Public sector pay - ESRI figures show pay cut is inevitable

THE Economic and Social Research Institute is expected to confirm tomorrow that State employees earned up to 25% more than private sector workers in 2006.

In the three years since those comparisons were made it is certain the gap has widened as so many private sector workers accepted cuts in an effort to stay in work.

Public workers had a pension levy imposed in that same period. The ESRI found that in 2003, public sector workers earned on average 9.7% more than their private sector counterparts — but that by 2006, that gap had widened to 21.6%. However, when a value is placed on public sector pensions that gap widens to almost 25%. The ESRI observed their valuation of public pensions is conservative.