I’d rather pay firefighters

  • Posted by world
  • October 19, 2002

Than politicians. Firefighters confirm strike dates today. Little wonder really is it?
Am I the only person who thinks that politicians who vote themselves pay rises should not make comment on what other people are paid?
While we are on the subject am I the only person who is amazed how little a firefighter is paid? It amazes me that people who manage little pieces of paper in the city earn millions but people who risk their lives at work everyday to help others are paid thousands. Many people say shut up and stop whinging but if everyone did that who would fight our fires? Who would work in our emergency wards? Who would teach our children?
The world is making less and less sense to me as time goes on.

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October 19th, 2002
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Tristankwanyu
Posted on:
October 22, 2002 at 9:40 am

..what about the police, or hospital staff or or or.

So many people deserve so much more money, but c’mon, are you tellimg me my neighbour deserves £30`000 while i only get £15`000 for what i call a stressful job?

It might not be the same kind of stress, but it’s stress all the time and my neck is on the line everyday when i go into work.

I work 5 days on and get 2 days off, (not always together, not always at the weekend).

Is my life so cheap compared to a fireman.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
iain
Posted on:
October 24, 2002 at 4:34 am

Your life isn’t so cheap - no life is.

However I think you are missing my point - I was trying to demonstrate that currently our society values business leaders much higher than essential workers.

£15,000 is a pittance too. I’m just worried that especially in London we soon won’t have any nurses or doctors or firemen as the house prices are so high and wages are so low people are beginning to up and move.

I agree that firemen especially may not even work all of their shifts but simply be on call. I’d hate to try and compare what they do to any office job though.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Mark
Posted on:
October 26, 2002 at 1:51 am

I agree completely that firemen should be paid more, as should nurses and teachers, but to ask for a 40% wage increase is to completely ignore reality. In no other walk of life can an entire sector demand such a massive salary hike.

Yes, CEOs of blue chip companies give themselves extraordinary bonuses, but that’s a false comparison. CEOs are drawing money from their companies for whom they have performed measurably (share price, shareholder value, economic profit - there are loads of ways of quantifying what they add to their business). Firefighters can be measured against response time, success rate, etc, but it is our tax money which pays them, and our tax money which has to be diverted from other sources, whether it be defence, police, education, the environment, etc. It’s not really a question of public sector v private industry, it’s more a case of unreal expectation.

However, there is no argument that (a) firemen deserve more money, (b) the government should have addressed this problem far earlier in the year when the pay talks began, and (c) we vastly undervalue public service workers. Gordon Brown should be prioritising the public services as these affect our quality of life (and therefore our willingness to vote for whoever, on a cynical level) far more than foreign and defence policies.