Public sector pay report shows workers need a fairer deal - PSA

Senior executives in the public service are still getting bigger pay increases than their staff, and the PSA welcomes the new State Services Commissioner’s plans to take a "conservative" approach.

The 2016 Senior Pay Report shows the average public service chief executive received a 1.3 per cent increase, and Crown Entity chief executives averaged a 3.4 per cent boost.

PSA National Secretary Glenn Barclay says that compares poorly with the average public servant, who got just a 0.7 per cent increase.

"When performance pay is taken into account, the average executive is paid 6.6 times more than the average public servant," Mr Barclay says.

"We are pleased the new Commissioner Peter Hughes plans to be conservative about the amount of money top public servants are paid.

"We agree the public service needs excellent leaders, but the gap between executive and staff pay would be unacceptable to most New Zealanders."

Mr Barclay says most public servants received a much smaller pay increase this year than their bosses did.

"The new Commissioner, Peter Hughes, mentions a 2.1 per cent average increase, but that doesn’t take into account the changes in the type of people working in the public service.

"There are more higher paid specialist staff, such as IT professionals and regulators, and fewer low-paid administration workers, which distorts the figure.

"Our members work hard to deliver quality services to New Zealanders every day, and they deserve to be valued properly for that."

ENDS

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