Council's finance chief calls for a public sector pay freeze

Published on Tuesday 12 May 2009 20:12

THE Scottish Government should impose a public sector pay freeze, the treasurer of Scotland's largest council told MSPs yesterday.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, city treasurer for Glasgow City Council, said he believed a freeze in wages was an "essential contribution" to the city's strategy for the coming financial year.

Mr Matheson said his authority was already anticipating making 30 million of "efficiency savings" next year.

But he told members of Holyrood's Finance Committee that if the amount of money given to local government did not increase in 2010-11, Glasgow's funding may be cut by 99 million.

However, he said that freezing wages will save the council 21 million, and told MSPs: "I have suggested that a pay freeze is an essential contribution to our strategy."

Mr Matheson said: "It's a serious attempt to raise this issue and it's trying to put it on the agenda beyond local government too."

In March Glasgow City Council announced a plan to ensure all its workers will receive a "living wage" of at least 7 an hour.

Mr Matheson told MSPs: "What the call is is for everyone above the living wage to take a pay freeze next year across the public sector."

And he asked: "Why is it that local government are the only people needing to be making tough decisions?

"If the alternative is jobs and services then I would expect the Scottish Government would also take that approach across other areas within the public sector."

He told the committee when looking at the budget for 2010-11 Glasgow was "already anticipating 30 million of efficiencies".

However he said: "The 30 million target was assuming an uplift in the year 2010, so we expected we would have got an inflationary increase.