Back-pay starts for State staff

Press, 29 August 1979, Page 7

Back-pay starts for State staff

PA Wellington Back-pay for about 100,000 public servants — 10.4 per cent from December 8, 1978 — is beginning to trickle through the sysjtem. The 5000 Railways salaried workers affected by the half-yearly survey received their nine-month back-pay last week. The State Services Commission has said that the other 60,000 staff for whom it is responsible and who qualify for the back-pay, will have received it on September 26. About 25,000 Post Office workers .are expected to receive their money a day later. The general wage adjustment of 4.5 per cept, announced recently by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon), will be paid to Railways staff a fortnight after the effective date, which is September 3.

Other public servants and Post Office workers will receive the rise about October 10 or 11. Workers for education and hospital boards can probably expect their back-pay anti 4.5 per cent about the same time, but this depends entirely ipon the individual boards.

Estimates for the 197080 financial year for public service salaries affected by the half-yearly survey were $1725 million, before the 10.4 per cent “catch-up” was agreed to by the Government. This, aimed to bring state employees in line with the private sector, will add about $240 million to the wage bill. On top of that will come the 4.5 per cent, which will take the pay bill for those public servants affected by the halfyearly survey to more than $2OOO million this financial year.