In a statement, Charlie Parker said that as unions had not offered any ‘realistic proposals’ and the government did not have any more money to offer employees, he had been forced to withdraw modernisation programme pay offers.
However, he added that the States would still honour pay deals which had been accepted by States employee groups.
Nurses will receive a 2.5 per cent pay rise in line with a prior commitment from the States Employment Board. In a statement, Mr Parker said: ‘We will honour the workforce modernisation offer for those groups who voted to accept it.
‘But the remaining workforce modernisation pay groups will now be offered the same two per cent consolidated pay offer that we made to the non-workforce modernisation groups for the 2017 pay deal, although we are offering 2.5 per cent to nurses, in line with the States Employment Board commitment to achieve pay comparability with Allied Health professionals for this group.’
He added: ‘I then want to negotiate a two-year pay deal for 2018–19, which will include a pay freeze for senior managers earning £100,000 or more, as we progress with [the] reshaping of the public service.’
Responding to the announcement, Nick Corbel, regional representative for Unite the Union, said that he had not yet had time to read over the new proposals but that a large amount of time and taxpayers’ money spent on developing the programme had been wasted.
‘This workforce modernisation agenda has taken up so much time, resources and funding, not only from the government but also from trade unions. Their project is dead in the water at the cost of taxpayers,’ he said.
‘We did warn the employer prior to a final offer going out that it was premature. We needed to get to a stage where we had an offer that could be put to members, but they pushed ahead anyway.
‘It was a failed strategy and it will now just be brushed under the carpet.’
