Public sector workers paid less than private sector staff

Public
sector workers are paid, on average, £24 per week less than private sector
workers, new figures reveal.

A pay
survey prepared for trade union GMB by NOMIS, at the University of Durham,
shows:

·       
Over 10 years, from 1992 to 2002, average public pay
rose 8.5 per cent less that private sector pay

·       
Ten years ago, average public sector pay was higher
than average private sector pay

·       
The average gross weekly wage in the public sector is
£447.50 per week, while private sector pay is £471.40, which amounts to £1,248
less for public sector workers each year.

Debbie
Coulter, GMB deputy general secretary, said: "While we continue to pay our
public service workers less for their valuable contribution, we will continue
to face recruitment and retention problems that will soon lead to a crisis
situation.

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"The
Government can no longer rely on the goodwill of public service workers to
guarantee front-line services. It needs to respect them for their work and
value them properly or they will go to the private sector and entire
communities will suffer as a result of worsening public services."

By
Quentin Reade