I wasn't shocked to learn that the union activists at local councils are threatening strike action to show their anger as the cuts in public spending become clear.

After years of retiring at 60 and being assured of a job for life, all at the ratepayers' expense (yes I know it's ‘council tax payers' but we all understand ratepayers), suddenly our council chums have to account for how they are spending our cash.

So, batten down the hatches and prepare for them to demonstrate their outrage outside your town hall next year.

What are they protesting about exactly?

Well, in a nutshell they're a bit cross that those people who have worked in the private sector all of our working lives will no longer be relied upon to fork out getting on for a couple of grand a month for the privilege of having their bins emptied every couple of weeks.

Planning applications have fallen dramatically since the credit squeeze so I expect borough and district planning departments to be shedding jobs by the dozen. No point striking that's not going to make more people build extensions.

Finance departments might think they're pretty safe as careful management of what little cash they have will be a vital skill.

Remember how KCC managed to ‘invest' £50 million of our money in an Icelandic bank. Then they lost in the crash because someone was on holiday and missed a warning email... or something. (Still no real news on that, county councillors, fancy giving us all an update?).

I reckon any one of the charity treasurers in Kent could do a better job. They are people who know how to make a little go a long way.

And visits abroad. We have a bit of a record of that in Kent, for sending large (and I mean large) parties abroad at ratepayers' expense on ‘fact finding' or ‘friendship' visits. From now on if someone wants to be our friend, let them come and see us. And they can pay for their hotel too.

Then pensions. It must be pretty galling to have worked your way up in the public sector for 35 hours every week (less holidays and your eight days sick a year, oh and  public holidays). From section minion to section leader and then maybe even the head honcho, you were secure in the knowledge that you'd retire at 60.

You've been pretty smug that for 20-odd years after that there'd be a monthly cash windfall pretty close to what you were earning (and there's no commuting costs or smart suits and ties to buy from M&S).

Now you can't just rely on Johnny Ratepayer to stump up enough cash to pay for his bins to be emptied so that you and your fellow cotton heads can have free money.

Outrageous though that might be, perhaps you understand how your bin emptying former colleagues felt nearly 20 years ago when they had to go and work for private sub contractors.

The simple fact is we can't go on like this. Strike all you like but we are all staring down the barrel of tough times.

Remember as well that unless your strikes affect bin collections, most people probably won't notice, and if you do withhold your labour, in protest, then we have the right to withhold our council tax payment.

But be assured the outcome will be the same.

your comment wont make a scrape of difference either zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Gary Wright knows how to stir up the sediment of state sector resentment against whoever dares to point out inconvenient facts. We ratepayers have been hit hard for no good purpose. Council tax is a life sentence and poor value, when one quarter council tax goes into their pensions. If councils were fit for purpose they would not be profit-chasing corporate-copiers. They would not be resistant, rigid and unresponsive to human need for suitable adequate public services. Why must public funding go towards profits?  For 50 years councils have caused immeasurable damage to local areas and to individuals who found them negligent. Council antics brought financial hardship, misery and worry for those forced to fund unproductive, overpaid state-protected multi-headed bonus chasers. If they don't understand or don't care that they are costing us the earth, then they must be made to care that they have failed to do their duty - to serve us faithfully and well without ripping us off.

Rita Grootendorst, campaigner for affordable living

It is amazing how naive some people can be and believe all the propaganda that is put out to them. The public sector is not some life time easy ride for it's employees, at front line level the carers, cleaners, caretakers, road sweepers, office clerks do not command the wages in other sectors, and these jobs were always physically demanding that is why the retirement ages and pension were there to allow retirement at a ressonable age. Do you want to see 66 years old carers helping 70 year old patients, or 68 year old road sweepers lifting bins. The myth that the pay is excessive is just that many earn just substainable amounts. The ao called gold plated pension I seee as Gold Plate, which is something that is cheap and dipped to make it look something it is not. the majority of public sector pension are valued about £3, 400 a year, money paid in by the employee and therefore they have taken the responsiblity to make provision for retirement unlike many in the private sector who will rely on state benifit to make up their state pensions. Don't undermind your public  sector they are alway s there when you need them and you will. But how long will they be there for you if you let the government destroy this service and replace it be private sector that only provides if you can pay. stop the job cut fight for your local authorties to support the public service workers.

It is amazing how naive some people can be and believe all the propaganda that is put out to them. The public sector is not some life time easy ride for it's employees, at front line level the carers, cleaners, caretakers, road sweepers, office clerks do not command the wages in other sectors, and these jobs were always physically demanding that is why the retirement ages and pension were there to allow retirement at a ressonable age. Do you want to see 66 years old carers helping 70 year old patients, or 68 year old road sweepers lifting bins. The myth that the pay is excessive is just that many earn just substainable amounts. The ao called gold plated pension I seee as Gold Plate, which is something that is cheap and dipped to make it look something it is not. the majority of public sector pension are valued about £3, 400 a year, money paid in by the employee and therefore they have taken the responsiblity to make provision for retirement unlike many in the private sector who will rely on state benifit to make up their state pensions. Don't undermind your public  sector they are alway s there when you need them and you will. But how long will they be there for you if you let the government destroy this service and replace it be private sector that only provides if you can pay. stop the job cut fight for your local authorties to support the public service workers.

There is too much dead wood at councils getting paid buckets of money, here at margate I can not park in the multi story car park because it is always full of cars belonging to council workers. We tax payers paid for the revamp so that the council workers can park thier nearly new cars.

I admire the guys who get up at stupid o clock in the morning and either walk or cycle to work and then do a hard days graft, yep I am talking about the bin men I think they are fantastic. I know of three people (females) who work in the council offices who by thier own admission do as little as possible and have said there are even more who actually do nothing!!!

Many workers at the council see it as a gravy train, and its not fair for us tax payers to fund this circus.

Isn't it annoying that bloogers can't even be bothered to get their facts right. Most public sector employees in Kent work 37 hpw or more not 35 and the base retirement age in Local Government has always been 65. The rules allowing some to go at 60 on full pension were removed by the last (Labour) government, any earlier than 65 now and the employee bears the cost, not the taxpayer.

AND if the blogger bothered to check his facts out, someone working in a council for 40 years can expect a pension just over half of their final salary. By no stretch of a right wing Daily Mail liespreading imagination can this be described as "close to" theri final pay.

Shame on you Your Maidstone, where do you get these people from?

What alot of you people forget is working for the council does not make you exampt from having to pay council tax, we still have to pay council tax and work and live in the borough.   It would also be good if you actually looked at your council tax bills and saw how much actually comes to your local council.  Councils don't just empty bins.

I agree strike action is not the answer with the economic climent the way it is everyone will and is suffering.  Not all council workers have high pay and low output, some work hard and earn an average wage, just like the private sector.