22 May 2009
By David Scott in Edinburgh
Scotland’s Finance Secretary John Swinney is heading for a battle with the unions after setting tight limits on pay awards for thousands of workers in the public sector.
He told the finance committee of the Scottish Parliament on May 19 that he had approved a staff pay policy that included a maximum basic award of 1.5% in 2009/10.
The total increase in pay bills for each body, ‘taking account of the basic award and progression’, should not exceed 3%, Swinney said. The new measures will apply to the staff of more than 140 quangos and other public bodies such as Scottish Water.
The minister was asked by Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis if the 1.5% limit would also apply to chief executives and senior managers. ‘I was just wondering if, as far as you are aware, all government agencies have now submitted pay requests for chief executives for this coming financial year and, if that is the case, will any of them be over 1.5%?’ Purvis asked.
Swinney said the 2009/10 pay policy for chief executives had just been agreed and would be made known to non-departmental public bodies ‘very shortly’.
Purvis pressed the minister to say whether chief executives’ pay claims would be accepted if they were over 1.5% and if he would be approving any bonus regimes. Convener Andrew Welsh accepted Swinney’s argument that he could not give details to the committee that had been agreed but not published.
Union leaders voiced ‘disappointment’ at the proposed cap and warned ministers not to extend it to local authorities.
Unison Scottish secretary Matt Smith said: ‘All local government staff, including teachers, police and chief officials, are in the middle of multi-year deals – deals which employers insisted on. It would be shameful to even hint at reneging on those pay deals.’
Fire Brigades Union spokesman Gordon McQuade said: ‘At a time when MPs have just voted themselves a 2.3% pay rise, it would clearly be deeply disappointing if a real-terms pay cut for many thousands of low-paid workers in Scotland is being advocated.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said the pay of Scottish local government employees was a matter for councils. He added: ‘Ministers are showing a lead in pay issues and, aware of the pressures on families and individuals, have unilaterally taken a pay freeze this year.’
