Terms aren't fair

Changes to the civil service compensation scheme aren't about fairness, as Cabinet Office minister Tessa Jowell says (Letters, 6 February), but more about cutting jobs on the cheap, just as all the main political parties are sharpening their knives for drastic cuts in the public sector. Far from being fair, these changes mean loyal ­public servants face cuts of up to a third in redundancy pay as the government looks to tear up their contractual rights in front of their eyes. Everyone earning £20,000 or more will be worse off under these ­proposals, which will hit people earning less than the average UK wage.

Tessa Jowell goes on to talk about this "fairness" being recognised by other trade unions, but fails to mention that PCS represents almost three times the combined number of civil and public servants of the other unions involved. Nor does she mention that the cuts would not affect those unions in the same way as they affect PCS members. These changes aren't based on fairness, but on making it easier to sack the people who keep this country running, which will ultimately damage the ­services we all rely on.

Mark Serwotka

General secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)