Strikes and pensions:the government needs to make the case about affordability  

  Yesterday’s strikes passed without huge passion or support. The Labour party did not come out for the strikers. Union leaders were split over the wisdom of the strikes. Most newspapers wrote mildly in support of the government’s approach to public sector pensions. Some public sector employees feel strongly that their pensions should not be altered. They should understand that the government has promised to honour all  pledges made to date – there will be no attempt to take away pension entitlement already earned. The pensions issue has created a divide in the country between public and private. A couple of decades ago the defence of the more generous index linked public pension was simple. Public sector employees on average earned less than  their private sector neighbours. They were given a better relative deal in retirement as some compensation. The funded public...