Burnley Council going on strike - 23rd March

Originally Posted by Mattylad

Yeah, that's where I keep seeing him, with his shopping in hand :D

Horrid lying man..... just like his crony boss.

how come you think he is a 'horrid lying man'? What's he lied to you about?

[Robert]

I'm not bothered anyway, keep Caddy on his toes by saying we don't like him for this coming election. If Birtwistle wins, Labour will crumble next year in the council elections. The County Council elections this year should be interesting.

I suppose the council are lieing anyway with their slogan

"Where everybody counts"

[wayneyboy1942]

I'm a bit confused here? The strike in March is a nation wide one with all the public sevice unions(about five) joining forces to oppose the change's to our pensions. Is Burnley council on strike because of something else? If Snowy is reading this how do people in Canada get on for pensions? I once worked with someone from the Rep of Ireland who said that you paid alot more tax there, but when you retired you got better looked after, with better pensions,free bus fares phone charges and heating,this was years ago so it may not be the same now. The state pension is about £78 quid and most of us would like to finish at 65yrs but it may well be wishful thinking! :(

[snowy]

In Canada the retirement pension age is 65 for both men and women. The taxes here are probably as high as in England.The big difference here I think is that the cost of most things are a lot cheaper than over there and although the pensions are about the same,the cost of buying things is cheaper in a lot of respects. Our taxes for the house to the council are about 800 pounds a year. I dont know if thats cheaper than there. Petrol is about 38 pence a litre. Potatoes about 80p for 10lb. Bread about 40p a loaf. Cars are about half price what you pay there. Best cuts of beef and pork about 1.50 a pound mostly when on sale.
Levi jeans about 17 pound a pair. I could go on for a while but I am not sure what you pay over there for this kind of stuff. The total pension for one person is about 100 pound a week but I also have a pension from where I used to work of about 60 pound a week. The health service is free and there are no extra fees to see a specialist as it is illegal over here.Everyone gets the same treatment. I'd be willing to post information on any questions anyone may ask as to the differences between England and Canada.:)

[wayneyboy1942]

Thanks for that Snowy mate! :) Sounds like your beter off there even if it's colder than here in winter! Might end up there myself! ;) :)

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Burnley_Lad

Council workers are going on strike on 23rd March over pensions... what do you think of this?

How will will be able to tell the difference, they never answer the phone when I ring any way

Brian ;)

Originally Posted by Brian

How will will be able to tell the difference, they never answer the phone when I ring any way

Brian ;)

are you Brian Fenn?

[Robert]

It's a no win situation really, the government are going to pay out pensions based on average wages and not last year of work payment and people are going to be facing wage cuts. While there's quite a few people involved in micky mouse projects, the rest of you who do all the nitty gritty work deserve not to be treated like crap. I can't see how the unions who historically back Labour will take this action too far but will use this to flex their muscles and hope that they (the union leaders) will get lots of money to support the union on re-election of Labour. It'll be like the fire-fighters strikes, it'll get nowhere unless and this is where it should be different, the grass roots workers don't huddle round an oil drum picketing, ignore any union pressure to back down after they've had publicity and a flex of their muscles, and to continue fighting for decent pay. We wouldn't be in this situation if there weren't so many daft organisations about and money being wasted on the wages and admin there. If these workers really wanted to, they could bring this government down before the election and get the wages they deserve and the union leaders might wake up and smell the coffee instead of having alternate agendas.

A bit of people power eh?

[wayneyboy1942]

I think the strikes been called off,but if it's just a staling tatic to get the election out of the way first then it would'nt surprise me,but the main point needs to be sorted, who wants a crap pension? why pay for a pension you may not see? As it is now your no better off paying into one than not bothering,as the song say's "It's later than you think!" :(

[silverscrim]

i think the pension they get in local govenment are quite good and protected, a mate of mine works for the LCC, says its a good one that is the reason for the strike

[Mattylad]

Its far better than the pension that I get from my employers.

You should all think yourselves lucky that you get a pension at all, I'll be having to rely on the state when I retire as I cannot afford one, never could & now I'd have to pay so much that I'd not be able to eat now let alone when I retire.

The government should have forced employers to provide pensions many years ago.

[wayneyboy1942]

I think they will have to Matty as there are loads of people who don't save for a pension because their employer does'nt run one,the strike would have called out loads of low paid staff,home care,dinner ladies etc we are'nt all over paid,I'm not bleating just stating my view,the pension is the only perk we have, the pay tends to be low in most public secter jobs,and we get a better pension scheame than most,to make up for it , we pay for it out of our wages, they don't give it to us out of the kindness of their hearts.

[Jason]

Council tax payers face a "ticking timebomb" with a post-General Election revaluation of homes set to usher in much higher bills for many, the opposition parties warned.

The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats issued the warning as the Government confirmed that next year in England the tax will rise by an average of £47 on a typical home.

At the same time, ministers began moves to "cap" nine councils for putting forward "excessive" increases.

The Local Government Association voiced "bitter frustration" at the capping announcement, with its chairman warning that Government-imposed responsibilities mean that local authorities face a £1.5 billion "black hole" in their budgets for next year which could necessitate further bill increases.

On next year's figures, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said that the bill for two adults living in a band D property will increase by 4.1% from £1,167 to £1,214 in 2005-6.

Average band D council taxes will be £1,162 in London, £1,234 in shire areas and £1,190 in metropolitan areas. In England, the average bill per dwelling - a different calculation - will be £1,009 in 2005-6, up from £967 the previous year. In London, that figure will be £1,078, in the shires £1,048 and in metropolitan areas £840.

The tax has become a key pre-election issue, with Tories offering pensioners a rebate of up to £500. Chancellor Gordon Brown responded with a one-off £200 payment for pensioners to help with bills.

The Liberal Democrats propose replacing council tax with a local income tax.

The main opposition parties criticised the way the tax has risen under the Labour Government - and warned that the planned revaluation of properties will produce significant new rises.

Council tax currently based on 1991 prices is to be recalculated on the value at April 1 2005.