16% pay cut over 5 years!
 

A pay freeze of two years is almost certainly going to be followed by a max 1% pay rise (gesture) for the following two years. This effectivey means that the Armed Forces will have received a 16% pay cut over a five year period. This assumption is based upon the Armed Forces being treated the same as Public Sector workers.

Crewroom chat had suggested that after a two year (over three year period) pay freeze, the Government would be obliged to catch-up the drag curve with a generous pay rise; how wrong was that assumption?

As the ingredients to these assumptions were voiced in the House of Commons today; I anticipate that many people scheduled to reach a 'natural break' in the next five years may make tranche two of the redundancy program an easy task to complete.

Of course the cost of living is also on hold what with fuel prices and the hidden taxation therein........ :bored:

and in the interim, I just put less and less effort in at work, leaving off as early as possible!

Out of interest, how have you arrived at 16%? Is that based on inflation staying at 5% over the next 2 years?

Yet benefits are going up by 5.2% inline with inflation.

16% over 5 years gives an average of 3.2% per year - seems a reasonable approximation and is below what I used when I did the same calculation this afternoon. Bizarrely, I also couldn't help thinking that if I pulled the plug now, my pension would go up 5.2% in April. We are certainly living in interesting times....

My enthusiasm for 'going the extra mile' has also lessened noticeably over the last 12 months. I think it bodes ill for the future - I don't know anyone who hasn't run their details through the redundancy calc in the last month or so - standby for a complete collapse of morale.

Standby? You must be a Senior Officer. Morale has already completely collapsed.

Its even worse for the MOD CS - the military have at least got their in year increment rises. The MOD used to get them, but instead had progression frozen under the last pay rise.

Today we discovered we're only getting a 1% payrise as according to the Chancellor we should have been rising through the payspine progression for the last 2 years, so only need 1% to make up.

Well think carefully if you imagine that by resigning and going to the private sector the future will be brighter!

Hey guys, welcome to the real world. Those of us who have been out for a few years are only too aware of the financial climate

..... and before anyone start about troops being worked harder than ever, operational tempo etc, the reality is that there is no money. Period.

Spot on CGW, not all of us get a raise every year, so welcome to the real world.

As a few have intimated already:

Our blessed country is BROKE; the Eurozone might shortly go down the pan (pulling our exports/revenue/economic growth even further down with it) and the outlook is a stark realisation that things are, on a balance of probability, going to get worse before they get better.

Taking heads out of the sand, realising that we're paid pretty well compared to some sectors (after all YOU volunteered for public sector work!) and not moaning about a pay freeze and a 1% gesture is wise right now.

Get real or get out, quite frankly. You'll be lucky to get a job on the outside over the next few years..

..and ICBM sums up the public's view of the Armed Forces and any form of implied 'covenant'. Die for us, but don't expect to be paid by us.

...or, I rather take the view that no matter how much is pushed our way there will always be those who demand more pay. I'm sorry I cannot join your crusade bemoaning a 1% gesture (unconfirmed btw)

I would, however, completely support an enhancement to the Op Allowance thereby giving extra benefit to those who put their lives on the line on Ops and not to those who always find a reason to not deploy; that gets my vote!

JTO, I like CGB are ex RAF, so you are preaching to the converted, however the expect to die for us but not get paid by us gets old, does that fact, automatically mean you should get pay rises regardless because of that fact? As said Operational allowances are for that, Not your core wage, if anything as said raise those.

It is the same with the likes of immigration staff striking because of the Government and their pensions, the Country cannot afford them, hence why the retirement age is being pushed upwards... But what really does pee me off is the fact that bloody MP's get their pension upon being ousted from Parliament, they to should have to wait until the retirement age.

:D:D:D:D:DHow many times stiffed whilst others sat back with that @@dodgy@@ knee or @@bad@@ back??

Nutloose - In the decade I've been serving I've lost 5 good friends and 3 other colleagues in service. None of them has died on ops, so while I'd suggest that yes, op bonus is valuable (particularly to those in green) saying that is the sole solution is a bit simplistic.

Op allowance current arrangements don't cut it for me. Why should some raging bluntie at bastion be entitled to the same as a patrolling soldier? Just because they both spend 6 months away from family. I don't think so. The elephant in the govt/MOD is that we cannot live within our means whilst still in Afghanistan.....we don't want to admit it because if we pull out then we are ripe for more of HM cricket bat in the one-way valve.

I see where you are coming from, I too lost friends whilst serving, again not on Ops, but in the same respect I have also lost friends outside the Forces since, the one fact in life is death, in the services Operational allowances are there specifically for that, to supplement a wage to cover operations, if anything should be boosted it should be that.

If we dont like it, we can all leave and join the private sector if we think they are much better off.

Having said that, you gets what you pays for, if they think its going to be "maximal effort" they can think again.

No Bucks? No Buck Rogers!

fin1012,
Hope you are not going to PVR without telling me first. Don't forget those 3 means of communication!;)