Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[keith_d]

Health is a big chunk of government spending, almost 20% before the pandemic and potentially more now. So you can see why they might want a bit more control. But nobody wants politicians involved in managing anything important. They're even bigger a***holes than the people who currently run the NHS.

[embee]

“We trained hard—but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we were reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while actually producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.”

― Petronius Arbiter (AD22-67)

(actually no evidence it was written by Petronius, but that's irrelevant, the sentiment is still valid)
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/11/12/reorganizing/

[timwilky]

I work for a multinational, year on year reorganisation and redundancy. We have a current campaign although I have had a letter to say I am not at risk.

With my age/service the distributed terms indicate I am entitled to 68 weeks pay should I have been made redundant. But today I discovered a colleague in France who is younger with 2 years less service has just left with 40 Months salary. The comment being they have to buy out the rest of his service.

So my gripe. Why are UK labour laws so poor? I now understand wht the year on year workforce reductions never touched mainland europe. It is far cheaper to cut headcount in the UK, I understand the reverse argument that those high termination costs also reduced takeon, but I see the same reluctance in the UK where multinationals would rather hire contract labour than permanent. So even though we are not part of the EU any more, Why don't we start to put in place policies to protect UK jobs over those in France/Germany et al. The agreement we have is not to reduce labour laws, not to enhance them?

[DJ123]

It is odd we don't, when you consider a lot of Unions sponsor alot of the Political parties. I don't know why we never followed suit with Europe to protect the workforce more, and not make it so easy to make people redundant with so little 'compensation'.

[embee]

Take back control, regain sovereignty, sometimes we get what we wish for.

[Craig380]

Because people keep voting Conservative, and the aim of that party is to make the UK the equivalent of Singapore, a low-tax economy with a 'flexible' workforce - i.e. with no security and few rights.

[embee]

It's an interesting philosophy on immigration and jobs from this government. If foreign people are highly skilled and qualified they can come to the UK (on points) and take a high spec high paid job. This essentially by definition leaves more and more low spec low paid jobs and fewer top jobs for the domestic workforce. Is this really what the electorate thinks they have been voting for?

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by Craig380

Indeed. The whole point of the NHS' current structure is that there is a border between Government and the NHS to stop ministerial meddling (like Jeremy CHunt).

Unfortunately, a lot of people will swallow the line of 'putting it under closer control of the Government will safeguard it from being privatised.'

Just read a letter in my local paper from somebody criticising our local MP for voting against a proposal to exclude the NHS from any future trade deals. Sounds to me like the government can't be trusted to safeguard the NHS from privatisation !

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by svenrico

Just read a letter in my local paper from somebody criticising our local MP for voting against a proposal to exclude the NHS from any future trade deals. Sounds to me like the government can't be trusted to safeguard the NHS from privatisation !

think about it.. there is very little left to sell fire, ambulance, police and nhs. byby NHS its been nice knowing you.


if it goes the way of the usa look at how much it costs to have a baby......


i predict a riot.......

[ethariel]

Like the idea or loathe it, the funding for the NHS is not a bottomless cup and to be honest the cup ran dry decades ago.

Healthcare Trusts made stupid decisions like building new Hospitals under a PFI agreement to try to modernise creaky old infrastructure (and way too late realised just how bad a deal a PFI really is).

The current NHS is an administrative top heavy nightmare with many more staff in non clinical roles than you would expect, running on IT infrastructure a 30 year old wouldn't recognise.

Will it change overnight? - No, it will creep in over the next 10 to 30 years till only a basic NHS service is offered and anything above essentially life saving care will require a cash or insurance funded payment to process.

Just do not ever expect taxes to drop when NHS funding is dropped by 70 or 80% over that period as that 'Saving' will in all probability be paid to the companies offering said services as a backhander for doing so.

Am I wrong? - I truly hope I am but fear I am not.