Public Sector Workers Stop Moaning

You’ll have to excuse me a moment while I restring my violin. As I sit here and write this I’m weeping over the poor public sector workers who may, like the rest of us poor, mere mortals have to work a few years longer than anticipated.

It’s unbelievable, these people are never happy. Tax payers currently supplement public sector pensions – I saw a report on the news earlier about a teacher who currently pays 6.4% of her salary into her scheme and then me, the private sector idiot, adds a little bit more in the form of taxes.  So, as well as the 10% I put into my own pension (which is all me, by the way, no company opt-in over here, or tax payer supplements) I also have to pay for teachers’ retirement plans. Not only do they get better holidays and benefits than me, they also pick up a healthy retirement plan when they’re done with the classroom. Excuse me if listening to them whine gets me ever so slightly annoyed

Over the past two years, my own pension plan has dropped like a stone. The chart looks like an ad for the Wall Street crash. There’s only one way it’s going to get better more money and more time. My question is this: who has the worse deal, the teachers and other public sector workers who may have to work a few years longer than they planned, but retire nonetheless, and with a healthy nest egg too; or the private sector worker who will probably die in their job because the pension they’ve been paying into all their life will never pay out a sufficient sum to allow for a relaxing, enjoyable retirement.

One of the big complaints I’ve read today from the public sector is that many public sector workers took jobs in that sector on the understanding that although the money is worse, they would benefit in the future. That was their choice, but there are two fundamental errors in this thinking:

1.       The reason many public sector workers are in the public sector is because they couldn’t or didn’t want to cope with life in the private sector. And why would they? It’s not a particularly nice place.

2.       The money might be worse (compared to some private sector positions) but many of the benefits far outweigh that inconvenience.

Whatever way you cut it, the solution is simple - and here’s the kicker, this solution crosses the boundaries of public and private sector - quit and get a different job. Don’t moan, don’t strike. Change job if you really have to. Or just deal with it.

Times are tough, change is inevitable, let’s all do our bit.