Public Services Pay in the 1980s(1)

Abstract

In 1980 relatively large comparability pay increases were given to a number of public services negotiating groups following the Clegg inquiries. Longer-term trends in public service pay were shown in an article in the National Institute Economic Review (Foster, Henry and Trinder, 1984) and in evidence to the Megaw Inquiry on Civil Service Pay (Trinder, 1982). The conclusion of these earlier articles was that the long-term trend was for pay of government employees to be kept broadly in line with that of the private sector and that the above mentioned Clegg awards approximately restored their relative position. This note describes movements in the pay of the major public sector groups since 1980 and shows how they have compared with movements in prices and with pay in other parts of the economy.