Why does Sheffield want to burden us?

I spent the first 20 plus years of my working life in warehousing, the steelworks, van driving, working for the local bus service and various other manual jobs.

I was made redundant twice in the early Eighties and was on the verge of a third when I applied for a manual job, which I subsequently got.

I wasn’t even aware at the time that I was in fact joining part of the Civil Service, I thought it was another private company.

I found myself working alongside many other ex-steeleworkers and engineers, not university graduates. They were hard- working people who had lost their jobs, with famies to support.

I did move into admin because I wanted to try something different. Later, I moved into Local Government. Half my working life was in the private sector and the other half in the public sector, so I thought I had a good insight into both.

I wrote to The Star with the conclusion that I prefered the private sector because I found the public sector damned hard work and at times very stressful.

Now we have G Ellison scoffing at my comments, so I assume he/she also has prolonged experience in both sectors and know what they are talking about?

Public sector workers are not low paid, according to G Ellison.

Well, I can assure him/her that I wasn’t lying when I said that many of my public sector colleagues with families, were entitled to claim benefits to top up their salaries, in exactly the same way someone on the same salary as them in the private sector, could.

When I retired I was on a salary of £15,000 gross, about half the national average earnings.

G Ellison ends his letter by saying sack public sector workers because the country doesn’t need them and it saves money.

He says a proper day’s work would kill them and most are unemployable.

What a slur on people trying to earn a living.

Ellison and Warris advocate throwing people out of work to save money. People wouldn’t get their pensions and benefits paid, jobs advice, holiday visas and passports, medical treatment, nursing, and a host of other things without a public sector. Most are just ordinary people, doing a job to support their families.