Civil servants 'paid too much'

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Public sector wages are too high, according to a report on the competitiveness of NI's economy.

Sir David Varney's report found the gap between public and private sector wages was damaging the private sector.

He recommended the sale of public assets and services including Belfast Port, the NI Vehicle Testing Agency, car parks and the public housing stock.

A spokesman for the public service union Nipsa said: "This is old-style Thatcherism at its worst."

Sir David said the executive needed to think about breaking the link between public sector pay rates in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain.

Wages in Northern Ireland are about 20% higher in the public sector than in the private sector.

Sir David said a consequence of this was that the public sector was paying too much to get the workers it needs.

One of his proposed labour and welfare reforms is a cut in the regional minimum wage, which he said could create more jobs for those who currently rely on benefits.

The report also highlighted failings in apprenticeship training programmes and said young people had to be taught skills more closely tailored to industry needs. He said basic numeracy and literacy levels needed to be improved.

Efficiency savings

He praised the executive's emphasis on economic growth in its Programme for Government, but added there was much more scope for efficiency savings within the public sector.

He noted that Northern Ireland had performed well in attracting foreign direct investment in recent years, but said economic activity could be stimulated by a review of Invest NI.

In particular, he said it could develop the way it co-operates with the Industrial Development Agency in the Republic and the UK Trade and Investment body.

Sir David's first report last December on the Northern Ireland economy was criticised by business leaders and politicians for failing to recommend a cut in corporation tax.

Reacting to his latest recommendations on public sector pay, Nipsa spokesman Brian Campfield said Sir David's proposals were "very much a backward step".

"I think it's an absolute disgrace. It's not a substitute for growing the private sector to simply transfer work from public sector," he said.

"Most of this will be paid for out of the public purse anyway."