Government urged to make public sector pay more flexible

PUBLIC SECTOR PAY

Government urged to make public sector pay more flexible

The answer to the ever-growing recruitment problems facing the public sector in London and south-east England is to introduce greater regional differentials into public sector pay, argues Professor Andrew Oswald in the Financial Times newspaper.

Oswald, professor of economics at the University of Warwick, thinks public sector pay should vary by region . He writes:

Public sector pay has to be allowed to vary by area for the straightforward reason that private sector pay does. Ultimately there is competition for workers between the two. It is no secret that recruitment problems in southern England’ s hospitals and schools occur because private sector wage rates are much higher in those areas of the country.

Want to know more?

Title: Bridging the public sector pay gap , Financial Times, 24 August 2000.

Availability: you can access the article by visiting www.ft.com. Type Bridging the public sector pay gap in to the advanced search box and then check headline and text and FT newspaper .