In an interview with ZBM on August 3, a seemingly irate Michael Dunkley spoke about how he is a Bermudian and, how he “ ... sleeps in a Bermudian bed ...” and “ ... feels Bermudians’ pain ...”

Needless to say, this was not received well and many Bermudians voiced their displeasure via social media including:

“The simple answer is no. No, he doesn’t; that’s why his government has made lots of cuts affecting our young black people.”

“No he does not. He doesn’t know what it is he’s never had to deal with it.”

“They are taking home more than the British Prime Minister based on population representation ...”

The divergence between the Premier’s statement and the public responses prompted me to calculate the earnings of One Bermuda Alliance MPs from December 2012 to August 2015 inclusive to see if they are really “feeling the pain” of Bermudians

FULL-TIME MINISTERS

• Michael Dunkley (Premier, National Security) $497,638

• Bob Richards (Finance) $471,530

• Shawn Crockwell (Tourism Development and Transport) $416,432

• Wayne Scott (Education) $416,432

PART-TIME MINISTERS

• Patricia Gordon-Pamplin (Community, Culture and Sport) $282,220 • Grant Gibbons (Economic Development) $282,220

• Michael Fahy (Home Affairs) $213,392

Hmmm? The Premier has been paid nearly $500,000 of taxpayers’ dollars since December 2012 and he feels our pain?

Attacking Bermudians

Heaped on to the knowledge that a hefty sum of money is being spent on a government that is doing little for Bermudians, there appears to be a new wave of attacks coming against Bermudians in the Civil Service.

Whether it be on the radio or via this very newspaper, there is a concerted effort to say that the Civil Service is too expensive.

The calls generally are coming from people who display little or no empathy towards Bermudians in the Civil Service and who hide behind false names. Cowardice in anonymity should be given credibility in the light. On July 29, 2015, someone using the name “Observer” wrote a Letter to the Editor entitled “Richards is failing to make tough decisions” that stated:

“To the outside world, the Bermuda civil service looks like a joke — talk about socialism at its extreme”

This declaration resulted in the following comments:

“It was the previous Premier Cannonier who promised that civil servant jobs would be protected and when he was removed, the promise went with him. The new old UBP OBA will find no need to protect the union civil service jobs.”

“Can you imagine the outcry if he did make those tough decisions ... 5,000 civil servants for a population of 70,000? The real figures are 6,000 for a population of 58,000 ...”

We can always disagree on policies and practices, however, these are some fairly repulsive thoughts about Bermudians who work hard to maintain this country.

And the irony is that those calling for massive cuts to the Civil Service never seem to take a few salient facts into account.

Each and every civil servant supports the private sector through their buying power. Imagine just how much money is put into the economy by the 5,000 civil servants who purchase:

• Gasoline

• Groceries

• Mortgages

• Private school fees

• Rentals

Now tell us which one of those private sector industries wants to see massive job cuts of civil servants?

These inescapable facts can never by denied by those who fight against Bermudian civil servants. Civil servants’ paycheques contribute to the economy like every other resident of Bermuda; civil servants who pay land tax, import duty, etc, like every other resident of Bermuda.

If 4,000 Bermudians cannot find employment in the private sector, with more and more redundancies in international business and the retail sectors every quarter, where will an additional 5,000 displaced civil servants find employment?

Or is it the hope that displaced civil servants will emigrate from Bermuda to make way for more gentrification? The real outcry should be one which asks, why is it OK for Dunkley to be paid $500,000 for taking pictures while the Bermudian mothers, taking home less than $40,000 per annum, are threatened with the loss of their jobs?

To my brothers and sisters in the Civil Service, thank you for all that you do to keep our country moving forward. Please keep your heads up despite the negativity of those who hide behind false names.

Love and respect.