Public sector pay is now at the top of the agenda of the main political parties. With a huge chunk of public spending going on pay Alistair Darling and George Osborne have already signalled tough clampdowns in prospect.
Both have threatened pay freezes for those at the top next year and minimal increases for staff on lower wages to help cut spending in the next two years. Those quangos that survive the cull promised by the Tories and Labour will have to cut staff and pay. Pay packages of over £300,000 are unlikely to be tolerated by any administration. Generous but unaffordable index- linked final salary pensions may also be threatened.
The maximum town hall salary advertised has already dropped from £240,000 to £200,000 and headhunters claim that Tory councils want to pay their chiefs even less. Council chiefs are begining to hit back, warning that pay curbs will lead to an exodus of experienced staff. Earlier this year they also tried to resist a pay freeze with little success. But the salaries of executives at NHS and primary care trusts have until now had little exposure. The figures showing that 150 executives earn more than £150,000 and that nearly 60 earn more than £200,000 are startling and as jobs become vacant these salaries may also start coming down.
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NHS bosses are pondering how to curb the pay of nurses, doctors and ancillary staff in the next two years to balance their books. But now they look more likely to be first in the queue for a pay cut.