Pay gap hinders public service staff recruiting

A "considerable" pay gap exists between the public service and the private sector and many departments have trouble recruiting staff because of lower remuneration, a report says.

State Services Minister Trevor Mallard yesterday released a State Services Commission survey of public service departments that showed the pay packets of public servants lagged behind those working for private companies, with the gap widening for those in more senior positions.

The pay gap for the third-lowest-paid workers in the public service was 7 per cent behind private sector rates.

Those earning $36,000 to $46,000 were earning between 7 per cent and 12 per cent less than their private sector counterparts.

The 2 per cent of public servants earning more than $100,000 a year were paid up to 25 per cent less than senior private sector staff.

The report said movements in pay for public servants had lagged behind the private sector since at least 1992.

Mr Mallard said the Government was committed to addressing the issue.

"However, we can't provide a quick fix to issues that developed over many years," he said.

"The issue of pay levels affects some sectors of the public service more than others and in fairness to the taxpayer, the Government needs to carefully assess which areas are the priority for attention."

The last budget had provided significant funding for wage increases for Courts and Customs staff, he said.

The report said 23 departments (64 per cent) reported difficulties attracting job applicants.

"The most common reason given was below-market remuneration, which was cited for numerous occupations, ranging from the high-skilled (such as solicitors) to the semi-skilled (such as call-centre staff).

"Another factor was the difficulty in attracting applicants to jobs situated in particular towns/regions."

Twenty-three departments also reported skill shortages, where positions had not been filled due to a lack of suitably qualified candidates.

Fourteen departments had recruitment difficulties and skill shortages.

There were 32,835 public service employees as at June 30, with the number of permanent staff increasing by more than 1400 workers in the year.

The report said more women were moving into senior management, but the commission estimated it would be 2028 before half of all senior managers were women.

- NZPA