Pensioners are squeezed too

From: Michael Blissett,

IN recent days there has been a lot of comment over the nurses’ pay rise of one per cent, both in the media and the press with at derogatory reference to the ‘triple lock’ for pensioners.

I would like to address this issue as it is seems that the ‘triple lock’ is seen by many as a ‘golden handshake’.

If we take a newly-qualified nurse’s pay at £24,214 and apply a one per cent rise, this will amount to £4.65 a week pay rise.

Now if we take a pensioner’s basic state pension of £134.25 per week (this applies to the majority of pensioners as they became pensioners long before 2016 and the pension change) and apply a 2.5 per cent pay increase that will amount to £3.34 per week; the nurse receiving 1.5 times the increase that a pensioner receives.

This is not implying that the nurses do not deserve a larger increase, they have worked so hard to protect us and help us.

But it has to be remembered that the pensioner has still to pay gas, electricity, water, food and insurance increases. It is true that the house may be paid for but it was a struggle, as is the case today to get on the housing ladder.

Since the banking crises and now Covid, there has been no return on savings but pensions have devalued in real terms. On top of this for us over 75, we now have to find another £3.02 a week from our ‘triple lock’ rise for our TV licence.

From: Hilary Andrews,

Nursery Lane, Leeds.

THE row over the proposed increase in nurses’ pay continues apace with many arguing that they didn’t sign in for their lives being at risk when they entered the profession (Lynda Thomas, The Yorkshire Post, March 13).

I’m sure many young men signed up for the Armed Forces not expecting to be killed or badly wounded in an illegal war in Iraq signed up for by Tony Blair. I don’t think this Government signed up for a Covid pandemic. Just saying.