I FULLY support the letters from Mrs Sam Towle (HAS, July 1) and Colin Mortimer (HAS, July 2) about the public sector strikes.

Some months ago, I warned that public sector workers would have to bite the bullet as most employees of private companies had done, not just in the last three or four years, when wage freezes were common, but over the last ten years in many cases – remember the British Airways pension fund shortfall?

We all knew then that the writing was on the wall for public sector pensions and packages.

To fight can only result in more needing to be cut as we delay the inevitable.

When asked what had happened to his salary over the economic crisis, a Greek teacher said last week: “It has dropped by 58 per cent.”

There is an alternative, of course. Public sector workers could bring their skills to wealthcreating private companies.

Like all of us though, they would have to hope they had not joined companies which are having to lay off staff such as Lloyds TSB, Habitat, TJ Hughes, Jane Norman, Focus DIY and Carpetright.

While I would love to finish by saying how much I disagreed with David Lowden (HAS, July 2), I can’t, solely because of his last paragraph.

Our country cannot afford to be bailing out others. It has a big job before it – not only getting a grip on our finances, but also ensuring that the multi-racial society we have works in peace and harmony.

James Edwards, Middleton One Row.