duck
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Post by duck on Aug 6, 2022 15:05:06 GMT
5.5%  I became concerned in the late seventies/early eighties when my mortgage interest went over 16%.  I remember those days as well along with the 26% bridging loan that I had to take out on one property. Ahh the good old days when rates were killers. FWIW for the 25 years that I paid a mortgage the average rate paid by me was 8.7%. Anybody else remember getting 2 pay rises in a single year.
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agent69
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Post by agent69 on Aug 6, 2022 15:23:57 GMT
5.5% I became concerned in the late seventies/early eighties when my mortgage interest went over 16%. I remember those days as well along with the 26% bridging loan that I had to take out on one property. Ahh the good old days when rates were killers. FWIW for the 25 years that I paid a mortgage the average rate paid by me was 8.7%. Anybody else remember getting 2 pay rises in a single year. I remember getting no pay rise in 2 years
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Post by mostlywrong on Aug 6, 2022 15:54:29 GMT
I recall 4 pay rises in a year when things got really bad (1974-75?).
If I can find my payslips, I will confirm!
MW
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Post by bernythedolt on Aug 6, 2022 15:56:49 GMT
5.5% I became concerned in the late seventies/early eighties when my mortgage interest went over 16%. I remember those days as well along with the 26% bridging loan that I had to take out on one property. Ahh the good old days when rates were killers. FWIW for the 25 years that I paid a mortgage the average rate paid by me was 8.7%. Anybody else remember getting 2 pay rises in a single year. Yep, you guys did pretty well for rises, on the coat-tails of the militant power workers the government feared going on strike. My best mate was in the nuclear electricity safety industry, like yourself, and he remembers those pay rises well. His always outstripped mine handsomely every year, as he never tired of telling me!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2022 15:59:01 GMT
I remember never getting a pay rise year after year for the same corporation, one year they gave it to me and took it back within 2 weeks. I took that as a message, to go and find a better paid job and thereafter followed two policies.
Whenever I was thanked for a special piece of work, I thanked management for appreciating me and asked for a pay rise. Whenever I didn't get a pay rise, I thanked them again and began to look for another job. I don't know if the strategy was the right one, but after having the p@ s taken out of my pay packet for the first 8 years I earned it all back in the next 22 allowing me to retire at 50.
Feeling comfortable about changing jobs is a real eye-opener, while moving to earn money outside employment but while still working was the best decision I ever made.
micro-businesses should be encouraged by our government as they release the inner entrepreneur.
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Post by captainconfident on Aug 6, 2022 17:08:15 GMT
I remember those days as well along with the 26% bridging loan that I had to take out on one property. Ahh the good old days when rates were killers. FWIW for the 25 years that I paid a mortgage the average rate paid by me was 8.7%. Anybody else remember getting 2 pay rises in a single year. Yep, you guys did pretty well for rises, on the coat-tails of the militant power workers the government feared going on strike. My best mate was in the nuclear electricity safety industry, like yourself, and he remembers those pay rises well. His always outstripped mine handsomely every year, as he never tired of telling me! Wasn't that 'differentials', as in what is your strike about? As opposed to 'demarkation dispute'? It's hazy in my memory of the late 70's, but I thought maybe I should brush up on the lingo.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2022 17:20:59 GMT
While researching a train journey to Hull a few weeks ago I discovered that as part of the original deal in the 1850, one control building had to be manned at all times so the local lord could catch a train if he wished it.
some 170 years later and despite changes in law and technology that control building continues to be manned, heated etc to this day for enough men including 24/7 shifts holidays, sickness, overtime etc
On such wonders of the golden age of technology the British have to depend on.
My wife was associated with one of the many transfers of franchises as a lawyer. She had to spend a special week learning about the rules agreed between management and union over the past 160 years. Her high point was discovering "spoiled tea" which was/is a payment for when a person traveling back home from work and is delayed by a problem on the railways so that he cannot eat his supper at the normal time he gets a payment.
Who knows if this c@ p still happens, I assume so.
Think of the possible price reductions available on train tickets alone if this stuff was stopped.
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agent69
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Post by agent69 on Aug 6, 2022 17:57:39 GMT
Yep, you guys did pretty well for rises, on the coat-tails of the militant power workers the government feared going on strike. My best mate was in the nuclear electricity safety industry, like yourself, and he remembers those pay rises well. His always outstripped mine handsomely every year, as he never tired of telling me! Wasn't that 'differentials', as in what is your strike about? As opposed to ' demarkation dispute'? It's hazy in my memory of the late 70's, but I thought maybe I should brush up on the lingo. I remember the good old days of 'one man one job' back in the 70's.
If you were working with a piece of electrical equipment and the power plug became accidentaly dislodged you weren't allowed to plug it in again (as that would be taking somebody elses job). You had to wait for the electrical maintenance engineer to come to plug it in for you.
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agent69
Member of DD Central
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Post by agent69 on Aug 6, 2022 18:06:13 GMT
While researching a train journey to Hull a few weeks ago I discovered that as part of the original deal in the 1850, one control building had to manned at all times so the local lord could catch a train if he wished it.
some 170 years later and despite changes in law and technology that control building continues to be manned, heated etc to this day for enough men including 24/7 shifts holidays, sickness, overtime etc
On such wonders of the golden age of technology the British have to depend on.
My wife was associated with one of the many transfers of franchises as a lawyer. She had to spend a special week learning about the rules agreed between management and union over the past 160 years. Her high point was discovering "spoiled tea" which was/is a payment for when a person traveling back home from work and is delayed by a problem on the railways so that he cannot eat his supper at the normal time he gets a payment.
Who knows if this c@p still happens, I assume so.
Think of the possible price reductions available on train tickets alone if this stuff was stopped.
I think the railways are near the top of the stupidity league for restrictive practices.
- Best one I heard related to the transition from steam to electric / diesel locomotives. The steam engines needed a stoker to stoke the boiler and the unions insisted on them being retained even if there was no boiler to stoke.
- On a more up to date matter, I believe one of the current strike issues relates to maintenance crews. Currently crews specialise in a particular type of task and the unions are resisting the introduction of multi-disciplinary teams (one man one job by any other name).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2022 18:41:43 GMT
Takes me back. In the 90 s I had to wire in an electrical valve on a water supply.
So plumbers and electrical service staff.
A ten minute job took all morning. Power off, water connection, install electrical, install water valve, assembly, test electrical, test water supply.
After each action the crew walked back to their shop for tea and to change tools in the hands.
I saw this in Ilkley once. A fence had fallen down on the station. The fence team lived in Swindon. They traveled every day arriving in Ilkley at 11:30. They worked until 1 and had lunch, then worked until 3 before returning to Swindon.
A day's work took a week of extended hours
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keitha
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2024, hopefully the year I get out of P2P
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Post by keitha on Aug 8, 2022 9:36:53 GMT
5.5% I became concerned in the late seventies/early eighties when my mortgage interest went over 16%. I remember those days as well along with the 26% bridging loan that I had to take out on one property. Ahh the good old days when rates were killers. FWIW for the 25 years that I paid a mortgage the average rate paid by me was 8.7%. Anybody else remember getting 2 pay rises in a single year. Wasn't their a system in place then in some industries where when inflation was high a rise every so often was automatic ( I don't remember now if it was based on inflation being high or going over a threshold )
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keitha
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Post by keitha on Aug 8, 2022 10:06:12 GMT
I think the railways are near the top of the stupidity league for restrictive practices. - Best one I heard related to the transition from steam to electric / diesel locomotives. The steam engines needed a stoker to stoke the boiler and the unions insisted on them being retained even if there was no boiler to stoke.
- On a more up to date matter, I believe one of the current strike issues relates to maintenance crews. Currently crews specialise in a particular type of task and the unions are resisting the introduction of multi-disciplinary teams (one man one job by any other name).
LOL my uncle was a steam maintenance fitter for BR when they did away with steam trains he was made redundant. He never worked another day in his life, as he was a skilled worker ( He'd done an apprenticeship ) at that time the dole allowed him to refuse to take a job that wasn't in his speciality. The one man job is an oddity to the railways ( these days it was quite common 40 years ago ) as I understand it a team has to be at least 2 people to undertake a specific task, but it can't be a multi disciplinary team, and each team will travel in a separate vehicle. I believe they also have an insistence on jobs being done in series and work doesn't start until everyone is on site. So lets say a tree falls and damages a cable and blocks the line. 3 teams are sent Tree Surgeons, Line repair, and electrician. If the electricians arrive first they don't isolate the power until the others arrive. The Power is isolated, the tree guys remove the tree, the electricians repair the cable,and the line maintenance guys then check the line is OK, No thought that once the tree is off the line the line guy can look at it. The police have some peculiar practices too, if a detective is leaving the office at the end of his shift and the phone rings and he answers it, he gets a minimum 2 hours overtime even if the call last 2 minutes. They also have acting up rules so If the sergeant goes off sick the senior Constable acts as sergeant for the day the next ranking constable then acts as senior constable and so on, and they get paid the extra. The Housing payment was also a farce the Police agreed a housing payment "tax free", HMRC said no its taxable so what happened in reality year 1 payment of £2000 year 2 payment of £2000 plus £400 to Cover the tax in year 1 year 3 payment of £2000 plus £400 to Cover the tax in year 2, plus £80 to cover the tax on the £400 in year 2 this effectively continued ad infinitum
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duck
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Post by duck on Aug 8, 2022 10:43:19 GMT
..... The police have some peculiar practices too, ..... There was a great scam going on with 'Safety Camera Vans' here and in other parts of the country. Finish your shift and then take a camera van out. The law states that individual vehicles were to be targetted when the oficer had formed an opinion of excess speed. This would then be recorded (the camera is the corroboration the officers opinion is the primary evidence). It was soon realised that if you just set the video running it had 40 minutes recording time. So after 40 minutes it was back to base and the officer would be paid for another 8 hour shift ......
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Greenwood2
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Post by Greenwood2 on Aug 12, 2022 19:27:29 GMT
I think the railways are near the top of the stupidity league for restrictive practices. - Best one I heard related to the transition from steam to electric / diesel locomotives. The steam engines needed a stoker to stoke the boiler and the unions insisted on them being retained even if there was no boiler to stoke.
- On a more up to date matter, I believe one of the current strike issues relates to maintenance crews. Currently crews specialise in a particular type of task and the unions are resisting the introduction of multi-disciplinary teams (one man one job by any other name).
LOL my uncle was a steam maintenance fitter for BR when they did away with steam trains he was made redundant. He never worked another day in his life, as he was a skilled worker ( He'd done an apprenticeship ) at that time the dole allowed him to refuse to take a job that wasn't in his speciality. The one man job is an oddity to the railways ( these days it was quite common 40 years ago ) as I understand it a team has to be at least 2 people to undertake a specific task, but it can't be a multi disciplinary team, and each team will travel in a separate vehicle. I believe they also have an insistence on jobs being done in series and work doesn't start until everyone is on site. So lets say a tree falls and damages a cable and blocks the line. 3 teams are sent Tree Surgeons, Line repair, and electrician. If the electricians arrive first they don't isolate the power until the others arrive. The Power is isolated, the tree guys remove the tree, the electricians repair the cable,and the line maintenance guys then check the line is OK, No thought that once the tree is off the line the line guy can look at it. The police have some peculiar practices too, if a detective is leaving the office at the end of his shift and the phone rings and he answers it, he gets a minimum 2 hours overtime even if the call last 2 minutes. They also have acting up rules so If the sergeant goes off sick the senior Constable acts as sergeant for the day the next ranking constable then acts as senior constable and so on, and they get paid the extra. The Housing payment was also a farce the Police agreed a housing payment "tax free", HMRC said no its taxable so what happened in reality year 1 payment of £2000 year 2 payment of £2000 plus £400 to Cover the tax in year 1 year 3 payment of £2000 plus £400 to Cover the tax in year 2, plus £80 to cover the tax on the £400 in year 2 this effectively continued ad infinitum That seems perfectly reasonable.
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Post by overthehill on Aug 17, 2022 8:48:40 GMT
More than 50% of inflation directly due to oil, gas, fuel, electricity prices and arguably the other 50% indirectly due to oil, gas, fuel, electricity prices !
It doesn't help when the electricity price tracks gas price increases when only 1/3 of electricity in the UK is produced by gas. Consumer price gouging in full operation, not seen it mentioned. Not exactly a great advertisement for cheap, green, decentralised and secure renewable energy.
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