The Spectator

So are public-sector workers really underpaid?

No. Plus: What government departments fine one another, and the biggest sporting crowds

(Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty) 
issue 12 July 2014

Public benefit

Public sector unions held a strike over pay. How well are public-sector workers paid compared with their counterparts in the private sector?
— Comparing jobs like for like, public sector workers earn between 2.2% and 3.1% more than private sector workers in April last year.
— In the lowest-earning 5% of workers, public sector workers earned 13% more than private sector workers.
— In the highest-earning 5%, public-sector workers earned 6% less than private sector ones.
Source: ONS



Fine, fine, fine

Network Rail was fined £53 million for running late trains. We are used to public authorities fining us, but how much do they fine each other?
£2.5m: Fine imposed upon York hospital by government for missing A&E targets.
£185,000: Amount that the Department of Justice Northern Ireland was fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office for selling a filing cabinet full of papers relating to victims of terrorism.

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