Pay talks come at a tough time
AFTER years where it hasn’t been an issue, pay talks are back on the table for the unions representing public sector workers and the States – just at the time when the government really doesn’t need them.
An innovative three-year deal struck by Policy & Resources in 2022 has taken the issue out of the public domain but surely the chances of such a deal being agreed again with this government entering its final months, must be considered slim.
There is also the need to balance bad news with the benefits of a long-term deal. Workers might tolerate a single-year pay freeze or reduced award but the longer the deal, the sweeter it has to be to secure support.
Though much was made of its sub-RPI nature, that three-year deal from 2022 to 2024 was pretty sweet.
Meanwhile government faces fiscal uncertainty and the distinct prospect that inflation might actually start to rise again rather than continue to fall.
Reference was made in these pages yesterday of a job in the States – ‘it was a safe job for life and though the pay wasn’t much, you got a good pension and security’.
That historic perception has changed now and the States is generally regarded as a generous paymaster.
The best that Deputy John Gollop, on behalf of P&R, might do in these talks is seek to reset expectations.