christoph404

Heard an interesting and rather shocking news feature on the radio yesterday regarding Army wages. A British Army General has spoken out and said that our men and women of the British Army, many of whom are putting their lives on the line in the middle east, should be paid more. Presently an Army wage is approx 17k per year which is less than a traffic warden earns. An interview with a serving soldier revealed that out of their wages troops pay for their own insurance at £40 per month and many buy their own boots because the ones supplied by the MOD are apparently rubbish. I had no idea wages in the British Army were such a pittance. I know its all part of the job and troops accept that being in the Army could mean losing limbs and your life but £17k per year or thereabouts seems like a bit of an insult. Gordon Brown has said he will look into improving pension benefits for troops and living conditions and anything else he can possibly think of to avoid the real issues I suppose.

Harleybloke

Wasn't it a shilling in the Napolonic era? My Grandfather fought in WW1 for sod all!

It's shameful, always has been. Politicans have their 'John Lewis list', servicemen & woman don't.

Gordon wonders why people aren't engaging with politicans.........I think we could give him a clue..........................

Pay a DECENT wage you tight wads!

.....You couldn't hear it, if they were shooting at me with howitzers!

Moor Larkin

Do traffic wardens get free bed and board?

Soldiers should stick to soldiering. If General Whatshissocks wants to be a Union Leader, let him emerge from his grace and favour mansion with butlers and get a job putting tickets on cars in Peckham

Lord Lucan

The ignorance some people show of the army is breathtaking, yet these people talk with such exagerated authority.

General Sir Richard Dannatt is liked and well respected by the troops. He is not a "yes man" unlike his predecessor.

Soldiers do not get free bed & board.

Some of the barrack accomodation I lived in as a single soldier and later in married quarters was shocking, but it was never free. The only time we didn't pay for food & accomodation was on active service, and if you knew what conditions were like in those places you would understand why even the MoD backed away from charging for food & accomodation, the latter often didn't exist.

Moor Larkin

Glad it's not just me then

Paul Maloney, GMB National Officer who represents traffic wardens said, “GMB support decent pay and conditions for our armed forces. However if the general is to make the case for better pay he should compare apples with apples.

Many GMB members who are traffic wardens are paid the national minimum wage of about £11,000 per year. They receive bonuses for the number of tickets they give out and their average pay includes long hours of overtime.

The information that the GMB have to hand from BBC suggests that the average gross income of the soldiers, which also includes other benefits that amounts to a round figure of £26,000.

Comparing The Pay Of Traffic Wardens To Soldiers Is Like Comparing The Price Of Apples And Oranges Says GMB

christoph404

Well of course Paul Maloney is going to reply by telling us that traffic wardens are not paid much at all and have to rely on bonuses in relation to the amount of tickets they give out. Poor souls, my heart bleeds for them! Considering your average traffic warden would think nothing of giving out a ticket to the hearse at his grannies funeral its no wonder they make a fortune and Paul Maloney is talking absolute twaddle!

Harleybloke

Interesting though...............dishing out a ticket in South Bermondsey or fighting the Taleban............?

Still, I'll wager 9-4 that Joe Public cares more for our soldiers than our parasites, ooops, sorry, meter maids.................just a personal opinion you understand.

Army, on the respect scale 10/10. Traffic Wardens...........hmmm, I'll get back to you on that..........................eventually.......... ..............

Still, if we pay meter maids for tickets issued.................................

.....You couldn't hear it, if they were shooting at me with howitzers!

homeguard

I suppose putting a parking ticket on a car's windscreen in Peckam is a bit like fighting the Taliban - the car's owner is probably related. Remarks like Ma Larkin just show how far we've come as a nation from the days of knowing anything about the military. After all, there are only ever around 90,000 families in this country now with a son, daughter or father up the sharp end somewhere. I'm glad we are one of them.
Regards,
HG

Harleybloke

Thank God you don't live in North Wales. The meglomaniac Chief Constable appears to rate speeding as his number 1 priority. Despite his top traffic blokey now being on his second speeding ban I hear.................

Those horrid nasty speeding cars & those disgusting motorbikes! 'I shall purge them from our roads, have no fear'..............

Failure to pay tax when you're over 65 number 2? Overfull dustbins number 3?

So long as our government allow muppets like this, to hold power, we're going no where..........................

.....You couldn't hear it, if they were shooting at me with howitzers!

Moor Larkin

Thats' kind of my point. General Whatshissocks bullyingly picks a group of workers everyone detests to make his fatuous point. If he had chosen a more reasonable comparison like a Police Constable

On commencing service £21,534
On completion of initial training £24,039
Police Pay

he would hardly have caught the public's imagination would he.

Lord Lucan

Two points:

The only reason I responded to this thread is because you implied soldiers receive free food and accomodation, why you should think this I have no idea but you are wrong (a fact you seem to have glossed over) I can only assume you expect anyone reading your diatribe to be as ignorant about the army as you clearly are.

Explain how the point General Dannatt is making is "fatuous"

john audley

My father received one shilling a day in WW1

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

Moor Larkin

I think I implied Generals do.

Because he's dragging military matters into a civilian sphere. This has happened a few times recently, with senior officers making public/political statements. It may be these fellows make these comments on an Army Blog or in Army magazines (and that seems a reasonable thing for them to do). However the comments do seem to be leaking into the public realm and this bothers me. Nobody can argue that a soldier on the front line does not *deserve* more pay, but where does that get us? Is a million pounds a day enough for getting shot at? Probably not, it's an impossible argument. It should not be made subject to squabbling over, in the public sphere. It is also demeaning to suggest that a British soldier should have a *price* for risking his life. They're not doing it *for the money*.

The General is effectively a senior executive of a large public company. He should behave like one, not as if he is the leader of the Army version of the GMB.

homeguard

If that is your point, i.e. Generals should act more responsibly in their public pronouncements, I have to agree with you. They actually shouldn't, and never have before, gone public with that sort of statement. He should be working behind the scenes to better the soldier's lot. The problem is, the Ministry of Defence is falling apart. The new payment system for HM Forces is in complete disarray. Some soldiers are receiving only half pay at the moment, until "the computer glitches are sorted out". And no food, the wrong ammunition, and no helicopter transport in theatre all add to the misery that General Dannart has to put up with. It's a measure of his frustration that he has decided to speak out when really he shouldn't.
But that wasn't your point, was it?
The last time this country tried a military coup it was a disaster, and the leader was posthumously beheaded himself - good. But this time. I wonder who would beef if the military took over today. After all they sorted out the foot-and-mouth, fireman's strike and floods, all achievements which Jock Brown too the credit for. Excuse me while I sharpen my sword.
Regards,
HG

dremble wedge

But how would they do it with no bullets, rubbish kit and grounded planes?