There is an alternative to cutting public sector pensions

I REALLY must explain why people are opposing the changes to the pension agreements among other things which supposedly help the deficit. We are not against making our position better but there are better ways to do this.

Firstly, there is a widely known alternative to the cuts which the Government is choosing to ignore. The collection of all deliberately evaded and avoided tax amounting to £120bn, the creation of climate jobs, investment in public housing and the stopping of Trident would save Billions.

Public sector pensions are affordable and sustainable, the Government has published this itself. The extra “contributions” paid by us to our pensions do not, in fact, add to our pensions, but add to the Treasury pot to pay the deficit. This is a tax by another name.

We actually want decent public services for all, fair pensions and fair pay and yet this country is being run and funded in the interests of the richest one per cent. We want fair pensions for all, not an equality of misery in retirement!

We take strike action with a heavy heart.

From: Terry Palmer, South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

DAVID Cameron and Nick Clegg now to rally public support in his fight against the public sector who are due to strike tomorrow. What he fails to tell us is who decided to break the contracts of these workers? Was it the unions? Was it the workers themselves? No, you’ve guessed right it was Cameron and Clegg who thought they could bully workers into submission by their pedantic stance on contract breaking.

Can you imagine the furore if the unions had dared to break contracts?

From: Roger Dobson, Ash Street, Croshills, Keighley.

WHO do our public service union leaders think they are, pulling all their members out on strike tomorrow?

Can they not remember what happened to the mining industry when the miners followed Arthur Scargill like sheep?

The resentment from the rest of industry if this strike goes ahead will be immense possibly causing public unrest. To me, the employers of these people should issue each person intent on striking with their individual P45.

From: Mrs Monica L Cook, Parkside Close, Cottingham, East Yorkshire.

HOW can the Government get it so wrong when they are dealing with the future of young people? Encouraging them to go to university, then claiming it is all right for them to run up huge personal debts.

If debt is all right, why is it causing so much trouble for this country? We are told a small number of ‘poor’ students will have their fees paid for. That the bulk of our hard working, successful students will be dropped into pit of debt is ignored. The fee of one year’s course is quoted. Most courses are for three years or more, up to six or seven years in certain cases. This means only the rich can afford these courses.

Graduates often marry other graduates which then immediately pushes the debt to over £60 000. True, any debt left unpaid is cancelled after 30 years but how can they buy a house, raise a family or save for a pension with such a burden on their shoulders?

Cameron is too influenced by America but they have huge numbers of students who have run up debts of $100,000 and cannot get a job.

What a bleak future for the young academics of this country.