Call to scrap 'equal pay' plans could save £40m.
A BID for the States to immediately save £40m. a year from the ongoing £75m. ‘funding gap’ in States finances has been launched by a member of the Guernsey Party.
Searching questions on the viability of the States continuing to pursue ‘equal pay for work of equal value’ across the public sector – and to avoid costs of some £40m. a year – have been laid by Guernsey Party member Deputy John Dyke.
The equal pay proposals, approved by the States in the summer of 2020, have already been deferred from consideration during the life of this States on Policy & Resources’ recommendation in the Government Work Plan.
But in a move seemingly engineered to get the proposals completely dropped by the States, Deputy Dyke asks if there are any legal or contractual obligations for the States as an employer to ‘achieve greater parity in terms and conditions’.
‘I don’t know why this is still in the tax review to be honest,’ he said yesterday. ‘I’m not privy to everything that P&R is privy to but I am surprised this is still in there as part of an argument for putting up taxes.
‘We are facing serious fiscal problems and are pursuing something like this which in my view is impossible to achieve.’
Deputy Dyke is asking P&R to explain what ‘greater parity in terms and conditions’ means in the proposal, and specifically, ‘what benefit, if any, this provides to the Guernsey taxpayer, given it represents a 14% increase in the costs of the public sector for no apparent improvement in efficiency, productivity or reduction in baseline cost’.
If P&R demonstrates any enthusiasm for the call to ‘consider urgent withdrawal, suspension or delay’ to the proposals – the States’ funding gap could immediately be halved.
Deputy Mark Helyar, treasury lead at P&R and parliamentary leader of the Guernsey Party, told the Guernsey Press politics podcast this week that he would be prepared to challenge the proposal too.
‘One of the areas identified which is actually the biggest cost potentially annually is equalising pay across different areas of the public sector. Do we really need to do that? That’s the question I would ask.
‘These things need to be challenged. One of the frustrations I’ve had with this process are we are not challenging the assumptions, we’re just saying this is how much we’re going to spend, this is how much tax we’re need to raise for it. And I don’t think the public trusts government not to waste money.’
The States tax review estimates the cost at £35-40m. per year and it has previously been estimated at more than £50m.
Last July the States tasked Employment & Social Security to develop policy proposals for equal pay for work of equal value, but that has now been pushed back.
P&R has previously made clear that the proposal is different to equal pay for equal work, which would be unlawful under discrimination law. It would be unlawful for an employer to establish or maintain differences in pay between employees doing equal work, based on any ‘protected grounds’.
