Jerry Hicks

Advances in medical science, and better lifestyles, means that on average people are living longer, great news. After a lifetime of work, a long and happy retirement is what we hope for family, friends and ourselves. During this long and happy retirement, we will need to have an income. This is why we pay into pension funds.

There are those that say that because we are living longer we can’t afford to pay the same pensions any more. That’s utter nonsense. We will be told of gold plated public sector pensions. Utter rubbish. The Local Government scheme (LGPS) average pension is £80.00 per week. There is an alternative to cuts in pensions, pay, services and jobs. It is about making choices. Who pay’s and where does the money come from.

Here’s what I think:

• Let’s have a financial transaction tax, raising billions.
• Tax the ‘banking bosses bonuses’ raising another 2 billion.
• Let’s scrap Trident saving £75 billion.
• Let’s bring all the troops home where it’s safe.
• Spend the money on building council houses, hospitals and schools creating 100,000 jobs for construction workers, teachers and nurses.
• By rejecting nuclear power and instead building a ‘Severn Barrage’ we would create 3/4/5 times the number of jobs than a nuclear power station build and produce clean safe energy.
• As in Germany we could create 100,000 apprenticeships and up to one million green jobs by harnessing wind, sea and solar power. All those workers paying income tax back in to the nations coffers!

Of course the Con-Dem government will attack those taking action on 30th November. They will present it as Public sector (on strike) versus Private sector (at work). But this debate is much broader than private or public sector; everyone deserves a decent pension in retirement. We live in the sixth wealthiest nation on the planet. There is enough money available to fund all our pension needs. It’s a case of choice and successive governments chose to put too much money into too few pockets.

People fighting back, like those in the public sector are to be supported and if the rest of us take up the fight all things are possible.

Jerry Hicks
Unite trade union member.