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Work doesn’t pay, speech is free and cats are a menace

Letters Editor
Letters Editor
Published March 25, 2025 6:30pm
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In MetroTalk: If a job is unfulfilling, wouldn’t anyone want to leave? Maybe it’s time to stop blaming Gen-Z for circumstances beyond their control… (Picture: Getty/Metro)

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.

Why Gen Z is walking away from work

In reply to Steve Mitchell (MetroTalk, Mon). The reason many people in my generation – Gen Z – want to leave their jobs is because they’re unfulfilling, have low pay for a large workload and there’s such a huge divide between the earnings of a CEO and their lowest paid staff. People are getting sick of working for overpaid corporate overloads for a measly salary and good for them if they want to quit. Amelia W, London

Gen Z’s struggles are no joke

Businesswoman frustrated by bad new at office desk
No wonder Gen Z don’t want to play the game anymore (Credits: Getty Images)

‘We said we wouldn’t go back to how things were and we haven’t – it’s got worse.’
I’m Gen X but can totally understand the disillusion of Gen Z – struggling to get on the property ladder, landlords ripping you off, a world full of plenty and yet all seemingly owned by a tiny few…

All this coming after living through a global lockdown, where we all saw what was really important in life and who were really essential.

We said we wouldn’t go back to how things were and we haven’t – it’s got worse. Those essential workers are treated worse than before, the wealth gap gets bigger. It’s like the end of Monopoly – all the money going in one direction to one person, the rest of us struggling to get round to reach the next payment. It’s at this point no one wants to play anymore. This is the plight of Gen Z. Stuart, Dagenham

‘Mental health’ or misdiagnosed physical condition?

‘I figured out that the modern environment caused my misery’
Over-diagnosis of mental illness – as described by health secretary Wes Streeting (MetroTalk, Mon) – can be catastrophic.

I suffered from crushing fatigue for many years, which was never recognised as a physical condition –instead, I was diagnosed with mental health issues, which exacerbated the situation catastrophically.

I figured out that the modern environment caused my misery – windowless or dim rooms plus glaring lamps and screens.

I am quite fit now and feel as if I have come back from the dead.

I reckon that ‘mental health’ is abused on a vast scale to cover up physical illness and inhumane living and working conditions. Christina Egan, Tottenham

Gen Z can’t DIY

Woman installing 9 volt battery in smoke detector
There are so many tutorials available online too (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

‘he should be embarrassed and so should his parents’
I’m laughing so much over 22-year-old part-time law student Sam Daley, who paid £180 to have his carbon monoxide alarm batteries changed because he and his generation have
no DIY skills (Metro, Mon). You couldn’t make it up – he should be embarrassed and so should his parents for not supplying him with the basic knowledge of DIY, or do they themselves not know how to do these things? Changing a battery, putting up a shelf – which Sam says he’s also unable to do – are the simplest of things. Debs, London

Is freedom of speech really under threat?

‘your opinion is in a national newspaper’
Alan (MetroTalk, Tue) laments about how the country is ‘broken’ and him not having ‘freedom of speech’.

The very fact you had your opinion in a national newspaper rubbishes any argument you have about losing your ‘freedom of speech’.

People like Alan love to victimise themselves, yet their arguments rarely, if ever, bring anything thoughtful or original to the table.

Please, give it a rest with the whole ‘freedom of speech’ nonsense – visit a country where freedom of speech really is limited and you’ll surely get some perspective. One of the most damaging problems our society faces is not being able to properly balance emotion with logic.

It ultimately creates more problems instead of solutions and leads to weaponised ignorance that has real-world consequences for others. Rob, South Shields

Should pet owners pay the price for the destruction their animals cause?

Cat eating a bird
it’s estimated that cats kill between 40 and 70 million birds annually (Credits: Getty Images)

‘£200 per pet, that’ll clear our fiscal deficit’
Many will agree with Richard (MetroTalk, Tue), who says there should be a dog licence of £50.

Perhaps in view of the number of irresponsible owners it should be £200. I would add that cat owners should also pay £200 per cat in view of the carnage their pets cause – more than 50million birds and 200million animals are killed by cats every year.

There are 13.5million dogs and 12.5million cats in the UK so that would clear our fiscal deficit. Clark Cross, Linlithgow

Pot holes are just a symptom – what about the roads?

‘Electric vehicles will only make the situation worse’
It is commendable for the government to provide £1.6billion for pothole repairs (Metro, Mon) but shouldn’t people be asking for resurfacing of our roads? The potholes are happening on roads with thin surfaces, particularly roads used by
a variety of heavy vehicles. The increase in electric vehicles, which
are very heavy, will only make the situation worse if resurfacing is not going to be considered. Grahame King, Leicester.

The rise of fancy job titles

Further to Delboy’s letter about fanciful job titles (MetroTalk, Mon),
I have heard that in the US, undertakers are sometimes referred
to as ‘grief therapists’.

In the 60s, my late dad jokingly used to call bin men not ‘environmental executives’ but ‘dusthole mechanics’. Nick Spokes, Ilford

Why do cashiers always ask about loyalty cards?

‘Staff have to ask’
In response to Glen Purcell (MetroTalk, Mon) bemoaning ‘childlike’ shoppers needing to be asked whether they have loyalty cards.

Staff have to ask because the till will not let them continue with the transaction until they have said ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the customer having one. Kim Redding, Hornchurch

The hidden hazard of escalators that no one talks about

Front view of the end of an escalator in a shopping center with people in the background.
It’s very common for long dresses to get caught in escalators (Credits: Getty Images)

‘TfL seemingly refuses to announce’
On ‘nannyish’ public transport announcements (MetroTalk, Mon), there is one specific incident that TfL seemingly refuses to announce around the station.

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The incidents sometimes do involve other customers when these ladies
fall or lose their balance on the escalators. They should raise it up before stepping on escalators. C Ukeje, Woolwich

Comedy and philosophy

‘I laughed more than I thought.’
I went to a class mixing comedy
and philosophy. I laughed more than
I thought. Jeff, Nuneaton

Comment now What are your thoughts? Have your say in the comments belowComment Now

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