We're all in this together

Many many people have had to work from home who genuinely haven't the initial budget, or an additional allowance to do so. Commercial people have done so for a long time.
MP's getting £10k more is not a lot in the grand scheme of things I agree, but is impossible to justify on any level.
All sorts of people who are largely home based have incredible levels of sensitive info and no financial payment for being where they are.
It was an ill judged move.
 
When they were doing the Grenfell investigation the boss of the fire brigade would have been crucified if she had suggested the response would have been better had the London fire brigades been better funded.

Even more so if they spoke about illegal subletting of flats and lack of local authority enforced fire prevention measures. The cladding was just part of that.
 
Many many people have had to work from home who genuinely haven't the initial budget, or an additional allowance to do so. Commercial people have done so for a long time.

The public sector should set an example. Many people in the private sector don't get pensions, sick pay, holidays above the minimum etc. That isn't where the bar should be set. The private sector will always get away with as little as possible.

MPs aren't getting more money. Their budgets are expanded to make remote working possible just like the NHS has. I work in an NHS finance department and I've already mentioned how we have had our budgets relaxed in the same way. We have increased budgets for equipment, got rid of loads of red tape on tendering etc so we can get equipment and buildings we need asap. We're building a new ward in less than a month. The NHS is getting the money they need just like MPs are but nobody working in the NHS, just like the MPs, will have more money in their bank at the end of the month.
 
That is the point Mike, the MP's will have more money in their Bank Account because they could already very easily operate.
The Private Sector don't get away with as little as possible. They end up paying market rate for jobs and pay higher salaries than are earned in Public Sector.
 
My Mrs has had to purchase pay as you go mobiles for every member of staff so that the 500+ kids she is responsible for meet government data protection standards for their weekly calls, she is having to provide additional meal resources based on siblings, she is having to drive round dropping meals and checking in person on vulnerable children as part of government guidelines, having to keep the school open during Easter and beyond, has not furloughed staff as I believe some MP’s have done, purchase additional lap tops and improved web security and structure for staff to teach remotely, she will receive no extra pay or days in lieu and her budget has had no extra to cover the hump, she reckons it’s around a £3.5k hit to the budget of the school she is responsible for, which makes the £10k figure seem very high.

Most constituency offices are paid for from the central party they represent coffers and an MP will have one or maybe two employees at Westminster themselves. The figure regardless of the rights or wrongs of it is quite simply bizarre, every MP is issued with a lap top, IPad, desktop and printer when they are elected, as recorded in the IT freedom of information on the Parliament website, additional hardware can be purchased at discounted rates as required, this is scandalous and any MP who claims needs to take a long hard look at themselves.
 
MPs on one hand have made a huge song and dance about footballers taking a cut to 'do their bit' in the pandemic crisis - meanwhile their other hand is (as ever) helping itself to a disproportionate and totally unecessary payout from the public purse.
 
MPs are paid in a year what footballers are paid in a week. It may well have been a deflection on the part of MPs, but footballers have deflected it right back.
 
The point about that for me was singling out footballers.
Not hedge fund managers, CEOs and chairmen of major PLCs - even Jacob Rees Mogg.
Weird isn’t it how they were selective

Have you blocked Rico and so can't see that I'm replying to him. :)

Yes it was a s***y move by Hancock. No sympathy for the footballers though. It's whataboutery followed by whataboutery.
 
They're selective because they know what hits the mark with thos struggling. Footballers earnings and the unfair amount they take from society is well publicised. Not so for Rees Mogg and Co. They're immune from having their earnings talked about.
 
Mike I do appreciate your open mindedness and dont want to come across as a doyle but in these circumstances there is no defense whatsoever for this. Given that there are thousands of public sector workers who are in a similar position - will they be given £10k?

I work in counter terrorism. There simply is no more sensitive information to be held than that which I hold. Do you think I or my colleagues have even contemplated ANY rise in pay? absolutely not. You would think that the 7 year old laptops that are dying, that take 25 minutes to turn on and cannot be run without permanently being plugged in could really do with replacing at a time when we've gone from 15% working from home to 95% WFH. No such luck at all and my colleagues are using their own tech in order to complete basic tasks like skyping our partners/prisons/probation.

In fact we have had extra costs. Not just for the obvious things but also from switching driving insurance policies to include communting now that we are no longer taking public transport.

Not a single member of my 40+ team have raised a single gripe at any of this. Not a single person expects a thing other than for us all to pull together and get through this situation.

I honestly hope this is a mis-step and that MPs do the right thing in the coming days. Because this is totally misguided even if the intentions are good. Lets see who rejects and who accepts. Can I be the first to suggest that nasty Mr Corbyn will reject?
 
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