Academics oppose postcode pay lottery

Nine leading academics from the North West have warned that the Coalition’s regional pay proposals for public sector workers could cause huge economic damage and widen the North South divide.

They are amongst 60 academics who have written to the Times today protesting that there is ‘no convincing evidence’ that regional or local pay rates would boost the economic performance of regional economies.

Instead they fear that postcode pay would reduce consumer spending power and undermine businesses in our region. The academics say it would ‘aggravate geographical, economic and social inequalities’.

The nine North West academics are: Ralph Darlington (Professor of Employment Relations, University of Salford); Damian Grimshaw (Professor of Employment Studies, University of Manchester); Miguel Martinez Lucio (Professor of Employment Relations and Employment Law, Manchester University); Michael Parkinson (Professor and Director of the European Institute for Urban Affairs, Liverpool John Moores University); Jill Rubery (Professor of Comparative Employment Systems, Manchester University Business School); Hillary Russell (Emeritus Professor, European Institute for Urban Affairs, Liverpool John Moores University); Dr Richard Saundry (Reader in International Employment, Human Resource Management & Leadership, University of Central Lancashire); Colin Talbot (Professor of Public Policy and Management, Manchester University); and Jeremy Waddington (Professor of Industrial Relations, Manchester).

Their intervention in the debate comes as ministers consider whether to proceed with plans to end national pay bargaining, following a review instigated by the Chancellor in last year’s autumn statement.

The letter has been co-ordinated by Keith Shaw who is Professor of Politics at Northumbria University, and who has over 25 years of experience in urban policy and economic development. He said: “This proposal will depress public sector pay in regions outside of London and the South East and, in areas such as the North East, could lead to a spiral of decline that would serve to further widen the ever-growing north-south divide.

“This concern is also shared by a number of North East businesses and government MPs in the region, who are also opposed to the proposal.”

Commenting on the letter, North West TUC Regional Secretary Alan Manning said: “This is yet more evidence that the government’s plans for regional or local pay are not just unfair, but ill-thought out. They will end up costing the North West economy dearly as public sector workers suffer pay cuts and are forced to rein in their spending.

“Chancellor George Osborne, MP for Knutsford, must listen seriously to these academic experts from the North West and call a halt once and for all to these flawed and counter productive proposals.

“A postcode pay lottery would cut the wages of nurses, teachers and dinner ladies in the North West and wont help the regional economy one little bit."

The letter to The Times in full:

Sir

A range of reports and studies have recently been published on the impact of regionally or locally-determined public sector pay in advance of the government’s decision on the policy. As senior academics working on regional issues, we can find no convincing evidence within these reports to support the Chancellor’s inference that such regionally or locally-determined pay could boost the economic performance of regional economies.

On the contrary, such a policy could reduce spending power, undermine many small and medium sized businesses in areas of low pay, and aggravate geographical economic and social inequalities. Moreover, for government, the medium and long-term economic and social costs could increase.

We call upon the government to reinforce regional growth and not introduce policies that would undermine regional economic and social development.

Steve Adshead (Lecturer in Health and Human Sciences, Essex University), Phil Almond (Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, De Montfort University), Stephen Bach (Professor of Employment Relations, Kings College, University of London), Greg Bamber (Visiting Professor of Human Resources and Employment Relations, Newcastle University), Paul Blyton (Professor of Industrial Relations and Industrial Sociology, Cardiff University), Philip Brown (Distinguished Research Professor in Social Studies, Cardiff University), Dr Alex Bryson (Senior Research Fellow, National Institute of Economic and Social Research), David Byrne(Professor of Sociology, Durham University), Linda Clarke (Professor of European Industrial Relations, University of Westminster), Dr Peter Cressy (Reader in Sociology, University of Bath), Andy Danford (Professor of Employment Relations, University of the West of England), Ralph Darlington (Professor of Employment Relations, University of Salford), Alan Felstead (Professor of Sociology, Cardiff University), John Fenwick (Professor of Leadership and Public Management, Northumbria University), Tricia Findlay(Professor of Work and Employment Relations, University of Strathclyde), Gregor Gall (Professor of Industrial Relations, University of Hertfordshire), Andrew Gray (Emeritus Professor of Public Management, Durham University), Damian Grimshaw (Professor of Employment Studies, University of Manchester), Irena Grugulis (Professor of Employment Studies, Durham University), Irene Hardill (Professor of Public Policy, Northumbria University), Edmund Heery (Professor of Employment Relations, Cardiff University),Richard Hyman (Professor Emeritus in Industrial Relations, London School of Economics), Gordon Jack (Professor of Social Work, Northumbria University), Ewart Keep (Professor of Industrial Relations, Cardiff University), John Kelly (Professor of Industrial Relations, Birkbeck College, University of London), Ian Kessler (Professor of Public Service Policy and Management, Kings College, University of London), Gill Kirton (Professor of Employment Relations, Queen Mary College, University of London), Marilyn Leask(Professor of Educational Knowledge Management, University of Bedfordshire), Joyce Liddle (Professor of Strategy and Leadership, Teesside University), Caroline Lloyd (Professor of Social Sciences, Cardiff University), Miguel Martinez Lucio (Professor of Employment Relations and Employment Law, Manchester University), Naresh Magan (Professor, Cranfield Health, Cranfield University), John Mawson (Professor and Director of the Institute for Local Governance, Durham University), Mary Mellor (Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Northumbria University), Dr Vassilis Monastiriotis (Senior Lecturer in the Political Economy of Southeast Europe, LSE), Kevin Morgan (Professor of Regional Studies, Cardiff University), Michael Parkinson (Professor and Director of the European Institute for Urban Affairs, Liverpool John Moores University), Dr Rob Perrett (Senior Lecturer in Employee Relations and Human Resource Management, University of Bradford), Catherine Pope (Professor of Medical Sociology, University of Southampton),Dr Lee Pugalis (Senior Lecturer in Urban Policy, Northumbria University), Mike Reed (Professor of Organisation Studies, Cardiff University), Fred Robinson (Professorial Fellow, St Chad’s College, Durham University), Dr Ian Roper (Director of HRM Academic Programmes, Middlesex University), Alan Roulstone (Professor of Disability and Inclusion, Northumbria University), Jill Rubery(Professor of Comparative Employment Systems, Manchester University Business School), Hillary Russell (Emeritus Professor, European Institute for Urban Affairs, Liverpool John Moores University), Dr Richard Saundry (Reader in International Employment, Human Resource Management & Leadership, University of Central Lancashire), Keith Shaw (Professor of Politics, Northumbria University), Stephanie Tailby (Professor of Employment Relations, UWE), Colin Talbot (Professor of Public Policy and Management, Manchester University), Robyn Thomas (Professor of Organisation Studies, Cardiff University), John Tomaney(Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University College London), Alan Townsend (Emeritus Professor of Geography, Durham University), Peter Turnbull (Professor of Human Resource Management, Cardiff University), Martin Upchurch (Professor of International Employment Relations, Middlesex University), John Veit-Wilson (Honorary Professor of Social Policy, Newcastle University), Jeremy Waddington (Professor of Industrial Relations, Manchester University), Mike Wallace (Professor of Public Management, Cardiff University), Dan Webber (Professor of Economics, UWE), Hugh Willmott (Distinguished Research Professor, Business School, Cardiff University).

Recent research carried out for the TUC found that 65 per cent of voters think that the government’s proposals for local or regional pay for public servants should be scrapped and 61 per cent thought the plans were unfair http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21449-f0.cfm  

A report published by the new economics foundation and commissioned by the TUC earlier this year found that there was no evidence that the pay of teachers, nurses and dinner ladies is preventing local firms from hiring staff, and government plans to introduce regional pay rates for public servants could cost the economy almost £10 billion a year http://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial/tuc-21220-f0.cfm