I still don't see the hardship......most private jobs have similar issues.....except the average plod does not face any real prospects of redundancy. Pension still sounds magic at any of the ages you quote.....
As for meeting the ****ty end of the stick of life...well you should of thought of that before signing up. As my elders and betters said some time ago to a worried colleague on the way down south..... If you didn't want to be shot at why the f&@k join the army, the uniform is not that nice, the pay is **** and the food is terrible.
It just a choice, and we all knew the deal when we signed up. This mess was predictable for anyone who can remember sunny jim, operation countryman and the days of multicoloured swap shop. Everyone was out on strike, even dustybin.
after labour spend all the money, it all goes to the wall for a couple of years....it will be bad hair, bone clothes and wine bars again by 2017
Don't get me wrong i have some sympathy...but some times you have to see how lucky you are even when things seem crap. Just remember, a dole queue has a similar level of client and is a lot tougher place to be! . I found out the hard way...