Latest news with #publicsectorpay
The Independent
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
These unanswered questions could be Rachel Reeves' downfall
Even the UK's leading economist was flummoxed. Minutes after Rachel Reeves had delivered her first spending review, Paul Johnson, the head of the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies, said he was not sure he had ever listened to a speech by a chancellor where it was 'so hard to work out what is happening'. Her statement to the Commons had been 'full of numbers, few of them useful', he added. But one thing is sure — big problems are still to come down the line. The under-pressure chancellor had no choice but to come out fighting on Wednesday as she unveiled plans for government spending over until the next election. She is facing criticism from all sides for a series of policy choices she has made since entering office, as well as poor economic growth. Just days before she unveiled her spending review, Labour 's first in a generation, she was forced to announce a massive U-turn on one of her earliest decisions in the Treasury — stripping the winter fuel allowance from millions of pensioners. But having answered one crisis, more potential pitfalls lie ahead. One of these will be around public sector pay. There are eight government departments facing real terms cuts to their budget as part of this spending review, according to the IFS. On top of that there will be no money for extra pay rises, meaning any increases will have to come from within a department's budget. But, even just in the area of health, doctors in England are threatening to strike after they were handed a 4 per cent pay hike. That followed rises worth an average of 22 per cent over the last two years. The British Medical Association, the union representing doctors, has called the increase "derisory" and not enough to make up for what they said was 15 years of below-inflation hikes. The statement also included little detail on where most of Ms Reeves' much-vaunted 'savings' are coming from. She announced ministers would save £1 billion a year by ' ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers' within four years. Part of this will be driven by funding to cut the asylum backlog, hearing more appeal cases and returning more people to their home countries — but this is by far the first government who has tried to end the use of hotels. The government has also announced plans to sell off the family silver, including buildings in central London, and cut the number of civil servants. But Treasury sources would not be drawn on figures detailing much they want the headcount to fall — although ministers privately talk of 50,000 — setting up another clash with the unions, still Labour's largest financial backers. More broadly, there have been warnings that Ms Reeves has only delayed the pain – and there will have to be tax rises in the Autumn. The spectre in the room of the statement was, of course, Donald Trump. Ms Reeves' promise of billions in investment is her gamble on boosting economic growth. But the impact of Trump's trade tariffs hangs over the economy. Only last week, global economics body the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development cut its forecast for UK economic growth. It seems that, with Trump in the White House, Ms Reeves may well struggle to be in charge of her own destiny, regardless of what she's promising.
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The true cost of Reeves's capitulation on public sector pay
Public sector pay is rising, in some cases more than twice as fast as the Chancellor had previously claimed was affordable. In the second major U-turn of the week, the Government has ditched its previous promise of restraint and backed the pay review boards' recommendations of handouts of between 3.25pc and 6pc. The decision places fresh strains on the public purse, already reeling from the winter fuel debacle. The Prime Minister's spokesman estimates the cost of higher pay packets at £6.9bn next year, which economists say is roughly £3bn more than expected. It raises fears of chaos both for departmental budgets and the private sector. The Treasury is only funding an increase of 2.8pc, leaving departments to fund the rest, with growing expectations of fresh tax raids to pay for the largesse. A few months ago Rachel Reeves and assorted government departments had insisted that pay rises must be limited to 2.8pc to preserve public services. Last year the Treasury argued that 'spending beyond this would require further borrowing beyond current plans, or tax rises'. NHS England warned that inflation-busting pay rises would mean worse services, with longer waiting lists while patient safety would be put in jeopardy. Pay rises of 3.3pc, instead of 2.8pc, would cost 300,000 operations and appointments, they said. Yet pay in the health service is now going to rise by between 3.6pc and 6pc, with the top end of that range going to junior doctors.
The Australian
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Australian
WGEA: PS women earn $8200 a year less than men
Women in the public sector earn on average $8200 a year less than men, according to landmark analysis of public sector pay gaps by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The WGEA's examination of 120 public sector employers and two corporate groups found that more than half had reduced their gender pay gap in the past 12 months. According to the WGEA data, the median total remuneration gender pay gap was 11.3 per cent at the CSIRO; 9.8 per cent at the ABC; 8.6 per cent at Australia Post; and 4.8 per cent at the Australian Taxation Office. The median gap at the Australian Federal Police was 12.2 per cent; 11.5 per cent at the Reserve Bank; 1.9 per cent at SBS; and 1.3 per cent at NBN Co. About 50 per cent of public sector employers have a gender gap below 4.8 per cent, a point known as the employer gender pay gap mid-point. The private sector mid-point is 8.9 per cent. Across all employees in the public sector, the average total remuneration gender pay gap is 6.4 per cent, compared to 21.1 per cent in the private sector. WGEA chief executive Mary Wooldridge said nearly half of the employers in the sector still had a gender pay gap in favour of men, and while they were often smaller than the private sector, as evidenced by the 4.8 per cent mid-point gap, 'this does nevertheless show that work still needs to be done to improve gender balance in both pay and composition'. Ms Wooldridge pointed to payments above base salary, which the report showed was a key contributor to the gender pay gap. The value of payments above base salary including overtime, performance bonuses and superannuation added $5373, or 3.6 per cent, to the gender pay gap, indicating they offered more financial reward to men than women. 'Releasing public sector gender pay gaps for the first time today places a spotlight on these employers, like it has done in the private sector. This enhanced transparency and accountability is a catalyst for further action,' Ms Wooldridge said. She said the results pointed to how progress can be achieved when employers use long-term and deliberate actions that address gender equality. 'The commonwealth public sector has achieved gender balance in the composition of the workforce, at managerial level and in the upper quartile of remuneration,' she said. 'This is a critical driver of the lower gender pay gaps reported today. The results also show that employers are taking action to improve equality in their workplaces.' Nation CCTV of Erin Patterson's 9-second bathroom break a day after hosting the fatal mushroom lunch has been shown to the jury in her triple-murder trial. Nation Premier Chris Minns has issued a scathing statement as hundreds of commuters were left stranded after a power outage brought the city's train network to a grinding halt.
