The Gray Monk

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February 17, 2004

Strike? What strike?

Today 80,000 (some reports say (85,000) civil servants have gone on a 48 hour strike. Apart from the 5,000 odd learner drivers whose tests will now not happen today, I doubt if many people will even notice. Why are they striking? Well, it seems that most of them - and here its worth explaining that we have a three tier civil service; those at the top in "Grades", those in the middle rejoicing in titles like AA, AO, EO, HEO, SEO and so forth, and those like me who are "employed by the civil service", but can't move to another post or job - are in that middle band, and have at last realised that they are a semi-permanent underclass.

You see the upper echelons - Grades 1 to 7, are the people who inhabit the "management" and talk to the man who talks to the Minister. And they have, over the years made sure that they have had the cream while everyone below them has had to make do with the semi-skimmed or skimmed. Years of pay settlements based on percentage increases have sent the tope salaries rocketing while ensuring that the grunts in the lower echelons fall further and further behind. This applies to the "Honours" system as well. The guys at the top get all the top honours, the little people at the bottom are lucky to get a medal at all - usually its just the watch and the handshake.

The other trick that is played on these folk is the issue of "consolidation" of any increment they are given in the pay round. Say the award is for an increase of 3%, the Treasury then agrees the award, but then restricts the "consolidated" portion to 2%. The effect of this is to limit the overall award to 2% as the consolidation actually only increases the annual salary bands by that figure and not by 3% as agreed. This is done to limit the pensions liability among other neat little wheezes, but is always consolidated in a different manner above the Grade 7 level. In effect the grunts get 2% plus a small "bonus", the fat cats at the top get 3% and lets face it 3% of £70k is a great deal more than 3% of £20k which is the average level of the majority of those now on strike.

So now the "little" players have had enough. Sadly though, their jobs are the least likely to be missed - even though they are the only ones that actually do anything useful - and so, as An Englishmans Castle gleefully reports, they are probably now lining themselves up for the Blair/Brown axe.

If he can save £15 billion by axing 80,000 grunts, think how much could be saved by axing all the incompetents in the Grade 1 - 7 bands! Just for the record, someone on Grade 7 starts at £45k and it climbs from there.

Come on Tone, get real Gordon, let's be really creative - axe the lot! Contract it all the deLoitte Touche or Price Waterhouse - it has to be cheaper.

Posted by The Gray Monk at February 17, 2004 02:09 PM

Comments

Posted by: Ozguru at February 18, 2004 02:11 AM

Posted by: The Gray Monk at February 20, 2004 11:31 AM