Nah! – too obvious – I am convinced they were abducted by aliens. It’s the only feasible explanation!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

GA – that’s pretty fair summary of the current situation. The gap between those at the top in both the public and private sector and those further down the ladder seems to be widening whilst, as you say, inflation continues inexorably higher.

As I mentioned elsewhere I am one of many thousands of small businessmen struggling to keep the company going by reducing salaries, let alone freezing them, and years ago stopped our small company pension scheme as it had become unaffordable.

I have an uncanny knack of timing posts just as the site goes down for maintenance!!:(

Pagen – a Union leader this morning admitted that they need to accept that the pensions scheme will have to be downgraded.
Goes back to my earlier comment that Unions just enjoy a good scrap for scrapping sake.

The union leader was not by any chance Christine Blower, head of the NUT, who has reportedly been awarded a 10% rise taking her salary inclusive of benefits, to £140,000 p.a? I believe the average pay for a teacher is about £30,000……..

atr42 – “So when the recession is over and the private sector have vacancies at higher salaries what is the point of staying in the CS? I can see the better people disappearing and the CS struggling to cope”

Surely reduction of the CS to pre-Brown levels is where we need to be, isn’t? Too many people, many of dubious ability, present company excepted, of course, chasing too few bits of paper.

Yes, it is a good book!!:eek::)

Thank you very much indeed for posting that link. It says it all and there can be no room for doubt as to the reasons but also illustrates the need for better PR/Communication so that the ill-informed can be better informed.

If enthusiasts had a say in MoD decisions, I think I could imagine where we would be now!!;)

Chox – in no way wishing to rehearse our previous clashes about airshows, I suppose, picking up your point, you could say that by not displaying the Nimrod at Waddington the RAF is showing Joe public exactly what it is all about. I.e. it’s dead.