13.03.14
Public sector pay to increase 1%
The government has committed to increasing public sector pay by 1% for the vast majority of workers, Danny Alexander, chief secretary of the Treasury, has stated.
Those that will not benefit from the pay increase, though, include some senior public sector officials.
Prior to the Treasury announcement, a number of pay review bodies (PRB), including the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB), NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB), Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB), Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB), Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB), examined how a 1% pay increase could be applied across the relevant public sector workforces.
Following the PRB recommendations it was revealed that armed forces staff will receive a 1% increase; civil servant departments will be given the flexibility to determine how to allocate a 1% award across the workforce; a vast majority of prison service officers will receive a1% pay rise; and the judiciary will see pay go up by the same amount.
But the police and crime commissioners will not receive a pay increase.
The largest furore, however, has come from the health sector where over 600,000 NHS staff will receive a lower-than-expected pay rise after the government rejected a call for them to be awarded a 1% rise on top of automatic "progression pay" that averages around 3%.
Alexander said: “Public sector workers make a vital contribution to the effective delivery of public services. We need to continue with public sector pay restraint in order to put the nation’s finances back on a sustainable footing.
“We are delivering on our commitment to a one percent pay rise for all except some of the most senior public sector workers.”
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