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Do you think they'll get a bonus?
No. They'll get their leave cancelled though and the piss poor G4S conglomerate will still get paid in full rather than heavily fined and blacklisted from future government contracts.
Another private company who happen to make conspicuously large donations to the Tory party, wins contract worth hundreds of millions, then fails to deliver. Quelle surprise!!!!
But not to worry. They'll still get paid in full though. By us. Plus, as we're paying the soldiers wages, we'll have shelled out twice
And so the gravy train continues.....
private sector being bailed out by public sector workers, again.......
its even better than that though, G4S will soon be taking over a police force near you!
despite reaching dizzying heights of incompetence the hefty donations to camerons coffers will ensure that they will be winning plenty of fat contracts in the great police sell off!
Are G4S paying tax on the money they are getting? Because certain other companies involved in the Games aren't.
Another private company who happen to make conspicuously large donations to the Tory party, wins contract worth hundreds of millions, then fails to deliver. Quelle surprise!!!!
They were probably giving Labour large donations before as that's who gave them so many contracts to start with including this one.
Homeland security function sitting around doing drills - tick
Get them to do something useful and keep us safe - tick
Problem with that??
Another private company who happen to make conspicuously large donations to the Tory party wins contract worth hundreds of millions...
Who were awarded the olympic security contract while Labour were still in power
...But not to worry. They'll still get paid in full though
Which would depend on the penalty clauses written into the contract by the Labour government that awarded it
🙄
What's G4S's take on the situation? I suspect they'll blame the vetting process for shortfalls or some crap.
Tin Hat time guys...
Quite handy having 3500 troops on the ground, don't you think ?
Not sure it's in the "Olympic spirit" for security to be provided by the Army and it would have hardly been the best marketing tool to attract punters by saying we are really really worried by the terrorist risk so we're basically militarizing the Olympic Village
Quite happy that the army will be there myself:
I think they're the best men for the job and would think the games should be safer due to them being there,
and also idealogically, I'm happier to see them being used to defend this country from potential threat than in overseas territories were the locals don't appear to want them.
Feel angry for the lads doing the work though. Many will have p45s in their pockets due to the recent cuts, while G4S director's will be sipping their champers in corporate boxes after p155ing their £300 million contract up the wall. They should now be blacklisted.
On the question of timing. I'm glad the change is so late as any threats will have been planning for a long time to be up against private security companies, maybe even trying to infiltrate them, and this will pi55 on those plans. If our leaders had planned to have the army there all along, better off announcing it late anyway (although I'm not sure they deserve that credit, more likely a genuine balls up)
worth trying to get #blacklistG4S trending or something?
Whilst in no way denigrating the majority role the Army is taking in all this can I parochially mention that there's a good chunk of the RN and RAF getting mucked around as well. Thank you.
G4S do our security on site, blokes on the ground are just about OK their managers I wouldn't trust to sit the right way round on a toilet.
Didn't shock me in the slightest when I heard this news.
Zulu-Eleven - MemberWho were awarded the olympic security contract while Labour were still in power
Which would depend on the penalty clauses written into the contract by the Labour government that awarded it
🙄
No, they were awarded the Olympic security contract in March last year.
There was no Labour government in March last year.
Maybe someone should have told them what yeat the 2012 olympics were, then they could have prepared.
Another private company who happen to make conspicuously large donations to the Tory party, wins contract worth hundreds of millions, then fails to deliver. Quelle surprise!!!!But not to worry. They'll still get paid in full though. By us. Plus, as we're paying the soldiers wages, we'll have shelled out twice
And so the gravy train continues.....
it boils my P--- because its true.
Homeland security function sitting around doing drills - tick
Get them to do something useful and keep us safe - tickProblem with that??
Well... just that we've already paid someone else £300 million quid to take care of it. Just a minor detail.
I know labour will be equally as guilty of trousering donations from the likes of G4S and awarding contracts. The difference is the size and importance f the contracts. Remember that the Tories are busy telling us that we'd all be a lot better off if these muppets were essentially handed responsibility for our Policing, and god knows what else!
"Well... just that we've already paid someone else £300 million quid to take care of it. Just a minor detail."
You sounds as if you don't think this was planned ?
reading some of the stories from people signed up to work for G4S over the games is quite an eyeopener
check out the comments........
and people have been complaining on there for well over a month
Yes... by the sound of it, its not like there are just a few things that need ironing out. It sounds like the whole thing is a complete and utter shambles!!!
So they're busy deploying surface to air missiles etc, yet the people on the ground, the real front line of any security, appears to be in absolute chaos
It sounds like the whole thing is a complete and utter shambles!!!
Well if you believe that then Olympic security should be the least of your worries.
[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/20/g4s-chief-mass-police-privatisation ]G4S chief predicts mass police privatisation[/url]
[b][i]"Private companies will be running large parts of the police service within five years, according to security firm head"[/i][/b]
The thing is; G4S have an appalling reputation anyway. Everything they touch, turns to shit!
But facts aren't something that interest our lords and masters is it? Just myopic ideology and cold, hard cash, preferably in brown envelopes
G4S have an appalling reputation anyway
They are the largest security company in the world, the world's third-largest private sector employer, and they make hundreds of millions of pounds worth of profit every year. They sound like an excellent private company - isn't the whole goal to make large amounts of profits ?
"Private companies will be running large parts of the police service within five years, according to security firm head"
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id buy that for a dollar!
Apparently, the problem is not with the 3000 paid workers G4S was contracted to provide, it's with the 6000 "volunteer" unpaid workers.
Now that'd sort out the security. You have 15 seconds to comply....
[img] 
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Politics aside, the guys and gals from the Army and Navy were polite and witty (although possibly a little bored)when I went on site on Monday from the ones manning the security/scanners etc to the few that were tucked away in descrete corners with tarps set up to keep them dry.
I'd prefer any of them to G4S every time.
I'm Airforce, wife works for G4S. I knew of this about a month or so ago. From are lass, G4S has had massive recruitment problems. It seems that everybody in the UK is employed and doesn't need a job.
Roll on another Cr@p summer
It seems that everybody in the UK is employed and doesn't need a job.
From what I've heard, people would love a job - as long as it's an actual job which pays money, not a "volunteer for this or we'll stop your dole" job.
So they're busy deploying surface to air missiles etc, yet the people on the ground, the real front line of any security, appears to be in absolute chaos
Does bring up the possibility of a SAM being the only security option. Disturbing the peace, wooosh. Pick pocketing, wooosh. Littering, wooosh. I'd watch that.
Homeland security function sitting around doing drills - tick
Get them to do something useful and keep us safe - tick
No, not sitting around doing drills - just back from or just about to go to Afghanistan and were about to do something else "useful" like have some post/pre tour leave with their families...
G4S has had massive recruitment problems.
http://careers.g4s.com/jobs/Security-Officer_4771/
I wonder why........
Compare this with the job of domestic assistant (cleaner)
http://careers.g4s.com/jobs/Domestic-Assistant_4799/
Personally, I'd blacklist them completely and remove the costs of using the military from their contract sum in the hope that the company ****s off and is replaced by one which is less incompetent.
you see the problem is wrecker that Sir Malcolm Ri****d former tory defense secretary is chairman of Armourgroup ( also dogged by scandals of their series of fucups and corruption in afgahnistan as a private security company) who are owned by G4S
(ri****d is also a non-exec director of Unilever who are an olympic sponsor)
so basically im sure that G4S are safe
Some friends of mine worked for armourgroup as PSCs. Never heard a good word about them.
From are lass, G4S has had massive recruitment problems. It seems that everybody in the UK is employed and doesn't need a job.
It seems that not many people in the UK want a job that pays so little that you can barely afford to live off it, and offers crap conditions, from a company raking in millions of pounds in profits from the taxpayer.
to be honest I didnt think that terrorism would be a problem at the games but if alqueda are reading stories like this one hen i imagine they feel like it might be quite easy.....
Another reader writes to share his experience of working for G4S:The training has been very, very basic, and even though I have been assigned the role of x-ray operator, I have hardly had any training for this role. I had a whole day sitting at a computer on a simulated x-ray machine program and I did very badly on the tests that we had to do, having to retake many of them several times. I asked the trainer what happens if we fail them and he said we just keep retaking the tests, which are the same every time, until we get them right. I asked him if he thinks it’s a good idea that people who have failed so many times should be x-ray operators and he said that they are short on x-ray operators so that would be my role.
£6 an hour? Who could ask for more. They're obviously looking to attract high calibre candidates.
I presume that's the lot. No expenses or owt. Hmmmmm now let me think.... during that period of the Olympics, where would the most expensive place in the universe be? with the price of everything hiked into the stratosphere? Central London perhaps? Your £6 an hour won't go far
I wonder if this cock-up is going to effect the board of G4S awarding themselves an obscenely large Olympic bonus? On top of their astronomical salaries? Hmmmmmmm .... I wonder?
I knew about the G4S ballsup a month ago; the lads and lasses deployed to the Olympics have some pretty rubbish accommodation sadly.
I'm guessing they'd all swallow this as part of their role if they knew G4S wouldn't be milking it in; sadly troops are getting battle weary, no they're not practicing drill, and they need to be handled with respect especially as we've sacked a load and are going to sack a load more.
So that's two people on a mtb forum who knew about G4S's difficulties a month ago then. It's a shame that no one thought of tipping off the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games or the government about these G4S issues. I'm sure making alternative arrangements 6 weeks before the Games would have been preferable to doing it a fortnight before.
Some body on another thread wanted to know how we could police bicycle use in olympic lanes.
Well weve been practicing
[URL= http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/47855/2870483910103304323S600x600Q85.jp g" target="_blank">
^^ that is GENUIS!!
£6 an hour? Who could ask for more. They're obviously looking to attract high calibre candidates.
That's a lot more than the dole. 60hr week will get you a decent wage one you add overtime in. People are just idle.
I just hope the forces guys get some sort of compensation for being used there. Feel v.sorry that some are being drafted back from war zones and loosing holidays and missing seeing families.
Not interested in the blinkered political point scoring we see on here and in Parliament. Ex politicians seem to be useless at running companies. Trouble is that many of them seem to get top jobs in them or hand out jobs and contracts to other political has beens and their "mates".
So the Army are being used as a Police force,
Peterloo
Bloody Sunday
Black and Tans
The army are not and should never be deployed as a police force.
So you reckon they'll be on good overtime rates? You're obviously not to clear on how these companies operate.
Also fairly naive to think that, once you factor in housing benefit, council tax relief etc, that you'd be better off living in central London on £6 an hour. It's called the benefits trap. There's tax credits of course. Which is a nice government approved phrase that means that we, the taxpayer, effectively subsidise companies like G4S, tesco etc to pay subsistence level wages, while they cream off enormous profits. Which they'll pay eff all tax on of course. Because that's what's happening here!
It's called the benefits trap. There's tax credits of course. Which is a nice government approved phrase that means that we, the taxpayer, effectively subsidise companies like G4S, tesco etc to pay subsistence level wages,
which is basically why in work benefits should be scrapped and the minimum wage set at a level where yu can afford to live.
Has anyone told the RAF they will have to work the weekends ?
It's difficult enough getting decent staff & paying that hourly rate will not help,but then it's only temporary, not very inviting is it..
Still no problem at all with any military function doing a bit of security work rather than polishing shoes/running around carrying rucksacks full of books/ camping on Dartmoor .... seems all leave cancelled will be re paid and any cancellation of holidays be compensated for.
Nope.. still can't see anything at all wrong with it. Its what we pay them for.
As for G4S then surely a refund/payback clause is in place. Contracts of that magnitude always have and always do.
Still no problem at all with any military function doing a bit of security work rather than polishing shoes/running around carrying rucksacks full of books/ camping on Dartmoor
No the army should be training to fight that is what we pay them for, they are not security guards or police men. The army have shown time and again they are not police. They are not trained to be police, they are not trained to restrain crowds.
Agree with you completely mrmo. We're subsidising these companies enormous profits. And to show their gratitude they move their head office to a tax haven to avoid contributing anything back to the society they're taking so much from
So this could be an opportunity to train them to do something else other than sitting around..or are you happy to see more tax payers money be under used ...
They will need extra training when they all leave at some point in their careers , there's an option..
Still don't see a problem with it.
So this could be an opportunity to train them to do something else other than sitting around..or are you happy to see more tax payers money be under used ...
No I'm not happy to see more tax payers money be under used. What we need is more wars to keep our military busy.
Or failing that, get them to do socially useful jobs like refuse collection, repairing roads, delivering the post, etc. It would save the taxpayer a small fortune.
Of course we could just make a load redundant and sack them - if there aren't enough wars to send them to. Has anyone in government suggested that ?
People are just idle.
And funnily enough people always get particularly idle when the Tories are back in government - and unemployment goes through the roof.
People always seem to be more keen to work when Labour are in government.
The army are trained to restrain crowds just no one likes how we do it.
People always seem to be more keen to work when Labour are in government.
Really?
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So the Army are being used as a Police force
Fear not, they're being used to cover gaps in security personnel, under MACA we hold the powers of civvies, not the police.
Cheeky and bike boys: nice trolling!!
I think a visit to your nearest RAF, Army or Naval unit would do you good if you genuinely feel that! You're clearly misinformed.
The Black and Tans were not 'the army', they were auxiliaries, albeit largely demobbed soldiers.
Peterloo was not 'the army', it was local yeomanry and Bloody Sunday comparisons are frankly ludicrous. The armed forces (not solely 'the army') are not being deployed in a police role. Just doing the same tasks as bog standard security guards, only in all likelihood far more efficiently. However, they shouldn't have to and it's a disgrace that they'll have holidays, leave, weddings etc disrupted due to this clusterf@@k.
Er, bikebouy, are our armed forces just sitting around are they? With the way the Forces are paid, i'd not be surprised if they don't get any extra pay for this while others are clammering for extra during the Olympics.
However, has anyone told the RAF they will have to work after 3pm and the weekend won't start and end at wednesday?
G4S/Serco/Crapita: profiting hugely from the fragmentation of public services [i]and[/i] making a pish-poor job of running things.
Where's all the 'efficiency' we've been told about? Or did it just appear to Oliver Letwin in a dream?
Edit: given the numbers of troops who are being recalled from leave to save the shambles that is [s]Theresa May[/s] the Olympics, perhaps now is the time to dig up Old Ironsides and have him march on Parliament (again).
The whole thing issue is a shower of %$£*
this sums it up
Dear Serving Soldier,
I appreciate that you may be a bit busy at the moment, but just before I give you the sack would you mind awfully helping out at a small sporting event we are holding in London this month. You see I have just spent £475,000,000 on a private firm to do the security but they trousered the money and can not commit. I have managed to wangle an old warehouse for your accommodation & some rat packs for food, but you should be used to that by now.(Gotta keep the cost down L.O.L).
Many thanks David Cameron.
P.S. You're my favourites!
the crabs arnt to happy
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/477759-olympic-call-ups.html
or the pongos
http://www.arrse.co.uk/current-affairs-news-analysis/184647-sports-day-additional-3500-troops-g4s-drops-ball-but-not-bill.html
not sure about the Navy boys
Oh and for those who dont know but there isnt overtime or bonus for the armed services unlike the Police,tube staff etc
Not impressed here either:
[url= http://www.navy-net.co.uk/current-affairs/66243-armed-forces-olympics-standby.html ]Rum Ration[/url]
[b]bikebouy[/b], here's an idle thought:
"[b]bikebouy[/b]... what a cnt."
The word means nowt without you.
Had a paratrooper scan my bag on my way in yesterday. can't see it a valuable use of resources. nice enough guys and certainly more switched on than the g4s lot who just congregated in packs pointing and speaking in broken English. don't feel any safer though. in a crisis the best than can manage is a Chinese death grip, as they don't have weapons.
No fear, G4S will simply change their name again. As Group Four Security they made a total b*ll*cks of prisoner transportation (paid for by us of course)so meet the new boss. same as the old boss
Zulu-Eleven - MemberPeople always seem to be more keen to work when Labour are in government.
Really?
Yes that's right ......... unemployment tends to be considerably higher under Conservative governments than under Labour governments.
Of course I don't expect you to accept this fact Z-11, because you so clearly despise the truth.
BTW Z-11, you still haven't responded to my claim that the the Olympic security contract was awarded in March last year - when there was no Labour government in power. Are you accepting that you were lying earlier in the thread when you falsely stated that the contract was awarded by a Labour government ?
not sure about the Navy boys
The word you're looking for is codheads.
Make that 3 on this forum who knew a month ago... Unfortunately certain organisations, outside the military, seem to have buried their heads in the sand and ignored warnings - Dannatt summed that up quite well last night on Newsnight.
Oh to be able to speak freely about it without getting in trouble...
And you'd think with all of those Work Programme recruits sold to G4S that they couldn't train enough of them in time...
I spoken to a guy two weeks back at a party whom's son is in the Army
and his sons's Platoon was told that whilst they was in Cyprus preparing
to go to Afghanistan they will be split in half and one half will be going to the Olympics.
The worrying thing is the guys going to Afghanistan are thinking
they are going to be the lucky ones ?
I would say I would rather see and be protected by the Army than the two bob people
G4S hires
At least the Army would give 100% to protect you
Just to add a little more, the military that are being sent are NOT getting any extra money BUT are being CHARGED food & accommodation to work at the games.
So to sum up, I've lost my leave and going to be massively out of pocket to work for 4 weeks.
The MoD have an in house civilian security service (MGS) that are perfectly qualified for the job* ........ shame they've already started making them redundant.
*probably cheaper than the services too.
Cheeky and bike boys: nice trolling!!
I think a visit to your nearest RAF, Army or Naval unit would do you good if you genuinely feel that! You're clearly misinformed.
I did visit the RN careers office back in 84' after that I did a 12 year stint, loved it but John majors government made me redundant, one thing I did learn was a man without a sense of humour is normally a bit of a walt.
The MoD have an in house civilian security service (MGS) that are perfectly qualified for the job* ........ shame they've already started making them redundant.*probably cheaper than the services too.
Cheaper yes, but take them to do the security at the games leaving MoD establishments unguarded means the troops will still lose their leave as they'll have to backfill MGS guarding MoD establishments so makes no difference who from within the MoD is taken for London. Except maybe all the civil servants sat around in the re-deployment pool...
The MoD have an in house civilian security service (MGS) that are perfectly qualified for the job* ........ shame they've already started making them redundant.*probably cheaper than the services too.
Cheaper yes, but take them to do the security at the games leaving MoD establishments unguarded means the troops will still lose their leave as they'll have to backfill MGS guarding MoD establishments so makes no difference who from within the MoD is taken for London.
Some of the MGS were trained up last November to fill in for other public servants, they've now been told to expect a nice holiday in West London next week.... So not available for venue security.
The military looked after all the security for the Barcelona Games in 92, I think they are best suited for the task in hand.
The military looked after all the security for the Barcelona Games in 92
That surprised me so I checked, and apparently the military did not look after all the security for the Barcelona Games. Quote :
[i]In 1988 a security model was adopted that integrated public and private resources under the authority of the Commission for Olympic Security and integrated the efforts of the National Police, the Guardia Civil, the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan Police), the Barcelona City Police, other local police forces, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force
Due to the locations of the venues, training sites, athletes’ village and official hotels, the National Police had responsibility for about 80% of the Olympic facilities security[/i]
It would seem that the military were mostly responsible for security at airports, the port of Barcelona, essential public services such as water, fuel and electric supplies, broadcast stations, telephone relay points, transportation services, water competition areas and territorial waters.
http://www.iwar.org.uk/homesec/resources/olympic-security/maples.htm
Security at the 2004 Games in Athens was also mostly supplied by civilian government organizations. I suspect that the best recent example of the extensive use of the military for security is probably the Beijing Games. Yep, we're becoming more like China, and less like other European countries.