Public Sector action scheduled for the end of March serves just one useful function – it vents anger. But it is based on a sham victimisation position. Here’s what the Government and Opposition parties are afraid to say;

• Adjusting for education, experience, occupation and gender public workers are paid 20% more than everyone else.
• Contrary to public sector union propaganda where the single mum example is often wheeled out, the low paid enjoy the highest premium at 30%. The high paid have the least at 10%. A single mum is far better off in the public sector than serving in the local fast food joint where she’ll have 30% less pay including no pension.
• In money terms public sector pay, now touching an average of fifty grand a year, is running nearly ten grand a year ahead of the private sector.
• This premium ignores the current pay cuts hitting the private workforce and the extraordinary pension premium enjoyed by the public sector.
• A teacher starting work today would need to pay between 27.5% and 33.6% of salary each year for forty years into his or her pension if it wasn’t subsidised by the private sector. A garda would need to pay between 36.6% and 44.8% because retirement on full benefits is as early as age 50.
• The cost of the pensions levy after adjusting for tax relief is just 4% to 5.3% on incomes between €25,300 and €66,100, far less than the substantial pay cuts assailing the private sector.
• In strongly competing economies like the UK, Germany, Holland, Denmark and Finland public pay is at a discount to private sector pay because of the extra security.
• Irish average pay in the education sector in 2005 at €51,666 stood 25% above the UK and 66% above Swedish 2007 levels.
• French average pay in its much lauded health sector in 2006 was €26,780 compared to Irish pay of €39,240 in 2005. That’s a 46% difference.
• In 2001 there was 247,000 employed in the public sector. By 2007 this had risen by over 22% to 302,500, mostly in Health up 26,000 to 107,500 and Education up 18,000 to nearly 86,000.
• The total pension bill is now capitalised at €60 billion. The annual pay bill at €20 billion up 50% in a short few years is, simply put, unaffordable according to economists employed within the public sector and who publish a Quarterly Economic report.
• Time on the clock rather than merit increases pay and adds close to a half billion each year in extra pay. In 2007 Garda basic started at €25,800 and moves by increment to €46,000 after 17 years. Teacher’s €31,000 pushed to €60,300. Admin officers €33,500 went to €55,100, Clerks €23,220 to €35,700, Public Health nurses €46,400 to €55,200, Staff Nurses €30,400 to €43,000. These are higher today.
• The Irish President, Taoiseach, Ministers and top officials are amongst the highest paid public servants in the world outperforming Britain, France, Germany and the USA a truly remarkable feat given our tiny size.

Ireland’s had a property bubble but it’s also run a parallel public sector bubble where the tax revenues from one expanded the other. The harsh truth is that we cannot afford the public sector gravy train at its present level but no politician has had the courage to say it including Fine Gael and Labour. Instead of focusing on a clumsy pensions levy we need to work together to find a common solution to the stabilising the public finances otherwise outside agencies will do it for us as an ultimatum. Public sector pay will have to adjust to fit the shrunken economy and that means several years of adjustment in relative terms if we are to regain competitiveness and finance future expansion in public services. So let the anger vent but when the bile subsides recognise that jailing bankers and hitting the rich with extra tax will not avoid what has to be faced; Public sector pay has to come down if large scale job losses are to be avoided. What Public Sector Union chiefs should be mulling over is not a daftly constructed pension levy  but whether to sell job losses or pay cuts to its members.