The great big pensions race

On the serious note of pensions, the government have pinned their real colours to the mast. When the original proposals came out, the government backed down on them just before voting occured, and once they were safely confirmed in power, they reintroduced the proposals and tried to rush them through so fast that there was no room for negotiation. Strike was the only option available to the unions.

Working for local government means low wages, but this is balanced by a good pension for long service. Take away the pension, and all advantage working for local government is completely lost. Our own institution has been losing staff for some while now, and not replacing them. Wages are low, the staff are frequently the butt of the public outrage at the various political maneouvers, and morale takes a knock. The belief that there is some reward at the end of the rainbow is the strongest motivator; take this away, and no one will want to work in public services, or those that do, will not be motivated to give a good service.

Do the government care about this? Obviously not. They are not blind, they are not stupid, they just want to save the bottom line. They don't care about the quality of service that the people of this country receives. The politicians in our area were all ready to use the pensions as a reason why our institution is so much in debt ... but they were warned that if they did push it, the real reasons will surface and they would end up with serious egg on their faces. So far, they have remained notably quiet on the issue, silenced by the truth ... for once.

Civy street and government officials control each others pensions, so they have handed out generous terms to each other; police, ambulance, fire and other public sector workers have also received protection, but local government employees are now seen as the target to be fleeced for as much as possible to pay for the protection that the others have received.

I don't decry or seek to deny the other services of their protections, but fair is fair, isn't it? We can't rely on our local MP to fight our corner, either; his only concern was his own pension, which is not only larger than ours to begin with, but accrues at twice the rate!