Bigger pay rise for public sector staff
STAFF in the public sector can expect to secure pay rises at twice the rate of their counterparts in the private sector, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday.
The average public sector worker saw a pay rise of 3.2 per cent in the three months to the end of August, while private sector staff enjoyed a rise of just 1.2 per cent, including bonuses.
Both rises were more gradual than in the three months to July, while the UK’s total average earnings also slowed their increase, up 1.6 per cent on a year earlier.
The figures emerged amid promises from both of the main political parties that the spend on government departments would be slashed over the next few years.
The ONS statistics showed that while 230,000 private sector workers lost their jobs in the period between March and June, the same month saw public sector headcount rise by 13,000.
At the end of June, there were 6.04m people working in the public sector, while 22.85m were in private sector employment.