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Today’s question: are public sector workers paid too much?

Simon Ward
by Lovemoney Staff Simon Ward on 24 November 2011  |  Comments 7 comments

The average public sector salary is nearly £4,000 a year more than those in the private sector. Is this fair?

Today’s question: are public sector workers paid too much?

New figures show that the average public sector worker earns nearly £4,000 a year more than their private sector counterparts.

The Office of National Statistics says that the average full-time public sector worker earns £28,802 a year. Meanwhile, the average full-time private sector worker earns £25,000.

These figures have come less than a week before a major strike by public sector workers over changes to their pensions.

The average annual pension in the public sector is worth £7,841, according to a government report.

The government offered revised proposals for public sector pensions in a bid to stave off industrial action. These included guaranteeing that no-one within 10 years of retirement would have to work longer or see their pension pot decrease.

We want to know your thoughts on public sector pay. Is it too high? Or is it justified for the essential services many of these workers provide? Is the strike action planned for next Wednesday justified?

Share your thoughts in the Comments box below.

More: High executive pay ‘sending us back to Victorian times’ | Life? Sorry, you can't afford it

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Comments (7)

  • dimercaprol
    Love rating 1
    dimercaprol said

    Re-reading the article and comments leads me to another question. What if the figures are all correct and public sector workers are earning more than private sector workers even when you look at "like for like" jobs (unlikely though this is, given my own knowledge and Tomasi's experience described above)? What should be done if this is the case? Private sector workers seem to be only able to look at the public sector with envy and demanding that public sector pay goes down. Instead, perhaps they should be asking why their pay is lower than public sector workers' while big shareholders (I am not talking about people who have £2000 worth of shares here), CEOs/ MDs, bankers making millions in bonuses and the billionaires who own many of the companies in this country are finding it difficult to discover new ways of spending their money (made by underpaying said private sector workers).

    Report on 10 December 2011  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • mark-0
    Love rating 0
    mark-0 said

    Private sector pay and benefits have been better for most of the last 30 years than for the public sector; and they will again be better once the economy recovers. Even if the public sector is better off at present that is merely a fulfilment of the promises of the past -'your pay may be lower but you have more security' is what public sector workers were told in the past.

    Report on 21 January 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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