In response to the ongoing pay dispute with nursing unions, Senator Tracey Vallois says that the issue of nurses being underpaid compared to other public sector workers needs to be addressed but the States had a ‘duty to manage government budgets responsibly’ and ‘limited money’ is available at this time for pay awards.
In recent months, a deadlock has emerged between public sector unions and the States Employment Board owing to discontent over pay offers for 2018 and 2019 which largely do not match the rising cost of living in the Island.
Representatives of the nursing unions have said that their members are particularly aggrieved because they feel that promises made to them several years ago for equal pay have been broken.
Nurses and midwives were offered average pay rises of 4.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent for 2018 and 2019, respectively, while the latest inflation rate is 4.3 per cent.
In her letter, Senator Vallois says that nurses and midwives have been ‘historically disadvantaged’ compared to other pay groups in the public sector, that she ‘fully understands’ why they feel undervalued and that it is ‘important to address this’.
But she adds that the pay offer made to nurses and midwives is ‘complicated’ and points out that, while comparisons with the UK are difficult because of the varying costs of living, the vast majority of Jersey staff are paid better than their NHS colleagues and also receive a healthy pension scheme to which the States contributes 16 per cent.
In response to recent calls to fund further pay rises from States budget surpluses, Senator Vallois says that recurring costs, such as wage increases, should not be funded by one-off windfalls.
‘As chairwoman of the States Employment Board, I must point out that the funding available for pay increases is limited,’ she says.
‘Overall, the costs of the current set of pay offers add £33.6 million (£27.4 million recurring, plus £6.2 million in one-off lump sums) to the States pay bill of £359 million, and £14.9 million of this is unfunded.
‘Not only can we not afford to increase the offers, but we have to make savings elsewhere to pay for the offers that we have made.’
She adds: ‘Unions have pointed out that in recent years there have been
surpluses in the States budget arising from a combination of under-spends and higher income receipts, and have asked for this to be used to fund higher pay rises.
‘But these surpluses are one-offs, and it would be irresponsible to fund recurring costs through one-off windfalls. In addition, as the Treasury Minister has pointed out in her draft budget, the forecast is for a structural deficit of £30-40 million for public funds by 2020.
‘While I accept that the past ten years have not been easy, it is our duty to manage government budgets responsibly to ensure that we can afford our public services.’
