The push by Councillor Rob Vinsen to restrict council staff wage and salary rises will be met with approval in many quarters.
The closeness of votes on the two motions suggest our elected officials were giving the matter serious consideration; firstly Mr Vinsen's motion to freeze pay rates in the
next year, then cap them; and Philippa Baker-Hogan's attempt to limit any such rises to no more than 2 per cent.
The problem is we all want to be paid more. The difficulty is assessing what is fair for the work we do and what the employer can afford.
Many in the community will be of the opinion they didn't get a 3.7 per cent raise, so why should council staff? In the case of a local authority, there is an onus on the elected officials to keep all costs to a minimum, and never has this point been more salient than during the global financial crisis. We rely on our elected officials to keep rates rises down, while also providing the services and projects we want.
Staff pay is one area that can be managed. But it's also worth considering the benefit of the money paid out to staff, the calibre of staff that can be recruited and the costs of regular turnover.
