WHY is it that Councillor Nathan Desmond suddenly feels he has the right to abuse people? (Shuttle/Times & News Letters, November 24).

I work in the public sector and I work hard for a pittance, as do many, many others, and I take grave offence at being called a "leech".

He represents Oldington and Foley Park ward, one of the poorest in Wyre Forest, and I wonder if he thinks of all his constituents as leeches.

Perhaps we should go back a couple of centuries to the "good old days" when the working class were seen and not heard, and 10 per cent of the population leeched off 90 per cent of the workforce.

Why does he only concern himself with public sector pensions, when surely all sector pensions are in crisis, including old age pensions.

If Mr Desmond has a magic formula to cure these ills, I am sure Gordon Brown would be only too pleased to hear about it. The public sector may be big, but it is probably the biggest tax-paying group too.

Finally, Mr Desmond could make a start on cutting local public spending by not extracting councillor expenses from the public purse at the end of the financial year.

BOB GARFITT

Northumberland Avenue

Kidderminster

COUNCILLOR Nathan Desmond's denunciation of council staff as "leeches" out "to suck the country dry" is as misguided as it is despicable.

Of the "leeches" working for Wyre Forest District Council, 83.8 per cent earn less than £25,000 a year and 44.2 per cent earn less than £16,000 per year.

As Unison have already pointed out, on retirement the "leeches" can expect an average pension of £3,695 a year while the pension for women "leeches" averages just £1,616 a year.

Those who Councillor Desmond knows as "leeches" are known to us as hard-working and dedicated workers, who deserve a fair deal and to be treated with respect and consideration.

Councillor Desmond is a cabinet member for Culture, Leisure and Commercial Services, the very department which employs many of our lowest-paid council workers.

Given his apparent total disdain for council staff and council services, he should be sacked from that post without delay.

COUNCILLOR MIKE OBORSKI

Liberal group leader

COUNCILLOR GRAHAM BALLINGER

Liberal finance spokesman

Wyre Forest District Council

COUNCILLOR Desmond's remarks on workers' pensions need to be put into perspective.

The UK is the only developed country where the state retirement pension is below the official poverty level.

In this country pensions are equivalent to 15 per cent of the average wage. For the rest of Europe they range from a minimum of 40 per cent to more than 80 per cent.

Approximately 25,000 elderly and vulnerable pensioners die each winter from their threadbare existence. This situation, once again, is unique to this country.

Against this, we learn that almost eight out of 10 of Britain's company bosses enjoy a pension pay-out on average 26 times higher than the average worker.

And who actually creates this iniquitous level of wealth? The working man.

J HARRIS

St John's Avenue, Kidderminster