NEW ZEALAND
A slowdown in pay rises for New Zealand’s most senior Public Servants has been welcomed by the Government.
Minister of State Services, Chris Hipkins (pictured) said the 2018 State Sector Pay Report showed pay increases for Public Service Chief Executives slowed to 0.9 per cent in 2017–18, down from 2 per cent the previous year.
“This Government is committed to raising pay levels for those on low and middle incomes and curbing increases at the top end,” Mr Hipkins said.
“I expect Chief Executive pay to continue to slow over the next 12 months as the decision to remove performance pay kicks in.”
He said State Sector Chief Executives had important jobs that carried a lot of responsibility and they deserved to be fairly paid, but they were still PS employees with accountability to taxpayers.
“We want, and New Zealanders deserve, a Public Service with an international reputation for excellence — a Public Service we can all be proud of,” Mr Hipkins said.
“We have a plan to close the gender pay gap; we have introduced a living wage for all low-paid Public Servants and just recently removed performance pay for Chief Executives.”
The Public Service Association (PSA) also welcomed the development.
However, Joint National Secretary of the PSA, Glenn Barclay said the average base salary of Public Service Chief Executives was still 5.3 times the average pay of their employees.
“We would like to see that ratio decline further in future years,” Mr Barclay said.
Wellington, 9 January 2019
