Isn’t it strange that after explaining to their members for at least 30 years that successive governments have misappropriated public service pension funds, the unions have finally taken strike action.

I was an executive member of the NASUWT throughout my teaching career. Since the 1970s we warned our members that they ought to take serious advice about their future pensions.

In a Robert Maxwell-type scam, governments have used the contributions from public service pensions for everything you could think of.

So, for public service unions to cry “Shock! Horror!” just because we have a coalition government, rather than a Labour one, seems farcical to say the least.

We have to accept that under Blair and Brown, vast amounts of money from public funds were spent to keep them in favour - and even more was borrowed that New Labour could not pay back. Public service pensions cannot continue to be paid at the going rates - the Treasury does not have the money.

Tony Callaghan, Alpington, Norfolk.