How many are there?

The mystery might finally be solved.  How many public employees are there in Portugal?  Nobody knows.

The guess is around 700.000.  It could be less but probably more.  How many companies in the world do not know how many employees they have?  If they are private - I think the number is very low.

I do wonder though.  Who makes sure everybody gets a salary and pension?  Could anybody claim until now they are a public employee?  Can it be claimed more than once?  If you are unemployed - give it a go.

Ah yes, how will the mystery be solved?  By force.  If public entities by the 15th of January have not declared how many employees they have - they may be penalized by having their budget cut down.  Hat tip: Diário de Noticías.

They may...  And what would keep them from lying?

I suggest the following instead.  A central register of every employee in the country.  Give public employees one month to sign up.  Otherwise no salary - no pension.  And one central function for paying aforesaid salaries and pensions.  In principle we would learn the real number of public employees and the expenses associated.

Perhaps this way people with money would not demand 15% interest for lending money to Portugal by buying government bonds.  Perhaps they would conclude that a country that keeps track of small things like numbers of public servants and public expenditure could be taken seriously?

Firing public employees...

SNAFU in Greece.  Status quo.  Everything is going badly as usually.  FMI has just asked Greece to cut down on public expenditure by cutting down on the public sector by firing employees and closing public companies.  Otherwise the deficit will continue - to rise.

It is just a matter of time before the same will be necessary in Portugal.  Within a short time there will be probably 20% less people working for the state.  Either directly or indirectly in public companies.

But here is the problem.  Firing public servants of a certain age will be very expensive.  First of all they have high salaries.  Secondly, they will receive comparatively high unemployment benefits.  Thirdly, they will pass on to comparatively high retirements.  Thus the cost of having them working or doing nothing is grossly the same.

This makes the economic choice easy.  The elder public employees will have to continue working until they die and the young ones will be fired.

I wonder what the young will think about that.  Oops, I forgot, the young have been expelled from their comfort zone of all of Portugal.  They have been sent into exile - or will be sent soon.  After all the young are the guilty.  They have mismanaged this country since forever...

How many work for us?

Interestingly the municipalities who have hired since 2008, i.e. during the crisis, will be forced to cut down by 3% on the number of public employees.  And that already in 2012.

I feel sorry for the people loosing their jobs, but ecstatic concerning the possibility of smaller local authorities and just the thought of municipalities being forced to save are good news.

However, how can the state demand that municipalities cut down 3%?  It does not even know it self how many public employees there are?!  It is a wonder, that they all receive a salary and a pension.  In fact that is probably why some receive more than just one...

Get your act together and tell us exactly how many public employees Portugal has - it is an public embarrassment and a proof of your incompetence you don't know.

Update:
Today the Público (hat tip) can tell us that the government will publish the numbers of public employees adhering to general strike tomorrow.  I doubt the numbers will be trustworthy from either the government, because of incompetence, and from the unions because of exaggeration.  You will know the government is lying if it gives us percentages.  Those would clearly be inventions as the total number of public employees is unknown.

The public "servants" are demonstrating

Hat tip: SIC Noticias

Today the public employees (remember they are not servants in Portugal) are demonstrating.  I applaud citizens in Portugal using their civic rights - that happens far too little.  One of the reasons we are in this mess.

I also applaud the public employees for demonstrating on a Saturday.  Because, taking the current situation into account, striking like the privileged transport (public as well) employees have being doing on working days, is a bit like shooting yourself in the foot.  If you don't understand that - then shooting yourself in the head is quite safe.

I feel a bit nasty this morning, so let me suggest the following.  We should register the public function employees at the demonstration today.  I have a feeling all the absentees and terminal ill will show up.  The absentees can be recognized on their new jackets.   They are the ones who arrive in the morning to hang their jackets on the back of the chairs and then leave only to come back at the end of the day to pick up the jackets again.  The terminal ill can be recognized by looking exceedingly healthy and by being unknown at their places of work as they are on indefinite sick leave since forever.

To be fair, a large number of public employees do a terrific job.  I can mention police, nurses, doctors, teachers and so forth.   I know the absentees are not popular among these hard workers.  They make everybody work twice as hard as they ought to.

But another number of public employees, with an overweight of bureaucrats and managers, seem to either have no function or have the main function of keeping the hard workers from doing their jobs.   Were I you, I would go to my desk this Saturday and start working (for the first time in your life on a weekend).  Because hopefully somebody will look over your shoulder soon and ask: What's the purpose of your function?  How efficient are you?

We, the producers -  us who generate the products paying everything - have met you, we are tired of carrying your weight, we are tired of the ways you have invented to hinder us in producing, and we are not amused.

No public manager to out earn the PM

I must say I am perplexed.  The government is punishing "the boys"?  This is more revolutionary than some revolutions.

Check this out:

The statute of public employees has been changed today.  It has been approved that:

• Public managers may not earn more than the prime minister (he earns approximately 100000 euros per year) 
• There will be exceptions for public companies in commerce competing with other companies.  Examples of such public companies are TAP and CGD (Bank owned by the state).  In these cases managers may be limited to not earn more than the average of the three last years at their previous job.
• Management bonus will be limited to 50% of the annual wage and depend on positive results (positive results - revolutionary!)
• No more free credit cards as a way to inflate the salary and cheat the tax man
• Public managers are often given a car.  They get it as new and change every three years.  That may continue.  But the managers will no longer be allowed to "buy" the car for 10% of its original value after three years
• Now it gets crazy:  Candidates for managers in the public sector will have to be evaluated and their qualifications checked according to their curriculum
• Pensions and salary may no longer be accumulated
• The number of directors for a public entity is limited to four
• They can be fired if they do not perform according to contracts
• Their salaries must be comparable to high level public management
• They will stay on for 5 years instead of 3
• Direct savings are estimated at 5 to 6 million per year
• And now it gets insane:  The directors will be chosen through selection - they will have to actually compete for the job

Saint?

We finally have a government worthy its name.  There be idealists and honest people in it?   I thee salute, Mr. Prime Minister Passos Coelho.

I can feel tears of joy in the corners of my eyes.  The world is beautiful.  Good beats evil any time.  Peace and flower power...





WAIT A MINUTE

When something is too good to be true - it usually is.

1. With such comparatively low salaries - will it be possible to attract qualified managers?  Not to mention the best?
2. What about all the existing managers/directors?  Will they have their salaries lowered?  The excess managers will be moved to an empty office with salary?  Or will they be fired?
3. With lower salaries - will we see even more corruption?  And an even faster exit to positions "earned" by promoting special interests?
4. One of the good things about criminals in jail, is that while in jail they are impeded from committing crime.  What about all "the boys" on the loose (no longer directors) in the future?  Will it be safe to go outside? (*)
5. Even greed can become too obvious. With the people starving, it will look bad that "the boys" do not earn a little less.   Hence this temporary salary reduction as an action of solidarity.

(Funny, how living in Portugal and observing politicians makes you a cynic.)

I once read a science fiction novel about an interesting society.   The only way to become a voting citizen was by spending five years working for society.  E.g. as a soldier.   The only way to become a public manager was by giving all your wealth away and denouncing all other positions.

I wish.  Being a public servant such as a manager or a judge should only be for the best of best, for people with the highest integrity.  For idealists and people of honor.  For people with a wish to serve.

Alas...


(*) My son did not understand this sentence.  It is supposed to be funny - and to expose a bit of truth:  "The boys" are generally speaking the scum of the earth.  Corrupt to the bone.  They have sold their souls.  A corrupt public employee will always cost the state money.  That money could have been used to treat sick children - even save lives.   "The boys" are more criminal than most criminals currently in jail.  I would rather be confronted by a street thug.  He might steal my wallet - but he won't harm my child.
When "the boys" no longer can find jobs in the public sector - where will they go to do what harm? - that's the worry.

Public Servant

Hat tip and credit: Schamblers

In Portugal we call a public servant, an employee of the public service, "funcionário público":  public employee.

They used to be known as public servants, servidores públicos.  In 1935 there were 25000, in 1969 there were 165000 and today we have around 730000 (or less than 600000 depending on how you count - probably nobody knows the real number if you add consultants, members of "PPP"s, employees in public companies etc.).

This number is actually not large compared to countries in Northern Europe.  Less than 15% of the working population.  However the sector is inefficient and expensive and must be reduced.

I would like them to be called public servants in Portugal again.  "Servidores Públicos" or even "Serventes Públicos".  I think the name and attitude matters.

A public servant should be a person of high integrity that has sworn to uphold the republic and the constitution.  More often than not a public servant will have access to confidential information and have large powers over other citizens.  A public servant must be held to higher moral standards than other citizens.  Corruption is much more serious than stealing from say a bank.  On the other hand, public servants must be given special powers and protections to fulfill their functions.

A public servant should always treat a citizen with the out most respect and helpfulness while fulfilling his requirements.

I believe it would be to the advantage of all citizens and the country alike, that public servants no longer paid income tax.  First of all it makes no sense the state puts money in one pocket just to remove it from the other.  Secondly, it would enhance and demonstrate the statute of public servant.  Finally, it would also demonstrate the difference between taxpayers (*) paying for the public service and people working for the public service.

I suggest a revision of the statutes of a public servant in Portugal.   Here is rather nice one from Lebanon of all places to use for inspiration.

A couple of incidents from real life in Portugal:
Once at the ATM in the local shopping center the line was very long indeed.  With patience, everybody awaiting their turn - demonstrating the impeccable Portuguese politeness when in a line - people were surprised to see a male individual (not a gentleman for sure) enter the front of the line and start using the ATM.  The people in the line were aghast.  One gentleman complained in particular.  The cheating individual turned around, claimed he was a judge and informed he as a judge was not supposed to wait in lines.  Any more trouble and he would call the police and have people arrested for interfering with a judge.

Ministers in Portugal always travel with police protection, limousine in the middle and police front and back. The police will hold all other traffic back, so the minister can pass.  It is quite a nuisance in heavy traffic and the noise of the police sirens is astounding.

The public servant, both the minister and the judge, should have no privileges beyond insuring their safety.  If anything they should be the ones to hold back for the taxpayers while the taxpayer earns money to pay their salaries.   No wonder Portuguese ministers speak so favorably of public transports and the quality of the road network.  They are never stuck in traffic.  Maybe a little taste of the real world would give them some understanding?

(*) Even when not paying income tax, public servants would still pay a number of taxes. It is simply and unfortunately much too complicated to avoid that, due to very large number of additional taxes in existence.

It has gotten to the point where taxpayers are unable to calculate how much they actually pay in tax.

Don't believe me? Take a taxi ride. Then let me know how much of the fare was tax... You should of course include part of the taxi drivers income tax (we presume he owns the taxi), vehicle tax, vehicle inspection fee, the VAT, the taxi license, the tax on the insurance, the road tax, the toll tax, the tax on fuel and ad nauseum. Because if it were not for all these taxes and fees - your fare would in all probability be that much lower.