AS someone who earned their living negotiating public sector pay, I am getting more and more annoyed with recent comments in the Press on the so-called "perks" in this area.

Anyone who isn't addicted to the national pastime of Civil Servant bashing may be interested to know all these benefits are fully taken account of by pay review bodies and result in permanently below-average-pay settlements.

Using the arguments of Messrs Whitfield, Martin and others, I ask why:

Car park attendants get free car-parking?

Nestl workers get tickets which entitle them to greatly reduced products?

Some railway workers and their partners get free rail travel for life?

Retail stores have attractive staff discounts?

Let's not forget company directors. Their perks include things the rest of us can only dream of, especially if they have managed to "downsize" by getting rid of a few hundred employees.

Liz Edge,

Parkside Close, York.

Updated: 09:28 Monday, March 07, 2005