Short-time worker critical of civil servants

I am a PAYE worker in the private sector who had to take a pay cut and a reduction in work from five days to two at the end of last year.

I applied for casual employment benefit to supplement my income.

It’s not a nice experience having to go to the welfare office and ask for a handout.

No one wants to do that.

I have been on a weekly budget so that I can pay my car loan every month and to save for the things I want to do.

A few weeks ago I learned that I have to pay tax on my benefits so now my income has been further reduced and I am struggling to make ends meet.

I have no sympathy for civil servants who are guaranteed jobs for life and are asked to have a pension levy applied to their salary.

They are not the only people affected by the recession, but they are making it look like they are.

At the end of the day, when we get through this, they will still have a job, not like the rest of us who had to take job losses and pay cuts with nobody to fight for us.

We as a country are in this together and we all have to accept the reality of pay cuts, etc. I agree the higher paid should be contributing much more than they are to society.

Politicians and the banking sector have a lot to answer for — answers we will probably never get. These are the two groups I never trusted or liked from the time I was able to vote or had a bank account. They promise a lot but give you very little.

Peter Kennedy

Old Bawn

Tallaght

Dublin 24