'À la carte' pay allowances to select few in Civil Service

Government awards 'à la carte' pay allowances to select few in Civil Service while salaries in lower grades remain capped

The GSLP/Liberal Government has added another nail in the coffin of its ‘socialist’ pretence by giving a de facto 10% pay rise to its top dogs, while capping a large proportion of wages in the Civil Service.

The Government breached its manifesto commitment of 2015 to keep public sector pay in line with inflation. Last year, this promise was broken when Government capped the cost of living raise at 60p per hour instead of a 2.5% increment for officers earning over £46,000. This u-turn naturally angered many in the Civil Service who quite rightly consider this measure unfair in view of the promises made at election time, especially as Government continues to re-engage retired consultants and recruits from the private sector.

To add insult to injury, a 10% ‘Responsibility Allowance’ has recently been awarded without Union consultation for a select number of senior officers with no information regarding criteria for eligibility. Together Gibraltar considers it wholly unjustifiable for Government to have effectively inflated salaries for some top officials while other salaries remain capped.

Together Gibraltar also questions the transparency of Government’s actions considering that this 10% allowance was intended to remain under the radar and has only come to light after one of the Unions challenged the Chief Secretary.

Government must come clean on what positions have been awarded the 10% ‘allowance’, and what the selection process and formula was that led to these ‘a la carte’ rises.

A Together Gibraltar Government will commit to the equitable application of pay rises across the board and always in full consultation with Unions.