300,000 jobs in public sector face the axe

[TimberWolf]

All of them? Is this a fixed scale thing like teachers or other government-related jobs, in which case can you provide a reliable reference?
Regardless, it's a bit rich on an IT contracting forum, where many would bring in £75-125k (12 month contract at £300/500pd) working full-time, to complain someone who had to spend many years at university racking up huge debts followed by internships, shouldn't earn a decent wage.
I doubt all GPs earn a standard wage of £100k without doing private work or being a partner... and if they're doing private work or make partner they are effectively running a business in which case they're entitled to make money as they are able, just like we are.

A GP can expect to earn about £70,000 a year without doing any overtime, although this figure is extremely variable. ... However, a full time GMS or PMS practice partner can now expect to earn around £110,000 before tax, while a salaried GP earns on average £74,000.
General practitioner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't know where you got your IT contracting figures from, but the comparison (of contractors to doctors) isn't valid on so many levels (job for life, benefits, job insecurity, etc) that it isn't worth bothering with. With the average Joe being culled from his minimum wage job, describing a GPs safe £74K or £110K+ a "decent wage" is a little disturbing.

British GPs are the best paid in Europe according to a study by the Netherlands Institute of Health Services Research and Maastricht University.The survey of earnings in 2005 found UK GPs on top at £108,680 per annum compared to lowest paid GPs in Belgium with £21,270 German GPs were the second highest paid at £72,170 with the French on £45,200.
UK GPs best paid in Europe

I've heard of another study that said that the gap between what UK GPs are paid in the UK and the average UK wage is the widest it has ever been. They need a haircut. Dentists too.

[SueEllen]

I've heard of another study that said that the gap between what UK GPs are paid in the UK and the average UK wage is the widest it has ever been. They need a haircut. Dentists too.

You still don't get it do you.

Dentist can earn especially those in wealthy parts of the country don't need to be in the NHS to earn a large wad.

There are towns and complete areas in the country where people cannot get NHS dentists. Yet there are dentists in those areas they just happen to be an all private practice. So as we aren't paying them out of the public purse how can we cut their salaries?

With GPs it's different but try telling someone who has done 100 hour weeks where they worked 48 hours without sleep that they should get a pay cut. While some medical students decided from the start they wanted to be a GP due to the low number of GP training places most of them have to be hospital doctors.

Yes the ones who are training now should complain as the Working Time Directive means that they don't have to do the stupid hours but now there are less training places so they get stuck in non-career building jobs in hospitals. So getting the £74,000 is something they dream off.

However as I said before there are certain people I know and have met who work for the civil service and NHS who should not have jobs as what they do is not needed.

Oh and people like binmen, dinner ladies in all the London Boroughs I've lived in work for private companies. Local government gets stuck with all those in higher end jobs i.e. teachers, social workers, environmental health as employees.

[TimberWolf]

You still don't get it do you.

Dentist can earn especially those in wealthy parts of the country don't need to be in the NHS to earn a large wad.

AFAIK, it's only in recent years that they've been able to earn a large wad, with a salary that presumably needs to be matched under the NHS for it to be competitive, costing the tax payer a fortune. Why not turn the clock back?

[centurian]

I don't know where you got your IT contracting figures from, but the comparison (of contractors to doctors) isn't valid on so many levels (job for life, benefits, job insecurity, etc) that it isn't worth bothering with. With the average Joe being culled from his minimum wage job, describing a GPs safe £74K or £110K+ a "decent wage" is a little disturbing.

Agreed. While my headline figure may be (only slighly) more than a GP's, if I was offered a job that would guarantee to pay 70K p/a, with guaranteed pay rises for the next 30 years, plus a gold plated pension that will pay many times the average salary per year - I'd snap their hand off.

[minestrone]

Agreed. While my headline figure may be (only slighly) more than a GP's, if I was offered a job that would guarantee to pay 70K p/a, with guaranteed pay rises for the next 30 years, plus a gold plated pension that will pay many times the average salary per year - I'd snap their hand off.

Just a question, did your school qualifications get you even in the zone of applying for medical school?

To get to a GPs level you have acheived the very highest standard for 15 years. It is not some 3 year degree then straight into a grad training program. You will have to be in the top 1% in school to even get to the interview which is a 50% shot to get in.

[TimberWolf]

Agreed. While my headline figure may be (only slighly) more than a GP's, if I was offered a job that would guarantee to pay 70K p/a, with guaranteed pay rises for the next 30 years, plus a gold plated pension that will pay many times the average salary per year - I'd snap their hand off.

It's better than winning the lottery.

[TimberWolf]

Just a question, did your school qualifications get you even in the zone of applying for medical school?

To get to a GPs level you have acheived the very highest standard for 15 years. It is not some 3 year degree then straight into a grad training program. You will have to be in the top 1% in school to even get to the interview which is a 50% shot to get in.

The entry requirement must be similar in other first world countries and they manage to keep wages under control, USA excluding as it isn't a model we would want here. It should be a primary duty of government to keep health costs under control (as these could easily become extravagant left to their own devices) and Labour failed.

[minestrone]

It's better than winning the lottery.

I never even bothered asking you if you managed to get the qualifications to get into med school, I already know the anwer.

You have been banging on about Doctors for years on this site, you obviously have some deeper issue than you are letting on.

[AtW]

I never even bothered asking you if you managed to get the qualifications to get into med school, I already know the anwer.

[TimberWolf]

I never even bothered asking you if you managed to get the qualifications to get into med school, I already know the anwer.

You have been banging on about Doctors for years on this site, you obviously have some deeper issue than you are letting on.

You don't know the 'anwer' to anything.

It's come up before and it's come up again now. Perhaps you'd prefer it was not be discussed.