National Strike updates/ watch/ News

[Dizzy28]

did wasa took the 5%?

Hoss it have full page colour ad in the papers with them signing the 5% increase for Wasa.

[S_2NR]

did wasa took the 5%?

really? in this day and age?

[gfbl]

I think anyone who strikes should be fired immediately.

There is a highly skilled and willing labor force waiting to replace all of them.

agreed

[teems1]

^^

exactly, elsewhere around the world people are accepting pay cuts, but thankful that they at least have a job in this economy.

only in trinidad you have gov't workers who demanding huge increases.

[sliderz1]

imo, the best timepieces money can buy. rolled over mine in a car park. dust it off, rinse and back on wrist

rolled over and still wukkin

hmmm.............

[*$kїđž!™]

thing is they want the 5% wage increase to be removed.....BUT....

the person they elected to represent them - Duke Watson - agreed to the 5% on their behalf!!!!!

so WTF they harassing the govt for and wanna shut down the country for???!?!?!?!

the offer of 5% was there and they accepted......!!!

they did their sheit by accepting it and wanna blame the govt .....Man thats plain Boldfaceness

they should deal with duke and their internal issues so when negotiation times comes back around they would not make that same mistake......

Its the Unions Internal Prob ...Not the Govt........

[Swisha]

thing is they want the 5% wage increase to be removed.....BUT....

the person they elected to represent them - Duke Watson - agreed to the 5% on their behalf!!!!!

so WTF they harassing the govt for and wanna shut down the country for???!?!?!?!

the offer of 5% was there and they accepted......!!!

they did their sheit by accepting it and wanna blame the govt .....Man thats plain Boldfaceness

they should deal with duke and their internal issues so when negotiation times comes back around they would not make that same mistake......

Its the Unions Internal Prob ...Not the Govt........

err Watson Duke only represents the PSA.

there are other unions still negotiating like TTUTA etc.

[*$kїđž!™]

yeah its the PSA I talking about dude

[Country_Bookie]

Canada is one of the G7 countries that almost fully recovered from the recession. The gov’t put a freeze on wages for all gov’t workers. The people understood what was going on and try to negotiate other non-monetary benefits like extra vacation days. Dem ent strike and say dey go mash up d country.
But I guess there’s a big difference between mature trade unions who understand the economic position the country was facing and willing to make compromises for the greater good of the country and a bunch of never see come see illiterates we have down here who only understand one thing “ GIWWE MOARRRRRR!!!!! WE WANT MOARRRRR!!!!!”

[Swisha]

yeah its the PSA I talking about dude

but the PSA is the only union NOT taking part in this national shutdown thing since they already settled for 5%

[AllTrac]

where is THE VOICE in all of this to protest Danraj affairs?

[Dizzy28]

Canada is one of the G7 countries that almost fully recovered from the recession. The gov’t put a freeze on wages for all gov’t workers. The people understood what was going on and try to negotiate other non-monetary benefits like extra vacation days. Dem ent strike and say dey go mash up d country.
But I guess there’s a big difference between mature trade unions who understand the economic position the country was facing and willing to make compromises for the greater good of the country and a bunch of never see come see illiterates we have down here who only understand one thing “ GIWWE MOARRRRRR!!!!! WE WANT MOARRRRR!!!!!”

Very salient point there.

[*$kїđž!™]

Bro we are livin in a third world country where ppl are uneducated......

ppl would steal a mans car just for his rims...and murder a man for a few dollars.......

u really think ppl would understand about economic policies and such?

come nah man........

[AllTrac]

Bro we are livin in a third world country where ppl are uneducated......

ppl would steal a mans car just for his rims...and murder a man for a few dollars.......

get better comparisons these things happen in first world countries every hour

[Strauss]

The unions need to negotiate other ways to increase their standards of living, not just flat pay increase that will just fuel wage-price spiral inflation.

Things like saving benefits, automobile purchases through government entities, real group plans for phone and internet, unit shares, stocks, discounts at top groceries and stores once you provide your employee ID, education grants, child day care services or discounts, separate house and travel allowances etc.

Because as more people get disposable income (cash), prices will go up because the demand for goods and services go up.

[K74T]

where is THE VOICE in all of this to protest Danraj affairs?

I heard he has a new sidekick now, Nar-boy Nari

[JoeBama]

lol some ah allyuh not easy yes......lol... seems nobody workin in the public sector here.... smh...

[Mr. Red Sleeper]

G-Shock

i have mine 4yrs now

mine. last christmas. strong as an ox

have mine since 2007 September, still running the original battery

Best investment(s) ever

Have abt 8 at home.
Reason for not using the others is because the rubber watchbands seem to burst after a while. Had those over a 12 yr period, 1 of which seems to have stopped working because of the battery.
These rubber watch bands have proven to be near impossible to procure both from overseas and locally.
The above watch ive had for almost 5 yrs now and i expect it to probally outlast me!

[JoeBama]

Bess watches dey boi! Love the Gold and titanium version...sweet look..

[sliderz1]

hhmmmm..........i check on that watch band sleeper....i'll get back to u

[K74T]

7 years and going strong, only changed battery once

[eliteauto]

Unions saying strike is inevitable now

[RBphoto]

From what I understand, TTUTA has a seperate collective agreement that their salaries be based on international standards, and not tied to the PSA. Can anyone verify this and give us an idea of what the international standard teaching salary should translate into percentage wage increase for them?

[Dizzy28]

As Greece's parliament holds a second vote on its controversial austerity programme, Manuela Saragosa reflects on the importance of the public sector to the Greek nation, and how it has helped the country move on from its dark past.

Vangelis is no ordinary Greek, About 10 years ago he did the unthinkable. He turned down a job at the Central Bank of Greece, an employer widely seen as offering the best perks and privileges in the Greek public sector.

So why did he say no?

"After I got my acceptance letter, I called up the personnel department at the Bank of Greece," he says.

"And I asked them, 'what will I be doing in my job there?'"

'Don't worry,' they answered, 'we'll find you something.'

"So I said, 'thank you, but no thank you, I won't be taking the job.'

"They said I was crazy. They were really shocked," he says.

Overstaffed and inefficient

To understand just how shocking that decision was requires a quick profile of Greece's overstaffed public sector. Up until now jobs in public institutions have been for life.

Early retirement is common.

GREEK PUBLIC SECTOR CUTS

The public sector wage bill will be cut by 770m euros in 2011, 600m euros in 2012, 448m euros in 2013, 300m euros in 2014 and 71m euros in 2015

Nominal public sector wages will be cut by 15%

Wages of employees of state-owned enterprises will be cut by 30% and there will be a cap on wages and bonuses

Only one in 10 civil servants retiring this year will be replaced and only one in 5 in coming years

Retirement packages are guaranteed and generous.

About one in every four working people is believed to work for the state in one form or another. No-one is quite sure about the exact figure.

Yet the Greek public sector ranks as one of the world's most inefficient.

Pay is generous in some departments.

As one Greek businessman pointed out - a cleaner at the Ministry of Finance earns as much as a manager in other ministries.

Greece's brightest young graduates all want to work for the civil service.

I met Nikos Sofianos, a Greek entrepreneur, at his wood-flooring showroom on a hot, sunny morning on the outskirts of Athens.

His sales have slumped as the Greek economy drags itself though its debt crisis.

He tells me the story of the 10 work placement interns he met when he used to sit on the board of an outfit called Invest in Greece, a body designed to encourage private investment.

One day he invited the interns into his office.

"These were some of the best graduates in the country," he says.

"All of them clever, top of their class. Good looking, too."

One by one he asked them what they hoped to achieve in their careers.

"All of them - every single one - wanted a job in the public sector," he says.

He shakes his head.

"I told them - you're crazy. Go out in the world. Do something productive in the real economy.

"But they just weren't interested."

Painful legacy

It would be too easy to dismiss these young graduates as lazy or un-ambitious.

But the public sector's appeal as the employer of choice for Greeks has its roots in much darker places.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou as a young boy posing together with his late father Andreas (right) and grandfather George (left) - both former Greek prime ministers
George Papandreou as a boy poses with his late father Andreas (r)

It goes back to the influence of Andreas Papandreou, Greece's first socialist prime minister - and father of the current prime minister George.

Papandreou Senior won a landslide victory in the general elections of 1981.

He wanted all those sidelined by the right-wing establishment to share in the country's wealth.

It meant bringing all those excluded from power after the 1946-1949 Civil War, and the dictatorship of the 1960s and 70s, into the warm and generous arms of the state.

Under his rule, the number of jobs in the public sector grew, as did wages, pensions and perks.

Supporters will argue it spawned a comfortable middle class among a people for whom the right-wing killings and arrests of the post-war era are still within living memory.

Critics will say it spawned a monster, a public sector that dished out jobs and privileges as political favours, unshackled from economic reality, and encouraging Greece to live way beyond its means.

All of which brings us back to Vangelis as he drinks his beer at the bar on the hotel rooftop in Athens.

He drains the last of his glass, and picks at the deep-fried halloumi nibbles.

Vangelis tells me he supports efforts to reform the Greek economy - but he is no right winger.

He understands Greek mistrust of the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Both are now demanding that the country take the axe to a public sector that has allowed so many Greeks to put their violent past behind them.

He turned down the job at the Bank of Greece because he wants his country to move on from such dependency on the state.

It has meant a smaller income in the private sector for him - and far less job security.

"It's hard," he shrugs.

"But Greece needs to go through this period of austerity if it wants to become a modern state."



This reminds anyone a little bit of Trinidad???

[RBphoto]

Not really, it states that they hire the best people in the public sector. Oil and gas keeps the best of us employed in the private sector.

[Dizzy28]

Nah man...have real Nat Schol winners in Mod Studies and thing in the Public Service

[shaq090]

this morning some parts of penal had no current.

ey i wuking powergen in penal and we have no issues here eh....yuh transformer musbe blow....but t&tec musbe on strike

[devrat]

Actually last week there was a number of outages each lasting 1-2 mins.....really annoying because you have to reset everything in the house.

[S_2NR]

current always goin in penal orr wa

[Samo]

this morning some parts of penal had no current.

ey i wuking powergen in penal and we have no issues here eh....yuh transformer musbe blow....but t&tec musbe on strike

an this was a while ago.