MSPs to get £3,000 pay increase next year
Discussion
How many minimum wage jobs come with the risk of being voted out of your job every 4 years, potentially as your boss has lost favour with the electorate? Or because those who are terminally hard of thinking believe drivel they read on social media of think all the countries ills are because of immigrants.
As with any profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones. I am aware that many believe "they are all the same", but that statement is painfully ignorant. Indeed through my work I have dealings with elected members and there are some who are very good, even if I personally completely disagree with their politics.
As with any profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones. I am aware that many believe "they are all the same", but that statement is painfully ignorant. Indeed through my work I have dealings with elected members and there are some who are very good, even if I personally completely disagree with their politics.
PaulD86 said:
How many minimum wage jobs come with the risk of being voted out of your job every 4 years, potentially as your boss has lost favour with the electorate? Or because those who are terminally hard of thinking believe drivel they read on social media of think all the countries ills are because of immigrants.
As with any profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones. I am aware that many believe "they are all the same", but that statement is painfully ignorant. Indeed through my work I have dealings with elected members and there are some who are very good, even if I personally completely disagree with their politics.
They will at least double their wage though via expenses and all their other perks.As with any profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones. I am aware that many believe "they are all the same", but that statement is painfully ignorant. Indeed through my work I have dealings with elected members and there are some who are very good, even if I personally completely disagree with their politics.
No comment on VFM from me.
TX.
PaulD86 said:
How many minimum wage jobs come with the risk of being voted out of your job every 4 years, potentially as your boss has lost favour with the electorate? Or because those who are terminally hard of thinking believe drivel they read on social media of think all the countries ills are because of immigrants.
As with any profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones. I am aware that many believe "they are all the same", but that statement is painfully ignorant. Indeed through my work I have dealings with elected members and there are some who are very good, even if I personally completely disagree with their politics.
Exactly. You also run the risk, as you say, of getting voted out of your job every 4 years, all for just 3 times the minimum wage.As with any profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones. I am aware that many believe "they are all the same", but that statement is painfully ignorant. Indeed through my work I have dealings with elected members and there are some who are very good, even if I personally completely disagree with their politics.
No wonder we get sure poor quality people attempting to run the country.
PaulD86 said:
How many minimum wage jobs come with the risk of being voted out of your job every 4 years, potentially as your boss has lost favour with the electorate? Or because those who are terminally hard of thinking believe drivel they read on social media of think all the countries ills are because of immigrants.
I would imagine most minimum wage workers would be very happy with a guaranteed job for 4 years, instead of the risk of losing it every week due to businesses closing hand over fist.Terminator X said:
They will at least double their wage though via expenses and all their other perks.
No comment on VFM from me.
TX.
I assume you aren't conflating expenses with additional disposable income. But you can download all expenses here if you want a look - https://data.parliament.scot/#/datasetsNo comment on VFM from me.
TX.
Are expenses abused by some? Sure. Is it exactly the same in the private sector? Absolutely.
cb31 said:
PaulD86 said:
How many minimum wage jobs come with the risk of being voted out of your job every 4 years, potentially as your boss has lost favour with the electorate? Or because those who are terminally hard of thinking believe drivel they read on social media of think all the countries ills are because of immigrants.
I would imagine most minimum wage workers would be very happy with a guaranteed job for 4 years, instead of the risk of losing it every week due to businesses closing hand over fist.There are few jobs with absolute job security, however an elected member is certainly very low on the scale.
Skyedriver said:
MSPs are to get a pay rise of more than £3,000 from April, the Scottish Parliament has confirmed.
And all just to double up on the MP's we already have. I wonder how much this who exercise has cost us since 1999 or whenever it was - £440 million on a meeting room, that was supposed to only be £40 million (still an extraordinary expensive meeting room....) and all downhill from that shaky start.PaulD86 said:
Yes, and I imagine many would not. There are plenty of people who spend their working life in minimum wage jobs, and many stay in the same job for a long time. And there isn't an educational barrier to entry as an MSP, so these people could apply for these jobs by standing for election if they wished.
There are few jobs with absolute job security, however an elected member is certainly very low on the scale.
I'm sorry but that is just rubbish. Can you name a single minimum wage job that has absolute security? Any business can go bust, especially with our current idiots in charge wrecking the economy, so you are looking at probably a months notice best case, a days notice worst case.There are few jobs with absolute job security, however an elected member is certainly very low on the scale.
A 4 year guaranteed cushy job and potentially 8, 12, 16, etc. years if they and their bosses do a good job is actually fantastic and nobody should be feeling sorry for them. After their 4/8/whatever years are up they can get a normal job again like everybody else. As they are probably outstanding individuals they would no doubt be in great demand after their public service and will easily waltz into a high paying job.
cb31 said:
PaulD86 said:
Yes, and I imagine many would not. There are plenty of people who spend their working life in minimum wage jobs, and many stay in the same job for a long time. And there isn't an educational barrier to entry as an MSP, so these people could apply for these jobs by standing for election if they wished.
There are few jobs with absolute job security, however an elected member is certainly very low on the scale.
I'm sorry but that is just rubbish. Can you name a single minimum wage job that has absolute security? Any business can go bust, especially with our current idiots in charge wrecking the economy, so you are looking at probably a months notice best case, a days notice worst case.There are few jobs with absolute job security, however an elected member is certainly very low on the scale.
A 4 year guaranteed cushy job and potentially 8, 12, 16, etc. years if they and their bosses do a good job is actually fantastic and nobody should be feeling sorry for them. After their 4/8/whatever years are up they can get a normal job again like everybody else. As they are probably outstanding individuals they would no doubt be in great demand after their public service and will easily waltz into a high paying job.
Anyway, I stated "there are few jobs with absolute security" which to be fair could probably be better put as "there a no jobs with absolute security", however whilst businesses have their ups and downs, jobs such as those in supermarkets, care etc can be relatively secure. Yes the big supermarkets are not immune to rounds of redundancy, however they offer pretty secure employment for many and are just one example. And I've seen the same faces in my local COOP, Tesco and Spar for years. Indeed there are still peeople working in my local shop who I worked with as a student north of 20 years ago. So yes, there are jobs out there with pretty reasonable security.
Skyedriver said:
Just thought I'd drop this here for those struggling along.
MSPs are to get a pay rise of more than £3,000 from April, the Scottish Parliament has confirmed.
The 4.3% increase will mean salaries increase from £74,507 to £77,710.
What's the issue? How much do you think they should be paid?MSPs are to get a pay rise of more than £3,000 from April, the Scottish Parliament has confirmed.
The 4.3% increase will mean salaries increase from £74,507 to £77,710.
PaulD86 said:
You may be sorry, but that is not "just rubbish". However your tone of response says a lot - "current idiots in charge wrecking the economy" - I look forward to you demonstrating with factual data evidence of the economy being wrecked. Tabloid journalism and what the village idiot put on "X" don't count. As a starter for conversation, below is a graph of GDP for the UK. Whilst admittedly only one of many ways of measuring economic performance, I am not seeing evidence of any great decline.
Anyway, I stated "there are few jobs with absolute security" which to be fair could probably be better put as "there a no jobs with absolute security", however whilst businesses have their ups and downs, jobs such as those in supermarkets, care etc can be relatively secure. Yes the big supermarkets are not immune to rounds of redundancy, however they offer pretty secure employment for many and are just one example. And I've seen the same faces in my local COOP, Tesco and Spar for years. Indeed there are still peeople working in my local shop who I worked with as a student north of 20 years ago. So yes, there are jobs out there with pretty reasonable security.
I'm fighting a losing battle here but the contracted security of 99.x% minimum wage jobs is between 1 day and 1 months notice. I'm not going to feel sorry for an MSP with a minimum 4 year contract notice period.Anyway, I stated "there are few jobs with absolute security" which to be fair could probably be better put as "there a no jobs with absolute security", however whilst businesses have their ups and downs, jobs such as those in supermarkets, care etc can be relatively secure. Yes the big supermarkets are not immune to rounds of redundancy, however they offer pretty secure employment for many and are just one example. And I've seen the same faces in my local COOP, Tesco and Spar for years. Indeed there are still peeople working in my local shop who I worked with as a student north of 20 years ago. So yes, there are jobs out there with pretty reasonable security.
As for your GDP graph, where do I start? GDP is influenced by population size, importing another 10m people since 2007 skews the figures somewhat. GDP per capita is a better measure of how wealthy people are and that shows a completely different picture. Look at this chart
So on your timescale a 6.7% increase from 2007 to 2024, 14 years or just less than .5% a year.
Now compare this to the USA over the same timescale
A slightly different 79% increase or 5.6% a year, over 10 times our growth. I remember going to cheap places like the USA or Australia many years ago, now they are extremely expensive for us as we are being left behind on the world stage. If you really can't see any decline in the economy then you must be living in an ivory tower.
Obviously this isn't all down to the current idiots in charge, however they are making things demonstrably worse rather than try and fix the damage which has already been done.
PaulD86 said:
Terminator X said:
They will at least double their wage though via expenses and all their other perks.
No comment on VFM from me.
TX.
I assume you aren't conflating expenses with additional disposable income. But you can download all expenses here if you want a look - https://data.parliament.scot/#/datasetsNo comment on VFM from me.
TX.
Are expenses abused by some? Sure. Is it exactly the same in the private sector? Absolutely.
"In 2024-25 the total costs reimbursed to or paid on behalf of Members, or borne by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) on behalf of Members, was £27.45 million"
129 Scottish MP's so an average of £212k each. Something is bumping up their overall package from "three times minimum wage" ...
TX.
Terminator X said:
I can't get any of that to download in a readable format. From their website though:
"In 2024-25 the total costs reimbursed to or paid on behalf of Members, or borne by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) on behalf of Members, was £27.45 million"
129 Scottish MP's so an average of £212k each. Something is bumping up their overall package from "three times minimum wage" ...
TX.
If it's the same as MPs, then they get an allowance to run their parliamentary office, so rent, rates, staff salaries and so on. And all of those costs get lumped in with an MPs salary. "In 2024-25 the total costs reimbursed to or paid on behalf of Members, or borne by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) on behalf of Members, was £27.45 million"
129 Scottish MP's so an average of £212k each. Something is bumping up their overall package from "three times minimum wage" ...
TX.
Same as hotel bills, train fares and so on.
Or do you think they get £212k in their pockets ?
cb31 said:
I'm fighting a losing battle here but the contracted security of 99.x% minimum wage jobs is between 1 day and 1 months notice. I'm not going to feel sorry for an MSP with a minimum 4 year contract notice period.
As for your GDP graph, where do I start? GDP is influenced by population size, importing another 10m people since 2007 skews the figures somewhat. GDP per capita is a better measure of how wealthy people are and that shows a completely different picture. Look at this chart
So on your timescale a 6.7% increase from 2007 to 2024, 14 years or just less than .5% a year.
Now compare this to the USA over the same timescale
A slightly different 79% increase or 5.6% a year, over 10 times our growth. I remember going to cheap places like the USA or Australia many years ago, now they are extremely expensive for us as we are being left behind on the world stage. If you really can't see any decline in the economy then you must be living in an ivory tower.
Obviously this isn't all down to the current idiots in charge, however they are making things demonstrably worse rather than try and fix the damage which has already been done.
So in summary, you haven't got evidence of the economy being destroyed. Other countries performing better is not the same thing and we can thank brexit for much of the recent economic slowing. As for your GDP graph, where do I start? GDP is influenced by population size, importing another 10m people since 2007 skews the figures somewhat. GDP per capita is a better measure of how wealthy people are and that shows a completely different picture. Look at this chart
So on your timescale a 6.7% increase from 2007 to 2024, 14 years or just less than .5% a year.
Now compare this to the USA over the same timescale
A slightly different 79% increase or 5.6% a year, over 10 times our growth. I remember going to cheap places like the USA or Australia many years ago, now they are extremely expensive for us as we are being left behind on the world stage. If you really can't see any decline in the economy then you must be living in an ivory tower.
Obviously this isn't all down to the current idiots in charge, however they are making things demonstrably worse rather than try and fix the damage which has already been done.
Terminator X said:
PaulD86 said:
Terminator X said:
They will at least double their wage though via expenses and all their other perks.
No comment on VFM from me.
TX.
I assume you aren't conflating expenses with additional disposable income. But you can download all expenses here if you want a look - https://data.parliament.scot/#/datasetsNo comment on VFM from me.
TX.
Are expenses abused by some? Sure. Is it exactly the same in the private sector? Absolutely.
"In 2024-25 the total costs reimbursed to or paid on behalf of Members, or borne by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) on behalf of Members, was £27.45 million"
129 Scottish MP's so an average of £212k each. Something is bumping up their overall package from "three times minimum wage" ...
TX.
PaulD86 said:
So in summary, you haven't got evidence of the economy being destroyed. Other countries performing better is not the same thing and we can thank brexit for much of the recent economic slowing.
I give up, you are exactly right, the economy is going great guns and the government couldn't be doing a better job.Gassing Station | Scotland | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff