Premier Paula Cox rejected workers’ calls for Cabinet Ministers to take a pay cut in her first televised speech to the nation.As Ms Cox prepares to face the first major protest of her tenure a Bermuda Public Services Union march next Tuesday she said accepting the clamour for a pay reduction would be an empty gesture.She made the announcement while issuing a call to arms over recent gun violence and growing unemployment, promising to combat crime, create jobs and comfort the suffering.Bermuda Industrial Union members have said they’ll only take overtime cuts if Ministers lead by example with a symbolic pay cut themselves, with BPSU echoing the call and announcing a march on Cabinet.Ms Cox said: “It takes grit and character to resist the temptation to indulge the politics of appeasement and to say there will be no symbolic cuts in Ministers’ salaries.“This, in my view, would be an empty gesture, inappropriate for a Government or for any team facing the prospect of having to do more with less and having to do it in half the time under double the pressure.”Tuesday’s march will call for guarantees there will be no redundancies or wage cuts if the union accepts a 1.25 percent wage increase; and that Government considers a cut of ministerial salaries and does everything it can to introduce a price freeze on essential products.BPSU president Kevin Grant told this newspaper after a meeting with members last week: “They want to know why they are the ones who always have to make a sacrifice.”BIU president Chris Furbert said after a fiery BIU meeting earlier this month: “The workers are willing to do their part, but they want to see Government doing its part too. I think a pay cut would do it.”Ms Cox had opened her speech referring to the gun deaths this year of David Clarke, Randy Robinson, Jahmiko LeShore and Colford Ferguson, all men in their 20s.“Like you, I am shocked and saddened that our young men are being slaughtered at the rate this year of one a month,” said the Premier.“Like you, I am outraged at this senseless violence. I can only pray that their deaths were not in vain and that in some way these tragedies and the pain and suffering they leave in their wake will help bring about a realisation that Bermuda is in urgent need of help.”She said National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief’s plan for gang legislation will be considered shortly by Cabinet.A number of initiatives to stimulate job creation will soon be announced, she said, including a programme providing summer work for unemployed people of all ages.Ms Cox said: “This may not be of any consolation to you, but I want you to know that I do understand the pain that some of you must be feeling as you struggle to find employment.“While I cannot stand in your shoes, I sense the deep hurt that many of you endured when you were made redundant.“It is often said that hard times bring out the best in us. While that may be so, losing a job is not only about losing a pay cheque, though that alone is a big enough setback. It is also about losing a sense of worth and validation.“Let me emphasise: the fact that you are unemployed does not mean that you are less worthy. We are defined not by what we do but by who we are.“Recession or not, employed or not, the people of Bermuda, the workers of Bermuda, are tremendously talented and creative.“For those who have been diligently seeking work, I would encourage you not to lose hope. If you can, I suggest that you use the time that you are not working to acquire new skills, or refine existing ones, and whatever else you do be sure to register with the Department of Labour and Training.”A flyer put out by the BPSU states: “As mandated by Government workers at the general membership meeting, all Government workers (civil servants) are encouraged to join us and march to Cabinet Office on Tuesday, April 26, at 10am.”Protesters will meet at BPSU headquarters at 9.30am.lUseful websites: www.plp.bm, www.bpsu.bm, www.gov.bm