Good point Robin. I was trying to make the point that both parties feel strongly about their own position because they are both profit maximisers. Ironically, public sector workers act just like private sector workers in this respect. I guess we elect Governments to take difficult decisions on public sector pay. Personally, representing a household where both sectors are present, I believe that the public sector needs to reform. Fact is, they are a cost to the economy, and although they pay tax, they don't create wealth like the private sector. Like them or loathe them, it is the private sector that actually makes our nation money.