Reply: If only the private sector could suffer like the civil servants.

Higher wages in the public sector, compared to the private sector, is only one of the major problems Cyprus economy is facing. The other major issues, just to name a few, are Meson (unjustice and immoral lobbying to get a job), bureaucracy, anachronistic system of recruitment, evaluation and promotion to the public service (the public servant is still named goverment-employ, by the majority of the population, just a sign how citizens in this country misfortunately confuse the role of the public servant, who is working for his country's better present and future, and the role of the government employ, who is working for his party to continue keeping the government position), tax fraud, lack of assessment on the efficiency and effectiveness of our economic main sources of production and income etc etc.

However, just to focus on your main call, if the cuts are fair, my answer is NO. The cuts proposed my Troika are just the beginning of a series of austerity measures, already imposed to our country's people, that are going to get worst. The reason of the unfairness of the cuts is not this one, though. Everybody, till recently at least, were pursuing by any possible mean, fair or unfair, to get a job at the public service for the already known benefits and reasons. The public sector got huge, proportionally to Cyprus real economic needs. The same time, the organigram of the state is more or less the same, both in concept and practice, with the one left by the imperialist colonial rulers of Cyprus, the so called British empire. Everything works on a pyramid scale of management, favouring a better control by the colonial regime before 1960. This system continues to faction till to date, cause it favours the new political order of the country.

I believe that the time to change our mind believes and everyday habbits came. Pushing and dividing people to public-favour and private-favour is a misconception that only works in favour of the rulling class, the rich and the higher class of our society and not for the benefit of the workers and the employees in the three sectors of our economy (agriculture, industry and services).

The real question is on how to better distribute income between these three sectors of the economy and not between state and private ownership

Looking forward for your comments as well.

Calling on ALL my friends working in the Cypriot 'civil service', please read this article and let me know what you think. Is it fair? Is it over exaggerated? I want an honest comment from you so I can form my opinions accordingly. I was surprised how the cuts are actually not so damaging to the public sector and in fact the conditions compared the private sector are still so much better. Am I missing something?

Not wanting to single people out here, but some friends of mine who I know are intelligent and hard workers, I would love to hear their opinions, pleeeeease: Stelios, Vasilis, Giorgos, Loizos... You will help me with a report I am writing! I want to be as fair as possible!