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2017.01.17
8 The Connétable of St. John of the Chief Minister regarding the 2015 public sector
pay award: [1(44)]
Will the Chief Minister confirm whether or not negotiations for the 2014 Public Sector Pay Award have been concluded?
Senator I.J. Gorst (The Chief Minister):
I wonder if the Deputy Chief Minister could answer this question for me please. Senator A.K.F. Green ( Deputy Chief Minister - rapporteur):
The employer is pursuing a 2-year agreement, as the Constable referred to, 2015/2016. The pay review has not been concluded.
- The Connétable of St. John :
Why has it not been concluded, and can we have a timescale as to when it will be concluded? Senator A.K.F. Green:
It has not been concluded at the present time because we have not got agreement with all parties. We have agreement with some groups but not with others. It is impossible to put a timeline on. What I will say is that an offer was made on 29th April 2015, 22nd January 2016, and 15th April 2016. The offer takes up the full amount allocated to the pay award in the Medium Term Financial Plan for those years.
- Senator S.C. Ferguson:
Were promises not made prior to the election in 2014 about the 2015 pay award, and why were those promises not kept?
Senator A.K.F. Green:
I am not aware of any promises that were made prior to the election. Pay negotiations are always very difficult and it is not appropriate that they are attempted to take place in this Assembly. Pay negotiations take place with the representatives and our professional staff who know what they are doing and I am not going to get into pay negotiations here.
- Senator S.C. Ferguson:
Why, on at least one occasion did the S.E.B. (States Employment Board) send the employee relations representatives to meet with the union representatives without giving them a clear mandate to negotiate?
Senator A.K.F. Green:
The S.E.B. have set a clear mandate in discussion with officers all the way along. I am sorry if the Senator has a different view, but that is a fact.
- Deputy G.P. Southern :
How many negotiating meetings have there been in the last 3 months over this issue, and at those meetings does any elected representative ever turn up?
Senator A.K.F. Green:
The States Employment Board has professional officers to negotiate a pay agreement. I do not know offhand the number of meetings that have taken place, but they regularly take place. It is not appropriate for elected Members to start to try and intervene in professional pay negotiations.
- The Connétable of St. John :
We do not wish to interfere with pay negotiations. What I wish to ensure is that the public sector are paid the wages due to them, in some cases up to 2 years out of date. When are we going to get a result that we can stand up and say: “We are looking after our employees?”
Senator A.K.F. Green:
At least I agree on this point with the Constable. The sooner this is concluded the better, but it has to be concluded appropriately. While I cannot answer when, I hope that we will be able to conclude it fairly soon.