Three-quarters of people believe the government should assess the economic impact of regionalised public sector pay before introducing it, a Trades Union Congress poll revealed today.
A majority of respondents (65%) also think the move would make it harder for schools in low-pay areas to recruit and retain good staff. Only 21% disagreed.
The survey, which covered 1,003 people in England, Scotland and Wales, follows the government’s plan to scrap national pay bargaining in the public sector. Pay review bodies have been asked to report from next month on how a system of local or regional pay bargaining might work. Chancellor George Osborne also announced in the Budget that some parts of government could implement the change later this year.
The TUC has previously warned that regional pay deals could lead to a ‘brain drain’ of public service workers from poorer areas in the UK to more prosperous parts with higher pay rates.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber today reiterated calls for ministers to abandon the reform. He highlighted concerns that little thought had been given to the negative impact lower pay rates might have on regional economies, urging ministers to ‘look before they leap any further’.
‘This research shows that the government really needs to stop, listen and think again on regional pay. These are plans that could see over two million public sector workers suffering an almost permanent pay freeze,’ Barber said. ‘Nurses’ and teachers’ pay should be set by the job they are doing rather than how wealthy their local area is. Paying someone more to save lives or teach a child in a rich area is not only deeply unfair, it also makes no sense at all.’
A number of submissions have been made to the pay review bodies already. The Welsh Government has criticised the plan while consultancy Mercer has called for national pay deals to remain for top public sector posts.
The TUC has commissioned independent economists to assess the impact that local pay could have in both the short and long term. The findings will be published next month.
