On Saturday, 29 November 2014 22:52:01 UTC, history wrote:
On 29/11/2014 17:16, Dawlish wrote:
On Saturday, November 29, 2014 4:51:38 PM UTC, wrote:
75% of Union members who voted in a recent indicative poll are in favour of
a strike over low pay.
The Union are now about to conduct a full postal ballot with a decision to
strike or not in January.
Go for it guys and good luck!

Will
--
http://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Hayt...antage_Pro.htm
Will Hand (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
---------------------------------------------

What's the average pay of a forecaster at the MetO?


And gold plated pension when they retire at 55 years old?

Yes whilst the state pension which most private sector worker depend on is moving towards seventy

I too would like to know the pay and conditions of UKMO employees.

Salary scales
Pay rises
Pensions
holidays
maternity and paternity
sick pay.

For example nearly all private sector workers are on six weeks full pay when sick and then half pay the next six.

I can warranty that with UKMO its more like six months full pay and six months half pay.

On Saturday, 29 November 2014 17:16:51 UTC, Dawlish wrote:
On Saturday, November 29, 2014 4:51:38 PM UTC, wrote:
75% of Union members who voted in a recent indicative poll are in favour of
a strike over low pay.
The Union are now about to conduct a full postal ballot with a decision to
strike or not in January.
Go for it guys and good luck!

Will
--
http://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Hayt...antage_Pro.htm
Will Hand (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
---------------------------------------------

What's the average pay of a forecaster at the MetO?

Starting at £22000 after training.
£28000 after 20 years.

Ben

On Saturday, 29 November 2014 22:57:31 UTC, Crusader wrote:
On Saturday, 29 November 2014 17:16:51 UTC, Dawlish wrote:
On Saturday, November 29, 2014 4:51:38 PM UTC, wrote:
75% of Union members who voted in a recent indicative poll are in favour of
a strike over low pay.
The Union are now about to conduct a full postal ballot with a decision to
strike or not in January.
Go for it guys and good luck!

Will
--
http://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Hayt...antage_Pro.htm
Will Hand (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
---------------------------------------------

What's the average pay of a forecaster at the MetO?

Starting at £22000 after training.
£28000 after 20 years.

Ben

Are these official figures, Ben? How much does the Met Office 'brand' make the government in terms of overseas contracts? How much have salaries increased in terms of inflation in the past 20 years?
We need more information before people can start commenting about how "well off" Met Office employees are. I would like to see those who do bring up a family of £28k a year...

--

------------------------------
This email was sent by a company owned by Pearson plc, registered office at
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL. Registered in England and Wales with company
number 53723.

There are "those" in the Met Office who bring up a family on less than £28k!

"Scott W" wrote in message
...

We need more information before people can start commenting about how "well
off" Met Office employees are.
============================

TBH it's always virtually impossible for an outsider to assess the true ins
and outs of an industrial pay dispute. At a guess, the Met Office scales are
still at least vaguely linked to whatever the Scientific Officer grades of
the Scientific Civil Service have morphed into over the years, and so will
be comparable to those employed by the various research councils and the
like. I'd also guess, though with zero inside knowledge, that the pension
scheme is probably still better than the average private sector scheme.

I'm really at a loss to know what the union think that a strike might
achieve? It's presumably likely to have only minimal impact other than as a
token gesture and to lose its members pay. The government cannot give in on
a dispute like this, when it would effectively also be forced into giving a
similar deal to comparable other swathes of the public sector. And all at a
time when economic growth is being crippled by a deficit that remains
stubbornly above £100B. That deficit just has to be brought down, for which
there's no other solution but continuing austerity. What would be the likely
result of a long-term strike? Presumably just driving more customers into
the hands of the commercial met sector. Is that really what the strikers
might want?

Pay scales sufficient to 'attract and retain' staff are the only benchmark
by which professional scales can be judged. If you feel that the grass is
greener elsewhere then find a job elsewhere. Once employers are faced with
the twin realities that they are losing valuable/experienced staff at too
high a rate and also unable to recruit new staff of sufficient calibre then
they will be forced to review the scales. If neither of those things is
happening (and as I say it's impossible for an outsider really to judge, the
only straw in the wind being that this doesn't seem to be the argument that
the union are making) then it's reasonably to conclude that the
accommodation to austerity is being managed successfully.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2014 16:33:06 -0000
"General" wrote:

Pay scales sufficient to 'attract and retain' staff are the only
benchmark by which professional scales can be judged. If you feel
that the grass is greener elsewhere then find a job elsewhere. Once
employers are faced with the twin realities that they are losing
valuable/experienced staff at too high a rate and also unable to
recruit new staff of sufficient calibre then they will be forced to
review the scales. If neither of those things is happening (and as I
say it's impossible for an outsider really to judge, the only straw
in the wind being that this doesn't seem to be the argument that the
union are making) then it's reasonably to conclude that the
accommodation to austerity is being managed successfully.

Years ago, there used to be pay comparison exercises with outside
industry. "Like-for-like" jobs were examined and pay scales compared. A
figure was arrived at for what outside scientists were paid and then
deductions were made to take account of, say, our non-contributory
"gold-plated pensions". This deduction for pensions twenty-odd years
ago was about 7% so if the equivalent pay was £10,000, the figure for
the CS would be £9,300. Before I retired, the non-contributory pension
figure was assessed at 10%. [We also had a contributory portion of 3%.]

There was one particular fly in the ointment - not just one but this
was the biggie. Since the government was one of the biggest employers
of scientists, the pay of non-government scientists was based on the pay
of government scientists which was based on the pay of non-government
scientists which was based . . .

So, when the pay of scientists both inside and outside of government
was stagnating due to this 3-card trick, where was the greener grass?

--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks.
[Retired meteorologist and computer programmer]
Posted with Claws: http://www.claws-mail.org/

On Sunday, November 30, 2014 4:33:12 PM UTC, General wrote:

"That deficit just has to be brought down, for which
there's no other solution but continuing austerity."

I don't agree that austerity is the only solution but that's probably a discussion for another time and place.


"Pay scales sufficient to 'attract and retain' staff are the onlybenchmark
by which professional scales can be judged. If you feel that the grass is
greener elsewhere then find a job elsewhere."

I can make no judgement about the Met Office's employment salaries and T&Cs, and how poor they may or may not be; but people may like to draw their own conclusions if I note that there is no stampede of Met Office meteorologists towards the private sector. We receive barely a trickle of applications..

Meteorology is generally not as well-paid a profession as it should be.

Stephen.

On Sunday, 30 November 2014 15:48:45 UTC, Scott W wrote:
On Saturday, 29 November 2014 22:57:31 UTC, Crusader wrote:
On Saturday, 29 November 2014 17:16:51 UTC, Dawlish wrote:
On Saturday, November 29, 2014 4:51:38 PM UTC, wrote:
75% of Union members who voted in a recent indicative poll are in favour of
a strike over low pay.
The Union are now about to conduct a full postal ballot with a decision to
strike or not in January.
Go for it guys and good luck!

Will
--
http://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Hayt...antage_Pro.htm
Will Hand (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
---------------------------------------------

What's the average pay of a forecaster at the MetO?

Starting at £22000 after training.
£28000 after 20 years.

Ben

Are these official figures, Ben? How much does the Met Office 'brand' make the government in terms of overseas contracts? How much have salaries increased in terms of inflation in the past 20 years?
We need more information before people can start commenting about how "well off" Met Office employees are. I would like to see those who do bring up a family of £28k a year...

--

------------------------------
This email was sent by a company owned by Pearson plc, registered office at
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL. Registered in England and Wales with company
number 53723.

These are actual figures based on my salary. Latest pay offer was 1% as an "average" across the staff in all areas.
And that is all for doing between 48 and 66 hours per week as we are always short staffed, especially in the winter.
Anyone want a fully trained Met man? Failing that, anyone want a Chauffer?

Ben

On Sunday, November 30, 2014 10:49:16 PM UTC, Crusader wrote:
On Sunday, 30 November 2014 15:48:45 UTC, Scott W wrote:
On Saturday, 29 November 2014 22:57:31 UTC, Crusader wrote:
On Saturday, 29 November 2014 17:16:51 UTC, Dawlish wrote:
On Saturday, November 29, 2014 4:51:38 PM UTC, wrote:
75% of Union members who voted in a recent indicative poll are in favour of
a strike over low pay.
The Union are now about to conduct a full postal ballot with a decision to
strike or not in January.
Go for it guys and good luck!

Will
--
http://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Hayt...antage_Pro.htm
Will Hand (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
---------------------------------------------

What's the average pay of a forecaster at the MetO?

Starting at £22000 after training.
£28000 after 20 years.

Ben

Are these official figures, Ben? How much does the Met Office 'brand' make the government in terms of overseas contracts? How much have salaries increased in terms of inflation in the past 20 years?
We need more information before people can start commenting about how "well off" Met Office employees are. I would like to see those who do bring up a family of £28k a year...

--

------------------------------
This email was sent by a company owned by Pearson plc, registered office at
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL. Registered in England and Wales with company
number 53723.

These are actual figures based on my salary. Latest pay offer was 1% as an "average" across the staff in all areas.
And that is all for doing between 48 and 66 hours per week as we are always short staffed, especially in the winter.
Anyone want a fully trained Met man? Failing that, anyone want a Chauffer?

Ben

You aren a nymshifter too.

If you don't like your job, or feel you are undervalued; change it.

On Sunday, November 30, 2014 10:49:16 PM UTC, Crusader wrote:

Anyone want a fully trained Met man?

===========

The private sector is of course always willing to look at excellent candidates. Seriously - investigate the major UK / European non-governmental weather service providers and see if they are recruiting.

Stephen.