The Government has published the directions issued by the Treasury to the Chairman of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body for the latest pay review round. Similar letters, signed by Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander MP, went to the other public sector pay review bodies. Points in the letter include:
- Continued pay restraint: "The fiscal forceast shows the public finances returning to a more sustainable position. However, the fiscal challenge remains and the Government believes that the case for continued pay restraint remains strong.. ... In the 2013 Budget the Government announced its policy that public sector pay awards would be an average of up to 1 per cent in 2015-16.
- Recruitment and Retention: "While recognising some variation between review groups, the evidence so far is that, given the current labour market position, there are unlikely to be significant recruitment and retention issues for the majority of public sector workforces over the next year. ... The pay review bodies will want to consider ... whether there is a case for a higher award to particular groups of staff, relative to the rest of the workforce, due to particular recruitment and retention difficulties."
The full letter from the Chief Secretary of the Treasury to the AFPRB Chairman can be downoaded here.