Public sector pay is largely devolved

THE front page of your December 4 issue wrongly noted that “pay for public sector workers in Wales is negotiated at a UK level and is not a matter for the Welsh Government”. For the majority of public sector workers in Wales, this is not true.

Most public sector pay in Wales is already devolved. The salaries of the NHS workforce and local government are already under the control of the Welsh Government and local authorities, and teachers’ pay and conditions will soon be devolved.

Workers in the non-devolved public bodies and agencies are the responsibility of the UK Government. It is true that England and Wales advisory pay bodies exist (not the “UK level” as the article suggested, as Scotland and Northern Ireland usually decide their pay separately), but the decision as to whether their recommendations should be implemented is often down to the Labour Welsh Government.

This is why the announcement that NHS Agenda for Change pay is capped at 1% was made in March 2016 by the then Labour Health Minister Mark Drakeford, and in March 2017 by his Labour successor Vaughan Gething.

The debate surrounding the public sector pay cap has been dominated by calls on the UK Government to lift it. Little attention has been given to the fact that the Labour Welsh Government could, if it so wished, lift the pay cap for paramedics, nurses and other public sector workers.

I hope that by setting the record straight, the Labour Welsh Government will be the subject of due scrutiny and that many others will join Plaid Cymru in calling on them to lift the pay cap once and for all for our hardworking public sector workers. Siân Gwenllian, Plaid Cymru

Assembly Member