But public sector wages grow fastest

PUBLIC sector wages have grown faster than private sector pay over the past decade – and state workers still enjoy higher salaries and better pensions than those in private firms.

Office for National Statistics figures show workers in the public sector earned an average of £30,586 last year – up 19.2 per cent or £4,916 since 2007. The average private sector worker has seen their pay rise by £3,883 or 16.6 per cent to £27,227, says the ONS.

Once inflation is taken into account, both public and private sector workers have seen pay fall by around 5 per cent since the financial crash, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

But public sector staff enjoy far fatter pensions. Department for Work and Pensions figures show £40.7billion was saved into public sector pension schemes last year – or £7,721 per eligible state employee, up 20.6 per cent since 2007. By contrast, £46.4billion was saved into private sector schemes – or £3,005 per eligible private sector worker, up £17 a head.