What’s in it for us all?

In return for the pay rise – which is significantly above the September inflation rate of 1.2 per cent – States employees have had to agree to a number of reforms to make the public sector more efficient. The quid pro quo has, for example, included a stronger emphasis on improving performance and making sure pay rises are based on acquiring new skills and knowledge rather than simply time served.

That a deal has been struck without Island life being disrupted by industrial action is to the credit of both sides.

However, with the handshakes come wider questions about the impact of the pay agreement. States workers are not the only Islanders with an interest in how much teachers, nurses, manual workers and others get paid.

It is taxpayers more generally who are paying for this strike-averting act of apparent generosity.

Many in the private sector have not had a pay rise for several years. What is their quid pro quo for footing the bill?

While it is rarely constructive simply to want to deny another that which you have been denied, taxpayers have the right to ask what they are getting from the deal.

Politicians have long promised a trimmed down, more efficient and less costly public sector. In June, the States payroll stood at 6,920 – an increase of 150 over the preceding 12 months. Conversely, the private sector saw a decrease of 270 staff during the same period.

While there must be sufficient staff to cover essential front-line services, Islanders have yet to be given credible reassurance that enough is being done to reduce the size of the public sector.

Another consequence of the four per cent deal will be the effect it has on private sector pay negotiations. It will strengthen the hands of employees calling for a rise and place some struggling employers under even more pressure.

With real economic recovery still some way over the horizon, one has to hope that the private sector – and taxpayers more generally – will soon be given something to celebrate.