Say no to public sector regional pay agreement, fight for fair rate for the job

This coming week in the budget the chancellor is expected to scrap the national pay rate agreement for public sector pay allowing certain parts of the country to start paying less or more depending on their area.

Chancellor George Osborne is expected to say civil servants, such as Jobcentre and DVLA staff, should have pay brought into line with private sector salaries in their regions.
The Public and Commercial Services union says it would cut regional wages.
The Treasury says public sector pay in some parts of England and Wales is up to 18% higher than the private sector.
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union - which represents civil servants - told the BBC the plans would be "cruel, economically incompetent and counterproductive" at a time when public sector salaries and pensions were being cut.

The chancellor wants to rebalance the economy and that means getting private sector companies growing. Scrapping national pay deals for public sector workers might level the playing field... or so the theory goes.
In places where public sector workers are paid more than those in the private sector, Treasury sources say private firms are "crowded out" because they cannot compete with the wage levels.
But that would mean setting pay levels locally which the trades unions warn would lead to huge disparities across the country and could drive down pay in the regions.
The move would mean local factors, such as the cost of living and private sector pay rates, would now be taken into account for public sector workers.
Treasury research suggests the pay gap ranges from 18% in Wales to 0.5% in the south-east of England.
The plans would initially affect 160,000 civil servants working in Jobcentres, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and border guards at ports and airports.
But local pay rates affecting up to six million public sector workers could be rolled out from next year.


Which to me tells me where this is eventually heading, full privatisation of public services claiming that private sector jobs can’t compete is nonsense to me and is further playing public sector off against private sector workers. More and more classic divide and rule tactics from this rotten Tory government.

Why are people not asking well if private sector pay is not as good as public sector why don’t we bring that up to a similar level rather than levelling down public sector all the time?

It seems to me another vicious attack on public sector workers on top of the already hard attacks on pensions, pay freeze’s cuts to services working hours and others. It’s a cynical attempt by a government who has lost its way and is desperately trying anything to kick starting a failing economy. The fact that workers wages are being attacked full stop tells me much, while bankers get their bonus’s and the rich get tax cuts the poorest workers in society see pay cuts, pay freezes and cynical divide and rule tactics enforced on them.

Its time all unions in the public sector said enough is enough and starts preparing plans for a serious wave of industrial strike action that can lead to the downfall of this government.

Its clear capitalism is not working and needs to be brought to an end replaced with a democratic planned economy based on everybody's needs not the greed o fa few.