Often I do not just criticise, but try to give suggestions as well. Making the punch clock or palm reader as attractive as possible was one of the aims of my letter titled Early Retirement (TMID, 3 March), when I said, “time spent at work can be measured to a certain degree of accuracy, especially with today’s modern methods of recording punctuality”.

Only on the same day that my letter was published, I read that the GWU ordered industrial actions for nursing aides in hospitals to avoid using punch clocks…

Wouldn’t it be nice to hit a number of birds with one stone? My pension proposal as explained in my letter, would have avoided a lot of undue tension by other categories of healthcare workers as well. I am now referring to the nurses who wish to retire early.

I had proposed that people who work long recordable hours should retire before the age of 65 years. The 65-year age bracket should only be reserved for unproductive workers due to excessive sick leaves (year after year), absenteeism, or other unjustified reasons. Workers who officially do not work 40 hours a week should also retire last. This, however, should not apply to self-employed who do not enjoy vacation leave and normal sick leave entitlement.

C. Micallef

Fgura