Jim Savege [pictured], corporate director of HR at Cumbria County Council and lead officer for pay and reward at the Public Sector People Managers' Association (PPMA), said: "The 0.5% offer reflects the current reality across the sector, and more broadly. Public-sector organisations face major challenges in balancing affordability and service but at a time where many staff are being asked to take pay cuts and thousands of staff are being made redundant across all sectors, including local government and the public sector, the offer made is a reasonable and affordable."
Although last week trade unions claimed the pay deal was "ridiculously low" Savege said: "Local authorities across the country are all in slightly different circumstances, and there were a variety of views from PPMA members about what the offer ought to be, but the balance is one of support for the 0.5%.
"We recognise the points being made about comparisons with other parts of the public sector with regard to rates of pay, but the current economic climate has to be a more significant influence in determining the offer."
At the other end of the scale, in the Budget yesterday it was announced high earners would face higher taxes and less tax relief on their pension schemes.
Responding to this, Savege added: "There are a small number of people in the public sector who fall into the category. I can understand where the Government is coming from but there may be a certain degree of disgruntlement among employees. If that is the case we may consider adapting our reward strategies to remain competitive."
Exclusive: Cumbria County County's HR boss says proposed local government pay rise is reasonable
A senior HR director in local government has told HR magazine the proposed pay rise of 0.5% for local government staff is both "affordable" and "reasonable".
