Canadians' standard of living drops below the US

[LotusLandLunatic]

You said ....

I'm sorry, I didn't mean that! (and that applies to ANYTHING that I ever said that bugs you)

Please don't have me banned. PLeeease!

[Montgomery Burns]

You said ....

I'm sorry, I didn't mean that! (and that applies to ANYTHING that I ever said that bugs you)

Please don't have me banned. PLeeease!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you have me confused with Cartman. He is the one who wants people punted for pointing out bad behaviour about liberals, and for using words like socialist, etc.

[Montgomery Burns]

But the bureaucracy is not the astest growing segment of Canadian employment. I have given the figures on that a couple of times. It has not growm proportionately to the population growth.

It is so fashionable to attack government workers who are, in my experience, at least as hard working, and hard worked, as any in the Private sector. I even think that government workers are more productive than private since, at the field level, there is less time wasted on "office politics."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have seen figures that show that govt is growing far greater proportionately than the population growth.

There are many good hard-working govt workers, but there are also many slackers who are protected by their union. And the monopoly nature of govt makes them inefficient since they have no competition. I have a friend who works for the feds and she said they always take 30 to 40 minute coffee breaks. When I asked her what her supervisor says about that, she replied that the supervisor is right there with her and the rest of the dept. They also take 45 to 60 minutes (instead of 30 mins) for lunch each day. Assuming that the entire dept does this, it is a gross waste of taxpayer money as my friend makes a good salary and has good benefits.

It is a reasonable assumption that each person in that dept slacks off 1 hour per day on the taxpayer's dime. That would never fly in the private sector.

[Montgomery Burns]

Dear eureka,

I even think that government workers are more productive than private since,

I agree with your statement that many gov't workers are 'hard workers', as I know several. This statement, though, I disagree with. It is not because they are gov't employees, though, but because they are unionized employees.

I had, some time ago, applied for a job with a 'national railway company', which was a union job. They asked the strangest questions at the interview...for example, "What would you do if a fellow employee said "slow down, you are working too fast and making the rest of us look bad...." (followed by a multiple choice of: slow down, ignore them, rat on them...(in fact, a lot of the questions had the same choices for the answers)

A long-time friend of mine once had a job with the old ALCB back in the 80's. There was no work for him to do one day, so they put him in the bottle depot to give him some hours...the person he was working with told him several times, "Slow down, we have to make this last all day" and, of course they could not be fired for being 'slow', and were making, as union employees, on loan from another, higher paying department, more than double what a regular 'bottle sorter' would make.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know a guy who works in an unionized grocery warehouse. You are expected to pick about 1000 pieces per day. However one guy - a slacker - only picks about half that amount. My friend tells me that they have one employee who is slightly disabled (apparently one of his hands is gimped, excuse my un-PCness) and he picks about 700 to 750 pieces a day, i.e., he pulls his weight for a guy with a disability. However, Mr. 500 Pieces Per Day cannot be fired because the union protects him.

It's unfair to the company when something like this happens.

[Guest eureka]

I have posted the actual figures. Government employment - all levels - peaked in 1993 under Mulroney and is not yet back to that level.

I also know a guy. I shall burn him an Nov. 5th.

[LotusLandLunatic]

I know a guy who works in an unionized grocery warehouse.  You are expected to pick about 1000 pieces per day.  However one guy - a slacker - only picks about half that amount.  My friend tells me that they have one employee who is slightly disabled (apparently one of his hands is gimped, excuse my un-PCness) and he picks about 700 to 750 pieces a day, i.e., he pulls his weight for a guy with a disability.  However, Mr. 500 Pieces Per Day cannot be fired because the union protects him.

It's unfair to the company when something like this happens.

But you don't KNOW if he is a slacker! He could be just MENTALLY slightly disabled, thus having to take extra time to figure WHICH pieces to pick, and WHERE to drop them.

DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?!

Did your mum ever tell you tell you that Sinterklaas (Dutch), Santa Claus (English), Santa Clause (Czecho) will not bring you any gifts just because you're slightly dumb?

I didn't think so.

That Grocers Union, obviously, managed to put in in the contract a clause that Czechos invented, called the "Santa Clause Clause" (YES THAT'S WHERE THE WORD "CLAUSE" CAME FROM !!!), the clause that started the whole Communist movement (work according to your ability & receive according to your needs), the clause that states that the company ..."CAN NOT judge their employees on performance" ... . It is there to protect the workers whose disabilities can not be seen by the naked eye from employers who like to jump to the conclusion that the guy/gal must be a slacker.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that our Liberal government ain't ALL that bad.

I'd better stop thinking!

[LotusLandLunatic]

I have a friend

I don't believe you!

I have a friend who works

I don't believe that either!

I have a friend who works for the feds

I CAN BELIEVE THAT!

There are many good hard-working govt workers

Sure ...... sure there are!

[Montgomery Burns]

LotusLandLunatic:

I'd better stop thinking!

Is that what you call it?

[LotusLandLunatic]

Is that what you call it? 

Not really!

It's more like "natural instinct" as you dreamers like to call it.