Public Sector Pay
Most of the people who work in the public sector are modestly paid relative to the rest of the economy, although in recent times their incomes have risen faster than the private sector. However there are some, quite a few, who now earn a lot. In fact too much. This was brought home to me when my council tax bill arrived yesterday. It had gone up, of course. Talking to someone in the know I discovered the chief executive of the council (an urban centre with a large rural surround) is paid over £200,000 a year. This is utterly absurd. The argument that you will not get the best people without lavishing them with rewards from public taxes paid by those with a fraction of such an income, is complete, absolute, utter and unmitigated nonsense.
Public service is not, never has been and never should become a road to big money. By its nature you should not earn a lot more than the average of the people you serve. The fact that excessive pay does not buy competence is evidenced by the never ending screw ups in every department of government both national and local. Many argue there has never before been such a level of public management incompetence. Legions of regulators and quangos have to be added to the bill to keep a check, driving up costs more and more.
Moreover it suggests that money value is the only measure by which human worth can be judged, when in fact it is the least worthy. We need a sharp change of perspective of what our national values are and what the purpose of public service is. Those in their masses who serve us daily for a fair wage are in no doubt; it is their bosses who have gone way over the top.
Gordon Brown’s freeze on top public sector pay (mandarins, generals, judges GPs etc) was a welcome sign of change in the wind. A cap on future local government officers’ earnings at £100,oo0 p.a and an immediate 20% pay cut on all currently earning more would be even better. Include Health Trust mangers as well.