Category: Politics

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Pay

Nice to see that the Prime Minister thinks that it is right and proper to award public sector workers an annual pay rise that is less than inflation.
That means, in effect, that I will be getting a pay cut!
You can be sure that when it comes to MP’s pay rises that they will be above inflation and they will get a huge amount of extras. Mr. Brown, I’m sure, will be pleased to accept his pay package.

The other thing about working for the County is that pay scales and details of pay rises are not exactly well publicised. When I worked for Asda, although the pay was poor and rises were poor, at least you knew what you were getting and when. There was no doubt about what and when you were getting.
I think the Council could learn a thing or two!

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School Holidays

Well, we broke up on Friday and now have six week of holidays. Except we don’t!
In a school, there are three types of contracts.
  1. Teacher. You are employed on a full time (or part time), 52 weeks per year contract and get 13 weeks holiday.  You are not expected to work in the holidays (although to be fair some do).
  2. Full time support staff. You are employed on a full time, 52 weeks per year contract and get roughly 6 – 8 weeks holiday depending on length of service. You have to work in the holidays.
  3. Part time support staff. You are employed on a part time, 39 weeks a year contract (term time) and technically get no holidays as you are not employed for those weeks. However staff are paid over the full year.
The majority of non teaching staff are part time. In fact there are only 4/5 people, including me, in my school who are full time (one person remains to be seen!).

So why is it the majority of non teaching staff are part time? Cost of course, it’s a lot cheaper to not pay people for 13 weeks a year.
The other side of the coin is why are teachers paid for 52 weeks a year? I guess it’s all down the power of the teaching unions and the lack of power and interest from the unions representing the support staff.
Oh well, at least I’ve got a few quiet weeks before my hols!

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Terrorism, London, Glasgow, Chesterton & Bradwell!

Well it appear that some of the suspects from the weekends attacks in London and Glasgow lived in my area. In fact only a mile or so from where I live and very close to friends of mine!

What is it that makes doctors with a family want to blow people up and injure them? It can't be because they're Muslim, because Islam is supposed to be a peaceful religion. Like all religions I suppose, people interpret things in a way that suits them. Never heard of a Buddhist terrorist mind!

I feel sorry for the kiddies of these people. If they are involved (and we must assume innocent until proven guilty), what will it mean to them? Mummy and Daddy tried to blow people up!

Also, it seems that the local F***wits are out in force again by hurling abuse to any person who may be Muslim – makes you proud doesn't it? 😉

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Smoking

Well it's finally happened, smoking in public places is finally banned in England. Nice to see we're behind Ireland, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland though.
It will be nice to go into a pub or pub / restaurant without coming out smelling like an ashtray! There is an argument by the pro smoking lobby that it infringes their human rite to smoke. Tough! It's my right not have smoke blown at me. Even if there are non smoking sections, smoke always drifts.
It will be interesting to see what people say in the press over the next few days / weeks!
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Etruria and Longport

I've just noticed there is a comment on this post I made last year about Etruria station. I never did receive a reply to my letter. I suppose my MP didn't think it was worth bothering with as there is nothing that can be done now.
This still doesn't remove the fact that local public transport in this area is poor (to be polite). As mentioned in a previous post, Longport station is supposed to be having money spent on it to improve its condition. As far as I can tell after visiting it on two separate days last week that amounted to 2 new waiting shelters. One of which had some of the local Chavs in it sipping on their cheap lager! Tell them that people stand on stations for a hobby and they'd take the p**s! It's a great place to hang tho innit?
I digress! I still get the impression that no one in the Government or the Train Operating Companies really care about North Staffordshire. Longport still has a train to Stoke / Derby and Crewe every hour and the 2 trains to Manchester within half an hour of each other in the mornings and one at night from Manchester, but that's it. Hardly intensive is it? The Stoke – Stafford local service is still a bus and will be until 2009 (I think). There is a proposal for a Crewe – London service via North Staffs in 2009, which will stop at Alsager, Kidsgrove & Stone as well as Stoke, but although that will be quite useful, we still need a service for the local stations to Manchester. Well, to be honest we need a decent local service full stop!
Eighteen months ago I wrote to Central Trains about their awful service in this area and they replied that it wasn't their fault, it was the DfT's. This is despite the fact that they operated the services and asked for Etruria to be closed!
As an indicator of the Central Trains' attitude to this area, in a reply I got, I was told of the wonderful new Desiro service from Birmingham to Liverpool. Very good I replied, but as it doesn't come anywhere near North Staffordshire (well it does, but straight through as there are no stations between Stafford and Crewe!), what use was it to me? They didn't reply to that!
Central Trains are to lose their franchise in the next 6 – 12 months! 
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Election Results 3

Woo Hoo!!!! Wolstanton have kicked out Labour and voted in a Conservative Councillor! Good luck to her! There are going to be some serious sulks from Labour!

We only have to put up with the useless man on the County Council for another 2 years!

If my maths is working today, that puts Labour at 20 seats (lost 6), the Conservative at 20 seats (gained 3), the Lib Dems at 18 seats (gained 3) plus 2 UKIP (gained 1).
 
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Election Results 2

Still not yet fully declared, but Labour have lost 4 seats and gained none. There's been a couple of high profile losses again, which means there will be some major league sulks :'( in the press over the next few days from Labour! 
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Election Day

Well it’s election time again. I really hope that the Labour Councillors in Wolstanton and Bradwell get booted out as they make chocolate teapots look useful!

Oh well that’s what I think, just hope people at least go out and vote!

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Election Time is Here Again!

Well the Borough Council elections are next week and what’s happening?

Well we’ve had a leaflet from our sitting Conservative Councillor and he has always been good with communication. We’ve had a leaflet from the UKIP loony, and nothing else. Apparently, there are Labour and Lib Dem candidates but not that you’d realise!
Seems like Labour are still in a massive sulk as they lost last year :-). I can only hope they keep up their sulking and self destruct.

One thing that will be interesting is that in Wolstanton, my favourite County Councillor, who is also a Borough Councillor is also up for re-election. It’ll be funny if he gets kicked out!

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Wi-fi is dangerous say Teachers

Oh dear one of the teaching unions are now saying that Wi-fi networks in schools are potentially dangerous.

Some have also said that it causes pupils behaviour to become disruptive. If they really want to be concerned about these sort of things, then they'd better look into the 20 – 30 mobile phones that are already in each class!

There is a story I've heard, probably apocryphal, that an IT technician put a wireless access point into a classroom. A week later the teacher came to the tech saying that he was suffering from headaches and nausia and it must be the access point causing it. The technician said that it was doubtful as he had yet to turn it in!

😉

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MRSA

My Mum went to see a consultant yesterday as she has a hernia that needs operating on. She is, quite reasonably, worried about MRSA. Her consultant told her that as she's only going to be a day patient that it shouldn't be an issue.
What he did say though was that the number of nurses have decreased and the number of administrators have increased! So much so that it's the administrators who decide where cleaners go and where patients go on ward, not the doctors and nurses.
Which means in simple terms cross contamination is a major issue. It's all gone to pot in the last 8 years or so apparently.
So that would be only 2 years after Labour won power……..

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What Is the Country Coming To?

Labour seem to want to upset as many people as possible at the moment. Be it at a national level or local.
The Government have decided to give pay rises to nurses etc. lower than the rate of inflation! Makes me wonder how bad my pay ‘rise’ is going to be in April. You can bet that MPs award themselves a hefty pay rise!
The County Council have raised their Council Tax by over the rate of inflation, but Newcastle Borough Council have managed not to. Having said that, the Labour Councillors are saying that’s because they were in power last year! This came from my County Councillor who is also a neighbouring Borough Councillor. One of the other Labour lot said that if they’d still been in power, they would have had a lower increase, but declined to say what it would have been. This is the lot who increased the Council Tax by nearly twice the rate of inflation last year!

They still have it in their arrogant little heads that they should rule by divine right! Fools, they’re as useful as a chocolate teapot! 😉

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WHY?

Not content to be classed as being one of the worst places in the country to live, having the worst council and having one of the most incompetent county councils, now the Staffordshire Ambulance Service is to merge with the West Midlands one.
The thing is, our ambulance service is the best in the country and West Midlands, put simply – isn’t! So we get the short end of the straw – again…………