Time to get around the table

But the implications of the move might do likewise for senior managers, and, indeed, the deputies who voted for it.

For part of the angst is the circulating rumour that the move might actually cost the States more than the current system, cause more problems than it solves.

Civil service pay grades are independently evaluated under the Hay method, widely used nationally in the public sector, and the top of the grading is apparently seen as the rate for the job. If recruits come in at a lower level, they work their way into the role and to the top increment, where they stay until they move on. The argument is that this saves money for the taxpayer, rather than costing the apparent £500,000 or so a year to move staff up the increment scale.

Then there’s the associated narrative, as we hear so often with the public sector, that if Guernsey goes out of step then recruitment will become difficult or impossible, be that pay grades or pensions.

Whatever the final vote this week, this was a helpful debate. It demonstrates how, difficult though it may be, talks are needed with the unions in a bid to change the way public sector employment is viewed by many of those paying for it.