Why not restrict salaries? (Ron and Jane Willey)
We write with reference to the SIC's tenant rent consultation letter regarding their proposed increases in tenants' rents to help pay for the SIC's 40-year-old housing debt.
The increases proposed by the SIC of five per cent for each of the next two years will mean an extra rent for year one of five per cent and another extra five per cent on the second year, meaning in reality a £10.25 total increase over the two years for each £100 of annual rent. On an annual rent of say £3,000, that equals £307.50 per rented home together with the future rents continually to be increased from that new base in future years.
When this is applied to old pensioners like ourselves it is an added burden far in excess of the government's tight grip on any pension increases coming at a time when heating costs have been increased by a massive eight per cent plus since 15th November and will be undoubtedly be further increased next year and the following years.
We have tried hard to cope with this by only heating one room in our home and turning off the hot water boiler completely yet we still pay more than previously. Some of our neighbours who have not taken these drastic cuts now pay twice as much as us for a similar property.
So, how about it SIC? Why not restrict your own staff's salaries to bring your pay increases of pay in line with our pension increases?
Not withstanding the £10 million gift from the government as reported in last week's Shetland Times to help we think that, apart from the half per cent annual increase also mentioned in the SIC letter, any further rent increases to be totally unacceptable.
Ron and Jane Willey
4 Stove Cottages,
Walls.