I WISH to raise my concern over current proposals to change the pension rights and benefits for local government workers and fire fighters.

At the heart of Government plans is a threat to make local government employees and firefighters work longer.

Local government workers have paid six per cent of their salaries into their pension scheme for decades only to be told this deal is off. They will not be able to retire when anticipated. This is the equivalent of a mortgage company saying to borrowers that although they have paid off their mortgage under the original agreed terms they have to carry on making payments for longer! This is outrageous.

The average pension for the current local government scheme is £3,800 a year, but for women who make up 72 per cent of scheme members, it is less than £2,000 a year. This is not a lot. In contrast, according to research by the TUC eight out of ten of the UK's leading companies have pension schemes that allow directors to retire at 60 on a full pension. The research also revealed that director's pensions are worth, on average, 26 times those of most employees, and 30 times that of the public sector pensions.

Local government workers and fire fighters are not asking for an increase in their pensions they are simply asking that they receive what they are entitled to. Pensions are, after all, deferred pay, so what right does the government have to claw back a person's pay that they have chosen to put into a pensions savings scheme? This from MPs who last year voted to improve their already generous pension schemes.

Late last year workers in the health, teachers, civil service, uniformed police and armed forces pension schemes reached agreements with the Government last year that current members of those schemes would have their pension age and benefits protected with changes to be negotiated for future scheme members. Members of the local government and firefighters pension schemes are being treated badly in comparison.

If the proposed changes to pensions are made it would mean teachers could retire at 60 but teaching assistants who work alongside them would have to work an extra five years. Or a police officer could retire at 60 but police support staff would have to work a further five years. This is discriminatory and completely unjustified.

What's more these changes will make it even harder for public services to recruit and retain staff and improve services.

There is the possibility of local government workers and fire fighters in Bromsgrove taking industrial action to save their pensions. I will be wholeheartedly be supporting these hard working public sector workers defend their pensions and the pensions of future generations.

Helen Russell

Churchfields Road

Bromsgrove