Public sector jobs scandal

ALARMING new evidence emerged today of how the taxpayer is funding a public sector boom while millions of private sector workers see their jobs and wages shrink.

Philip Hammond Critical of government Philip Hammond: Critical of government

Civil servants now enjoy better salaries than their private sector counterparts, have bigger pay rises and still take 50 per cent more sick days each year, latest research has found.

In a disclosure that will anger millions of struggling families worried about their prospects in the economic downturn, it has emerged that many of the public sector roles are in what have been dubbed “non-jobs”.

Public sector jobs and pay have ballooned under Gordon Brown, research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has shown.

The so-called “non-jobs” include a street football coordinator for Moray Council in north-east Scotland, earning £19,887 a year, an enviro-crime enforcement officer at Lambeth Council in London, on up to £30,774 a year, a climate change manager for Braintree Council, Essex, on up to £38,556 a year and the head of participation and inclusion – a role to encourage young people to play musical instruments – at Hertfordshire County Council on up to £42,197 a year.

TPA chief executive Matthew Elliott said: “In times of economic hardship, it is vitally important that the public sector tightens its belt, just as families are having to.

“Taxpayers can’t afford for quangos and councils to splash out on ‘non-jobs’ that would be an indulgence in economic good times.”

Conservative Shadow Chief Secretary Philip Hammond said: “Hard-pressed families facing 2009 with their savings vanishing and their jobs uncertain will be horrified that in contrast to the mounting job losses in the private sector, the public sector is expanding.

“If this is Gordon Brown’s idea of the Government tightening its belt, no wonder we are in this mess.”

The TPA research analysed official statistics to underline how private sector workers are carrying an ever-heavier burden of tax.

Public sector staff not only often enjoy better pay but also benefit from more job security and gold-plated, taxpayer-guaranteed final salary pensions which most will be able to claim at 60 while other people have to work to 65 or longer.

The most recent available information for the third quarter of 2008 showed that public sector employment increased by 14,000 while it fell by 128,000 in the private sector.

Average salaries in 2008 were £21,413 in the public sector, 3.4 per cent higher than the £20,715 average for the private sector.

Since 2000 average annual public sector pay has risen by 37.1 per cent while the increase for private company employees was 30.5 per cent.

Surveys have shown that the ave–rage public sector worker takes nine days off sick a year, against fewer than six in the private sector.

And public sector bodies are still recruiting many “jobs of dubious value”, the Alliance claimed.

But a Treasury spokesman said: “The Government has made a priority of fair remuneration for teachers, nurses, doctors, police officers and other public servants.

“At the same time, we’ve exceeded targets for efficiency savings by more than £5billion, releasing funds for vital front-line public services.”

The Local Government Association, which represents councils, also hit back at claims of “non-jobs”.

A spokesman said: “Local councils are having to tighten their belts in exactly the same way that hard-pressed families are.”

“From lollipop ladies to street cleaners and librarians, town halls employ people that provide over 800 vital services that many local residents rely on to get through the day.”

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