Quote Originally Posted by Geoff Parkstone View Post
If we accept the difference between working for the good of society, rather than working for the state, we may have some greater consensus rA. For example working for a state owned armaments company might not be working for the good of society....

It all just comes back to another way to look at the pay disparity between the public and private sector. This has always existed and has been debated for years. The private sector may pay more, but that employment carries greater risk of job insecurity. That's what makes the difference in pay as far as I see it. The private sector don't pay more than the public out of any sense of generosity, they are there to make profits: governments arguably arent. The private sector pay more to get the best quality employees.

So are you saying we should reward someone who the private sector don't want to headhunt because they have been loyal to the state system? Have they been loyal, or just not good enough to be recruited away?

Its a trade off in the way people are rewarded. I don't see the "inherent virtue" in working in the public sector, its a job. If you don't like it, don't do it. The job market is about open competition, not assigning degrees of righteousness to certain roles. If that were the case, office cleaners might get paid more than high court judges.

But to contextualise this in a covid environment, if I were looking for a job right now, I'd prioritise long term job security over short term higher reward. Those public sector jobs seem a way better option because of the financial risk of an employer going tits up - so no need to bribe people to take them. People will be ripping hands off to get them pretty soon
Some fair points and it’s complex.
I’m not actually ‘assigning degrees of righteousness to certain roles’ and I would very much question your assumption that the private sector attracts the ‘best quality employees’.
There are many examples of industry providing support in the form of paying for tuition fees...maybe something similar needs to be put in place for those who commit to the public sector too. That’s all.