Morale
Morale
Chinny,
You are correct that Civil Servants have had their pay frozen for 2 years. Whilst those at the higher end of the salary scale may have some degree of insulation from this, those in the middle to lower wage bracket are going to struggle, no question.
That having been said I personally believe the recent cuts to the forces allowances are frankly disgusting.
Comes from successive governments wanting to play on the world stage and only wanting to pay an Austin 7 budget for it!
Clear skies.
BL
You are correct that Civil Servants have had their pay frozen for 2 years. Whilst those at the higher end of the salary scale may have some degree of insulation from this, those in the middle to lower wage bracket are going to struggle, no question.
That having been said I personally believe the recent cuts to the forces allowances are frankly disgusting.
Comes from successive governments wanting to play on the world stage and only wanting to pay an Austin 7 budget for it!
Clear skies.
BL
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Covenant
Well done for starting this thread. With 34 years in I too am at or close to the end of my career. I am fortunate and earn enough to get by but for all the Soldiers Airmen and Sailors it is a different matter. The erosion of the terms and conditions for the Armed Forces is nothing short of a disaster for many families some of whom cannot earn a second wage (Germany etc). The accumulative effects of the pay freeze, income tax rises, national insurance contribution rises, withdrawal of child benefit (for some), the VAT rise, petrol prices and a high (?) RPI together with the reduction of allowances is a financial train crash. I am seething with contempt for all the "Leaders" who seek to rationalise the raping of a young families disposable income with puerile rhetoric designed to show them in a good light to their superiors and earn them honours and awards. Who is standing up for the little guys and girls? Somebody might well be but it’s not having any effect. Within my sphere of influence I now ensure that when in the UK the working day is tailored to allow maximum flexibility to the workforce so that they can help their families/partners. Where are the senior officers in all this? Anyone above 1 star should take a long look in the mirror and either start getting some b***s and speak out for the common man/woman or resign. Military Covenant? Don't make me laugh
Rant over...Almost, If the AFPRB puts up all the charges (quarters etc) without any uplift in wages then they have proven beyond doubt that they have lost any teeth the may of had.
Rant over...Almost, If the AFPRB puts up all the charges (quarters etc) without any uplift in wages then they have proven beyond doubt that they have lost any teeth the may of had.
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This is something that i pointed out a while ago...we've been operating in a state of overstretch for a while now (whatever the seniors say) and our continued output has been largely thanks to everyone going that extra mile.
The loyalty and pride that spurred that effort was once a 2-way thing. Not so much today!
IMNSHO, the government, even if they didn't cause it, are about to discover what happens when the elastic band snaps and slaps you in the face.
Not good.
The loyalty and pride that spurred that effort was once a 2-way thing. Not so much today!
IMNSHO, the government, even if they didn't cause it, are about to discover what happens when the elastic band snaps and slaps you in the face.
Not good.
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RAF Numbers
During the 70s and 80s we had thick end of 100,000 in the RAF and during this period we had up turns and down turns in the economy. During the bad times the RAF manning would remain stable, but during economic up turns especially when the Airlines were recruiting quite a few would leave. This was not a problem even when over a period 20,000 would leave the RAF, the remaining 80,000 would cope ok until the training system pumped out the replacements. But with an RAF of 30,000 folks and by the sound of it not buzzing with moral, one good upturn in the economy and its game over.
Or is this what they want, its an easy way of getting rid of the RAF and giving the remaining bits to the Army and RN
Or is this what they want, its an easy way of getting rid of the RAF and giving the remaining bits to the Army and RN
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The real danger to the RAF will not be precipitated by the people who leave but will appear later caused by the people who are left. This is what happened last time people left in droves because the good people with the initiative and ability to turn their careers around left and the dross stayed and got promoted. If you don't believe me, look at the leadership around you - they stayed.
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I too have done 21 years now and I have never seen it as bad as this. Out of all the crap that has happened the last 6 months the RAF has taken the biggest hit and I have never seen such a change in peoples view of the Air Force now. They are in serious trouble and I do not think there is any way out now. The next year is going to change the face of the RAF and its the ones that are hanging in to try and make a career that will get shafted over as they will yet again take on the extra burden of a constant reducing workforce. Something tells me this is the grand plan for the masters above to finally kill the Air Force and I can say 100% hand on my heart they have done that.
Its the poor souls that are left that will take the biggest hit.
Its the poor souls that are left that will take the biggest hit.
I applied for redundancy in the 2007/8 redundancy round and didn't get it, within 30 seconds of finding out I handed my PVR app to my boss. From chatting to the guys in PSF that day I found out I wasn't the only one to do so that week. The potential for redundancy gets people thinking about leaving, some even prepare to leave, i.e go to Uni in the evening, get professional quals, look for work etc. Once you've gone through this process the temptation to leave is great, especially if your prospects outside are good. Trouble is, it's an incredibly tough job market at the moment, think very carefully. You can guarantee the manpower planners will be modelling non-redundancy outflow from the RAF based upon previous redudancy rounds, so don't think you are inflicting a blow on the RAF, you aren't, you are merely doing what's expected.
Finally if you decide to leave, work like you've never worked before to make the transition, it's tough out there.
Finally if you decide to leave, work like you've never worked before to make the transition, it's tough out there.
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The real danger to the RAF will not be precipitated by the people who leave but will appear later caused by the people who are left. This is what happened last time people left in droves because the good people with the initiative and ability to turn their careers around left and the dross stayed and got promoted. If you don't believe me, look at the leadership around you - they stayed.
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How hard you work, how much money you make, what your goals are (inside our outside the RAF) are matters of personal philosophy. As MGD points out, buying into other peoples ideology of how the world works, or is supposed to work, simply leaves your destiny in other peoples hands.
Stay in and work your nuts off or stay in and put your feet up (The Bilko Approach) - it's your choice. And there is nothing on this thread whatsoever, that was not doing the rounds in the mid-seventies when I joined just after mass cutbacks.
Come out and work like a mortgage slave - why would anybody want to do that? Use your redundancy and/or resettlement allowances to find out what you really want do then learn how to earn money doing it. You might just find you can earn a s**tload of dosh without working hard at all.
Find a job you enjoy and you will never work again
Winston Churchill
Be your own person. Do what is best for you, your loved ones and your mates. **** the rest, because they will **** you in an eye blink.
Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for you country.
We all know who said that right...well this is what he had in mind when he was saying it..
YouTube - Nineteen - Paul Hardcastle
Stay in and work your nuts off or stay in and put your feet up (The Bilko Approach) - it's your choice. And there is nothing on this thread whatsoever, that was not doing the rounds in the mid-seventies when I joined just after mass cutbacks.
Come out and work like a mortgage slave - why would anybody want to do that? Use your redundancy and/or resettlement allowances to find out what you really want do then learn how to earn money doing it. You might just find you can earn a s**tload of dosh without working hard at all.
Find a job you enjoy and you will never work again
Winston Churchill
Be your own person. Do what is best for you, your loved ones and your mates. **** the rest, because they will **** you in an eye blink.
Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for you country.
We all know who said that right...well this is what he had in mind when he was saying it..
YouTube - Nineteen - Paul Hardcastle
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Dont moan do something about it.
Morale is low, staffs are fed up with what they know changing beyong all recognition. It is now just a job, there is no reward other than the respect of your peers and the fact that you are looking after those on ops. Secondary duties.............dont get me started cos if you have a really meaty one there arent enough lines in an ojar/sjar to acurately report on it as well as describe your primary role. Put that with te cut in allowances, tightening up of the rules and the senior staffs are telegraphing the fact that THIS IS NO LONGER A VOCATION - ITS A JOB. If my staff want to go home at 1630 and dont want any secondary duties because they arent worth the impact on their lives then the RAF will suffer and CAS etc only hae themselves to blame. Limited promotion, lack of flying and the penny pinching on AT will hit the experience levels hard as people take the family option.
There will always be those who will join but we will be relying on them and not the experience as it will be out of the door!
There will always be those who will join but we will be relying on them and not the experience as it will be out of the door!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
I think that many have made their decision already, but as they say in comedy, its all about timing.
The good guys left will no doubt make their decisions after the pension and SP reviews this spring.
The Bilko's have already voted for more of the same and someone elses recently abandoned seat on which to rest their feet during the working day.
Good luck to all of you, whatever your decision. Be aware though, we are all now on our own, so look after your mates and expect no help from above.
E & E rules now apply!
The good guys left will no doubt make their decisions after the pension and SP reviews this spring.
The Bilko's have already voted for more of the same and someone elses recently abandoned seat on which to rest their feet during the working day.
Good luck to all of you, whatever your decision. Be aware though, we are all now on our own, so look after your mates and expect no help from above.
E & E rules now apply!
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Good luck to all of you, whatever your decision. Be aware though, we are all now on our own, so look after your mates and expect no help from above.
E & E rules now apply!
E & E rules now apply!
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I am very sad to say that people influencing my life from within the service are arrogant self opinionated knobbers. Solution: First port of call will be redundancy and if that is not to be then PVR as I am not prepared to do what is being demanded of me. We are in a flat spin from which there is no recovery, and I am convinced that nobody really cares an iota.
There is sufficient nostalgia in my service career to feel absolutely gutted about what the RAF has become. The demise of the hardware I can live with; the selfish mindset of servicemen that the current situation is breading (like rabbits) is a bitter pill to swallow, however logical it may be. Summed up by an oft heard phrase: "Do you know; that if I am made redundant, it will not bother me".
There is sufficient nostalgia in my service career to feel absolutely gutted about what the RAF has become. The demise of the hardware I can live with; the selfish mindset of servicemen that the current situation is breading (like rabbits) is a bitter pill to swallow, however logical it may be. Summed up by an oft heard phrase: "Do you know; that if I am made redundant, it will not bother me".
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From my personal point of view, I have 2 months left to my 12 year point, when I will be leaving the service. On my shift at work, the amount of people leaving at their 9/12/22 year point is frightening. The AMM's on shift are disillusioned, and face massive cuts in numbers, some lads/lasses will be booted out after 4 years of service with a pittance. I have NEVER seem morale so low, people are doing anything to avoid spending an extra second in work, there is NO managemnt/ chain of command support, eveyone is in it for themselves...
I am very sad to be leaving, as there are some great great people I have had the pleasure to meet and work with (In all services), but at the same time overjoyed that I no longer have to deal with all the crap, and the tumbling standards and morale.
I will have fond memories, but it is most definatly time to leave, I just feel sorry for the troops that are left.
I am very sad to be leaving, as there are some great great people I have had the pleasure to meet and work with (In all services), but at the same time overjoyed that I no longer have to deal with all the crap, and the tumbling standards and morale.
I will have fond memories, but it is most definatly time to leave, I just feel sorry for the troops that are left.