What Has Been Happening to Pay in the Public‐Service Sector of the British Economy? Developments over the Period 1970–1992

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Abstract
This study presents a detailed analysis of the most important developments in public‐service workers' pay over the period since 1970. It records the real earnings growth of all the largest groups of public‐service workers in Britain and details the consequences of the different rates of earnings growth enjoyed by the various groups for pay differentials and relative pay in the public sector. It details the size of wage settlements and calculates the magnitude of wage drift for all major groups of public‐service‐sector workers, and it considers the extent to which the fastest rates of earnings growth appear to result from particular institutional arrangements for determining pay, offering a brief discussion of the role of pay review bodies in this process. The study uses unpublished data from the New Earnings Survey together with detailed information on the size and timing of wage settlements over the period 1970–1992.