21 November 2018
The States Employment Board has agreed revised pay offers for two groups of public servants, and the implementing of the existing pay offer for three other groups.
The Chair of the States Employment Board, Senator Tracey Vallois, today issued a statement to States Members explaining what has been agreed, after which the Chief Executive wrote to States employees, to set out the implications of the States Employment Board’s decisions.
The States Employment Board listened carefully to the views of unions and authorised some changes to the pay offers for Nurses and Midwives, Manual Workers and Energy Recovery Facility Workers. But it also confirmed that the total budget for the pay offers cannot be increased beyond the value of the current offers provided for under the current Medium-Term Financial Plan.
There is already a multi-million pound funding shortfall in the pay increase budget, and an emerging £30-40 million deficit in public finances by 2020, which the Chief Minister has required the public service to plug by delivering savings worth £30 million in 2019.
The States Employment Board also confirmed its commitment to addressing the historical issues of equal pay for work of equal value between employee groups, taking account of pay comparability with the local and UK markets, and using the limited budget available to fund the pay offers in the fairest way possible, by targeting the biggest increases at the lowest paid.
Civil Servants, Teachers and Uniformed Services
The pay offers for Civil Servants and Teachers and Uniformed Services (except ambulance staff who have accepted their offer) have not been revised, and are set out in the table below. The offers remain a combination of consolidated increases (a permanent increase to pensionable pay) and non-consolidated payments (a one-off lump sum that doesn’t increase pensionable pay) for some pay groups.
| Civil Servants and affiliated groups - Consolidated
- Non-consolidated
|
1.0%
1.1%
|
1.0%
1.0%
|
| Teachers and Uniformed Services - Consolidated - Non-consolidated
|
2.0%
1.1%
|
2.0%
1.0%
|
The States Employment Board has agreed that these pay offers should now be implemented, to ensure that these colleagues receive their 2018 pay increases in 2018.
Employees in the Civil Servants, Teachers and Uniformed Services pay groups will therefore receive the new rate of pay and back pay, as well as any one-off lump-sum payments for 2018, in their November salaries. They will also receive the pay increase for 2019 on 1 January, and the one-off lump sums for 2019 will also be paid in January salaries.
Nurses and Midwives, Manual Workers and Energy Recovery Facility Workers
Unions for Nurses and Midwives, Manual Workers and Energy Recovery Facility Workers, asked for flat-rate percentage increases, to give everyone the same percentage pay increase, instead of a graduated pay offer, which targets higher increases at employees on the lowest salaries. They also asked to remove the changes to terms and conditions in the original offers.
The States Employment Board authorised a revised pay offer which incorporates these requests. The revised offer restructures how the money allocated to these groups is distributed.
Details of the revised offers are not being released at present, since they are being actively discussed with unions. Affected employees will be informed about the revised offers shortly.
Review of employee terms and conditions in 2019
In the first three months of 2019, the States will engage with all key stakeholders to agree how to achieve revised terms and conditions which are fit for purpose and which address pay comparability issues across the public sector. This will be followed by formal negotiations between the States and unions, with the aim of implementing any changes on 1 January 2020.
Chair of the States Employment Board, Senator Tracey Vallois, said: “These have been difficult and protracted negotiations, which everyone involved is keen to bring to a close as soon as possible. While the States Employment Board recognises the impacts on employees of the rising cost of living in Jersey, we also have a responsibility to all islanders to operate within the available budget. The offers the Board have authorised seek to strike the best balance possible between these competing pressures.”
Chief Executive, Charlie Parker, said: “The inequalities and inconsistencies that we have sought to resolve through these pay offers stretch back over years. We will continue to work with unions to seek agreement on pay wherever possible, and I look forward to productive negotiations next year to resolve the unfair historical anomalies in pay, terms and conditions once and for all. I am fully committed to the States being a good, modern employer, with rewarding jobs, which treats all of our employees fairly.”
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