http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8679222.stm


Well I expect some trouble here when they try that here.

I don't think I can agree with any of that

So what is so disagreeable for you?

Nearly all of it - 5%? That alone is taking the p1ss, before you even freeze the salary next year

I think that it is a tough step but it does depend on what is going on in the rest of the economy. If they are having big cuts and lay offs then the same must apply to the public sector as well. Spain is still suffering from the collapse of the spanish property bubble. In the last three months of 2008 only 135 homes were sole in the ENTIRE country. So many have homes that are worth much more than the value that they paid. Spain is like many countries in that is having a balance sheet recession and that take time to resolve itself. America will get through it faster because individuals are walking away from their mortgages at a very high rate. Though the losses are going to be transferred to the banks and ultimately the taxman. Spain may need to increase taxes as well.

Its what will happen here to. In the end you can either cut jobs or cut the amount you pay people.

Personally if work said we can either sack 5% of you or cut the wage bill by 5% for all I would agree to the 5% pay cut.

I honestly don't think even the new coalition would have the balls to take on the unions that way, and if they are serious about such matters in Spain, they should just be honest and stage the redundancies to allow for 'natural wastage' etc. But then they'd presumably have to pay out the money they're arseing about trying to save...

In the end, it would seem Spain has the same problems we have in the public sector (for how many years here did politicians of all colours promise to streamline the civil service?), but they'd be better in the long run taking a softer approach and doing it gradually* and as naturally as possible, than potentially feeding a riot situation. As would we if it came to it

* While maybe cutting MPs salaries? Or the amount of MPs? How about their little pet projects?

By cutting the numbers of MP's will mean that they have to cover more people and if you have ever been to an MP surgery, you will know that they are pretty overworked dealing with the problems of their constituents. It means that they get to meet them and actually get the reality of problems not what someone, like a party worker or focus group, has told them is the problem. The vast majority of the problems that they have to deal with are housing, whether private or public. So now the new MP's will get to find that out.