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Recession brings public/private sector divide

Figures due to be published later today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will highlight the degree to which public sector pay and employment has remained immune to the impact of the recession.

John Philpott, Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says that while the Government is right not to cut public sector jobs at this point in the economic cycle ministers should take a much tighter grip on public sector pay.

Dr Philpott said: “Whereas previous UK recessions have often been characterised by a regional ‘north-south divide’, the most noticeable feature of the current recession is the ‘public sector-private sector divide.’

“The public sector is at present an entirely ‘recession free zone’. While private sector employers are shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs and freezing or cutting the pay of millions of employees, their public sector counterparts are mostly maintaining staffing levels and presiding over relatively generous pay increases.

“As unemployment passes the 2 million mark, on its way to at least 3 million, there is a strong case for preserving or increasing public sector employment.

“What the government could and should do, however, is put a clamp on public sector pay rises. “Cash strapped private businesses are asking staff to make sacrifices to save jobs. The government and public sector employers should do likewise, redirecting savings on wage bills to help combat the rising toll of unemployment.

“Public sector employees have a vital role to play in dealing with the consequences of recession. But part of that role is sharing the burden of pain, which at the moment is being borne solely by their private sector counterparts.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .