“Yes JC, it's scary but good to know that we can agree on wider-picture issues.

This is what Bath uni's head of HR says:

"You will appreciate that we have no knowledge of which of our staff are members of a trade union. UCU nationally are advising their members that they do not need to inform employers if they will be participating in strike action but have advised their members to inform their employers after the event when asked.
I would therefore ask you to notify your Head of Department by Friday 25 March 2011 if you have participated in strike action on either of these days.
Members of staff who decide to take strike action will be considered to be in breach of their contract of employment and the University will withhold 1/260th of their annual salary for each day of strike action...."

My feeling is that no one takes a decision to go on strike lightly. Perhaps the money stopped in wages makes up Glynis' bonus for not going on strike and "sailing the ship through a crisis?"”

“Hi Moe
thanks for claryfying that point. I quite understand, but I can't believe that the MOD is hopelessly understaffed. For what they do I would say they are staffed quite generously.
With regard to 10x well I pass no comment.
Do have a nice day today and I take quite a few of your points.
As a start I see the Doctors receptions are being phased out and we will now have to contact a central point somewhere in Gloucestershire. I can just imagine listening to a message press one for tonsillitis, two for breakages, three for pregnancy. four to listen to some music and hang on all day.”

“Happy days, the point I was trying to make is the MoD are now hopelessly understaffed for what they are required to do, with the inevitable result that everything is now outsourced at 10x the cost.

The reason the forces do not do all their procurement themselves is simply that we would need a lot more of them, they cost a lot more than civil servants, and they have better things to do.

That would be about as sensible as asking highly trained, highly paid GPs to do the work of NHS PCTs. Oh wait...”

“JC Bath,
well sort of an average day for us poor pensioners!
But I wish you well in what ever you are doing”

“HappyDays - Yes, another bright new day, I had better apologise for suggesting that you read the Sun or Mail, what was I thinking being THAT rude? The public sector ain't perfect, but looking at Northern Rock, RBS, Woollies, and current problems at JJB and HMV, neither is the private sector. It was nice having a 'full and frank' debate with you, and I hope George is kind to you today.
Anil - This habit of totally agreeing with you is getting really scary! Long may it continue.”

“".....Wonder if Glynis's pension is affected by this?"

JC- most definitely not. Glynis' pension and benefits will be protected no matter what. As insider says, it's a fundamentally corrupt system.

Writing a letter in the Observer with other VCs only served to show how desperate UK higher education has become. One thing that seems to be forgotten is that 30k gbp which each overseas student pays, in most eastern countries including my own, is about 3-4 years salary for average people. Charging that per student while getting a 260k per year salary with a heap of other benefits, seems obscene.

Also, the notion that UK higher education is the best is a fallacy. An Instant message I got from someone who has a senior job in one of my country's universities said:".....I used to think that my UK-educated colleagues were better than me. Having worked with them for a long time, I know they are not......."

If cutbacks and rationalising of pensions is needed, it should be done at the top, not at the hardworking level of 15-35k...”

“Good morning all, todays another day. I will just go and buy my paper on the way to my voluntary work which by the way is not the Daily Mail its the SUN .
Moe, thanks for your post , from your post it looks like there are a lot of non jobs in the MOD . Why don't we just cut out the middle man and have the army or the navy go straight to the supplier at least they would know what they want. I thought procurement sections were there to tell the supplier exactly what they want and the price should be the lowest quality tender but obviously this doesn't apply in the government circles.
JC I take your point and I accept that a lot of people do a lot of work supporting the troops. I too have worked in the companies I quoted and so I think we will have to beg to differ on this point.. Also I don't read the Daily Mail I read the Sun one day and The times another
Anway here yesterdays lesson take care and mind how you go.”

“@ Happy days - has it maybe occurred to you that the MoD are so apparently inept simply because they have no resources left to do the job properly? The MoD now exists only as a conduit to spend public money. All the things it used to do have now been outsourced in successive attempts to 'save money', no doubt in the bizarre belief that a private company, with profit margins, benefits and much higher overheads, can do a better job simply by virtue of 'being private'.

The MoD only exists now to place contracts. The terms of those contracts are written by private industry and the recipients of those contracts are private industry.

Private industry can be extremely efficient, but only at extracting money from the taxpayer. It could probably be very efficient at providing the 'right kind of landrovers' too, but the 'wrong kind of landrover' might be more profitable, and what private company in its right mind would write a requirement for an unprofitable kind of landrover?

Sadly, there's no-one left in the MoD to tell the difference; and thanks to this ridiculous government and the Daily Mail there are still people like yourself who advocate cutting even further.

As for the professionalism of private companies - you might have a point there, but then they get paid twice as much taxpayer's money to do it.”

“Happy days - Well, I think that insulting a lot of very hard-working people with trashy tabloid stereo-typing does count as rudeness.
I am proud of the work I do, proud of the achievents of the team I work with, I know we are making a difference to the troops, and I don't appreciate people like you making generalised insults based on Daily Mail propaganda. I work very closely with industry, and this vast difference is not noticable. And I personally have worked in private industry, and I lasted 27 years!!!”

“Pension? What pension? I think my so called pension went in to sum fiddling richy riches pocket many moons back. Years ago pension time was just a distant old persons problem; but as the days, months and decades went past faster and faster (by the secound) the time for a pension loomed ever closer! Then on my 61 b/day I checked to see what I would be worth on the great 65th year! Er, um weeeeell it seems mr Jack that over the last 20 years your pension 'fund' has pretty much gone south! This is due to deals that have gone bad and certain companies going out of business. In other words NA DA! The only pittance due to me is the government hand outs!
Ah well! Life is good and I've seen and done one heck of a lot.
So! As for those poor suckers fighting for their worth 'Good Luck'! Your gonna need it!”