By Jo Best, 25 May 2004 17:35
NEWS The wages gap between public and private sector IT management is closing – but government techies are still drawing the short straw.
Research commissioned from Computer Economics by the Society of IT Management (SIM) found that senior managers particularly in local authorities were drawing close to the pay scales of their private sector peers.
Previous surveys saw public sector ICT management being paid just 60 per cent of the equivalent private sector job titles. This year's survey – for those working inside the M25 at least – reveals that they now get around 86 per cent.
While the rise is certainly a movement in the right direction, public sector techies might be left wondering just why public sector jobs automatically mean less pay.
One suggestion is that public sector staff enjoy a better working environment than their colleagues in the private sector – better structured training plans, flexitime and remote working all serve to tempt tech workers to the public sector.
And more local authorities are adopting such measures. According to the survey, 94 per cent of local authorities offer flexible working hours – up two per cent from last year – and 27 per cent of them allow some staff to work from home, with another two per cent rise on the previous year.
Despite the wage gap, it seems management material is queuing up to join the public sector.
The local authorities queried said they were finding it easier to find and keep their ICT staff with 17 per cent experiencing retention problems this year, compared to 25 per cent in 2003.
Stewart Jackson, SIM's member services activity manager, said wages aren't normally the primary concern of someone choosing the public sector and government IT holds enough of its own charms.
"They work in the public sector for a variety of reasons," he said. "Training is pretty reasonable in the public sector, the pension situation is still better and there's a greater range of projects they can work on."
Comments
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1. anonymous
The salaries of managers in the public sector working inside the M25 (i.e. where London weighting applies)may be improving but try asking non-managers working in other parts of the country. I doubt that many would find their pay anything near the figure for an equivalent job in the private sector. Yes, there is flexible working but I worked flexi hours in the private sector 20 years ago. As for training, that is minimal and any specialist training is like gold dust - almost impossible to get. Budgets get tighter every year so there are restrictions on purchasing anything. Pension provisions are quite good - but employees have to make a contribution equal to a percentage of salary and, since salaries are lower, the pension they have to look forward to is less than their peers in the private sector can expect. Then there are the frustrations of working in that type of organisation .... no, I wouldn't recommend working in the public sector.
2. anonymous
Most public sector professionals get a final salary pension which may be subsidised and the employee contribution offset by tax breaks giving a package worth up to 20% more than the salary itself. In these circumstances they may be better paid. With fairly well regulated working hours of around 37 - 40 per week the hourly rate is often much higher the hourly rate of private sector employees putting in long hours. That is not to say that some public sector employees don't pun in long hours as well.
3. Anonymous
Derrrr !The reason the public sector is finding it easier to recruit is the lack of private sector jobs due to outsourcing, cutbacks etc. The reason they are finding it easier to retain staff is again the lack of alternative positions in the private sector. The reason the salaries in the public sector are catching up are two fold: 1) Plummeting salaries in the private sector due to increased competion for positions (due to the lack of them & 2) Recent increased Labour Government spending on IT, particularly on projects like Congestion Charging, amalgamisation of Tax, VAT, NI databases etc., etc. We all know that increased budgets mean increased wage costs - the Unions make absolutely sure this happens.
4. John Nicholson
Public Sector Managers do not have an easier life than Private Sector Managers. I spent 22 years working within IT in the British Army, then 8 years in the Commercial sector as an IT Manager, followed by 10 years as a contractor. I am now a Telecommunications Manager in the Public Sector with responsibility for providing and maintaining data and voice networks for 8,000 users in 3 hospitals and 80 other clinics and admin buildings across 2 cities. Resources, including staff and training are almost none existent because of budget constraints - only 3 staff and almost no training in the past 2 years. The UK Government has instigated an IT initiative, the National Programme for IT (NPfIT). This is a welcome measure within my sector, but brings with it a lot of extra work and extra cost but no extra resources. A new hospital is also under construction at one of my sites, which means even more work for me but only 1 seconded engineer to assist. A typical working day is 08:30 to 18:30 with a 20 minute break for lunch. There are also 7 x 24 on call duties with no remuneration, and we do get called. The reason I took a job in the Public Sector was because it was the right opportunity at that time. Don't ask me why I stay because I don't know, the stress levels are so high. There is job satisfaction from my work, but also immense frustraion. Having experienced both Private and Public Sector employment, I can say that they both have advantages and disadvantages and both deserve equal pay and remuneration. Managers in both sectors should be given equal status and respect.