The decision to uplift certain benefits by 1% per annum has drawn an awful lot of flak in the past week or so. It is argued by some that picking on the poorest in society is harsh, to say the least. And it almost certainly is.
However, it probably means that, over the period from 2007 to 2015, those on benefits will be about 4% worse off in real terms, compared to the Consumer Price Index. Those in the Civil Service would be delighted to be that amount worse off...
An Executive Officer with ten years service is already 11.5% worse off in real terms, following pay rises of 2%, 2%, 1%, nil and nil over the past five years, and 1% rises in the pay bill for the coming years will probably means less than that in the pay packet again. That means that my example Executive Officer will be more than 15% worse off in real terms by 2015.
You may argue that life has been tough out there in the private sector, and that job security and a decent pension are surely worth something, and they are, but Civil Service numbers are now lower than they have been for a very long time, and the new pension arrangements mean that, instead of paying 1.5% of salary towards that pension, it will be 5.45% by 2015.
So, effectively, that civil servant will be nearly 20% worse off in real terms by 2015. And, over the period from 2007 to 2012, those on weekly pay have been nearly 7% better off than my example civil servant, a gap that is likely to increase.
And with more jobs still to be axed, and public spending to be squeezed further, it isn't going to get better any time soon, if ever...
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