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Top public sector workers face pay freeze to save £3bn
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor10 Mar 2010
Top public sector workers hit out at “mean spirited” ministers today after the Government announced pay would be frozen for the coming year.
Thousands of NHS consultants, judges, military chiefs and top civil servants will get no increase in salary this year as Gordon Brown vowed to save £3 billion by cracking down on wages.
But today's announcement came days after MPs voted a 1.5 per cent pay rise for themselves, a hike of nearly £1,000 that will leave them on £65,737 each from April.
Whitehall's main union, the First Division Association, attacked Mr Brown for using civil servants' pay as a “political device”. Leader Jonathan Baume said the union recognised the fiscal crisis, but hinted that staff were paying the price for Mr Brown allowing public spending to “spiral out of control”. “The Government has insulted hard-working public servants today,” he added.
Lower-paid public sector staff are also facing zero pay rises. The Tories have already announced if they get into Government there will be a pay freeze for all public sector workers earning more than £18,000 next year. In imposing the across-the-board freeze, Mr Brown overruled independent pay-setting body the senior salaries pay review board, which had recommended hospital managers earning less than £80,000 should get a 2.25 per cent rise and that minimum pay for senior civil servants should increase to £61,000.
There were exceptions to today's freeze. In the armed forces, basic pay of officers up to the rank of Brigadier will increase by two per cent, while prison governors will get a one per cent rise.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham said consultants would have their pay frozen, but registrar grades, speciality doctors, general practitioners and dentists would receive a one per cent rise.
Mr Brown said: “These tough decisions complement existing measures to reduce the cost of the civil service.”
Reader views (11)
It isn't a pay freeze we want to see but a PAY CUT and a realization Public Sector pension funds are killing UK and therefore need to be halved on average. However the top Public Sector pension payments should be cut to no more than £30,000 per year.
- Joe, Thornton Heath, London former Labour territory, 11/03/2010 11:20
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Too little, too late.After riding the gravy train in first class seats for nigh on 13 years of this wretched administration it's high time that the majority of this shower were thrown off it for the equivalent of fare evasion. As for the financially and politically incompetent Brown, yet another transparent electioneering tool from the worst PM I've seen in my adult life..........
- Andy Woodhead, London, ENGLAND, 11/03/2010 08:52
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Oh, poor diddums! they should be grateful that they still have jobs, unlike so many other workers in the private sector.
- Judith, KIng's Lynn, Norfolk, UK, 10/03/2010 16:28
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"Leader Jonathan Baume said the union recognised the fiscal crisis, but hinted that staff were paying the price for Mr Brown allowing public spending to “spiral out of control”. “The Government has insulted hard-working public servants today,” he added."
WRONG, we are ALL paying for Brown and his government's ineptitude.
- Wa, Oxfordshire, England, 10/03/2010 16:22
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It's not their wages that need freezing it's their pensions schemes.
- Mark, South East London, 10/03/2010 14:21
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i cannot claim to be sorry for this feeze, but coming a week, or so after politico's wages rose by a grand, or more it is more evidence that have still to learn lessons, as they would put it.
i'd say that it would be patently foolish to waste your vote on the vast majorty of current encumbants, and to closely question all who would aspire to that position
come early may.
- M.O'Brien, london.uk, 10/03/2010 14:03
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About time they joined the real world. Most of us have been subject to a pay freeze (if we're lucky enough to still have jobs that is), for a few years now. Welcome to our world!
- Geraldine, London, 10/03/2010 13:40
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Yet again the man in the street pays for the mistakes of the greedy bankers, while they still get their bonuses and live the high life- I'm disgusted!
- Iain Wilson, Bonnybridge, Scotland, 10/03/2010 13:10
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They've always known that the public are outraged by the public sector's costs and the huge amount of wastes involved. I wonder why they've decided to get to grips with it now, I wonder.......any guesses?
- Dominique, london, 10/03/2010 12:53
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So where exactly are these hard-working public sector workers?
- Mike, london, 10/03/2010 12:42
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Boo hoo hoo, everyone in the private sector has a had a pay freeze for the last 2 years and are grateful to still have their jobs, if they don't like it then they can move jobs like the rest of us, simple. Undoubtedly we'll have more strike action from this inept bunch of civil servants because they think they're hard done by when in reality they’re the only people left in the country still being paid overtime and working 9-5 as standard.
As for the politicians, you have to ask how many of them will still be around after the next election to receive the 1% extra?
- Bob, Cheam, 10/03/2010 12:36
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