending, spending and spending.

Duh, most people in the private sector are not CEOs; in the same way, most people in the public sector are not highly paid Permanent Secretaries! And NO most civil servants do not receive 6 weeks vacation, 14 weeks sick pay – not unless they’ve been there for a very long time. I worked in the public sector for a while, I was aware of the benefits.

I have no issue with Government making pay cuts – as long as it doesn’t affect the ordinary folks. Let people making over say $100,000 take a pay cut. They can afford it.

A change in the economy has impacted most countries worldwide, as well as Bermuda. So for the OBA to say it was due to the PLP, is a joke and lie at best.

Giving big business big tax cuts, food stores prices are higher, BELCO, telco, and others….yet nothing to the average man. This is a joke, folks WAKE UP TO THIS GOVERNMENT”S MADNESS

The PS make the highest wages in govt. So the government OBA has taken more from the poorer worker, rather than targeted those making above 80 per month.

The government has also failed to take part in the this “SHARED SACRIFICE”…only the poor worker has done this… look at the pay-checks of the government Ministers, the number of staff the Premier has, the number of trips taken by the OBA, the high number of monies spent on things that have nothing to do with building the economy. Hey OBA is even driving the GP cars now. How hypocritical of them.

Shared Sacrifice for whom and by whom is the key question many need to ask.

“When I see CEOs taking cuts, then yeah, I’ll agree.”

How convenient for you. For your information, most people in the private sector aren’t CEOs. We’re ordinary workers. What we don’t have is protected guaranteed employment, 6 weeks vacation, 14 weeks sick pay, and a day off in return for the pay cuts we’ve been getting.

You civil service people are the ones who live in an ivory tower. You have no idea what it is to struggle to keep a job in the real world.

Yeah, there have been redundancies and closures in the private sector, but I know for a fact that, for the most part
many companies HAVE been giving their employees increases in the past 6 years. Not only that, but the wages are higher in the private sector compared to the Government workers. I’m not talking about senior civil servants – I’m talking about the average worker NOT making six figures. So no, I don’t believe that, for the most part, the private sector is feeling all that much pain. When I see CEOs taking cuts, then yeah, I’ll agree.

NO SHARE SACRIFICE by the OBA just the poor WORKERS.
@ Tramsparency for Real!! excellent point of view.

Just curious.