Unions rage over one-year States pay freeze

Monday 27 April 2015

States workers have been offered a one-year pay freeze for the year, as ministers make a quick start on trying to tackle the deficit in States finances.

Unions were told on Friday that there would be no pay rises for the 7,000 States employees this year, apart from a small rise for nurses.

Taking into account the latest inflation figures, released on Saturday, the pay freeze proposal means a pay cut of 0.6% in real terms for public sector workers.

The news comes just days after ministers revealed that £60 million worth of cuts to pay and staff numbers in the public sector were part of their plan to fix a £130 million black hole in States finances.

But a quick response from teaching union NASUWT – who say members are shocked and angry at the move – shows that there is serious opposition to the plan.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ Union in Jersey, said: “This latest development is of deep concern to the NASUWT and its members who work tirelessly to provide the best educational opportunities for children and young people.

 “It is completely unacceptable for the States Employment Board to expect teachers and other public sector workers to bear the brunt of the States’ austerity measures.”

But States Chief Executive John Richardson said that the scale of the financial difficulties facing the public sector meant that if they didn’t make savings through pay restraint, they would have to make them through job cuts.

He said: “We know that this is not easy or welcome news for employees but with the challenges that we face, the SEB determined that a general increase in pay for 2015 cannot be justified and pay restraint will be key to minimising the need for redundancies across the States.

“It is also vital we continue to produce a more effective public service by carrying on the good work already started as part of the Public Sector Reform programme.”