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TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber Comments on the latest analysis of pay in the public and private sector, published yesterday (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

'This survey confirms that the simple comparisons between public and private sector pay favoured by some commentators are completely misleading, as most of them know.

'Hourly pay has been higher in the public sector for over 30 years. This is because public sector workers tend to be more highly skilled doing jobs like teaching and health care. Outsourcing and the privatisation of less skilled jobs like cleaning has made this difference starker. Women get a better deal in the public sector too, with less of a gender pay gap.

'What the figures show is that the public sector is fairer than the private sector. Public sector high flyers are paid six per cent less than those at the top of the private sector, while those in less skilled jobs on lower pay earn six per cent more in the public sector.

'And as evidence mounts that growing inequality was a prime cause of the crash, this clear benefit of union membership for low-paid public sector workers is not just something we should celebrate for reasons of social justice, but because it's good for economic growth and stability.

'The private sector needs to be more like the public sector, not as the right-wing apologists for inequality say, the other way round.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The ONS analysis can be found at www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/public_private_sector_pay_july2011.pdf

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: egibson@tuc.org.uk