Most public sector workers 'still expect pay rise'

Most public sector workers still expect a pay rise next year despite a predicted clampdown on spending and a cap on wage rises from 2011, according to a new report today.

A survey of 2,500 workers showed that staff in private firms were also anticipating higher wages in 2010 following the raft of pay freezes at companies across the country this year.

Workers in private firms predicted that their pay will rise by 3% next year, while public sector employees forecast a 2% increase.

One in four private sector staff and a fifth of public sector employees do not think they will get a pay rise in 2010, the report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found.

Charles Cotton, the CIPD's reward adviser, said: "While most private sector workers predict that they will get a pay rise next year, over one in four do not think that this will be the case, focused in hard-hit economic sectors such as construction and manufacturing.

"Public sector workers are clearly not sensing that the pay storm clouds are gathering. It looks like 2010 will prove to be the last hurrah of this gilded age.

"Given that just over a third of workers did not get a bonus in 2009, it's not surprising that a lower percentage (26%) predict this will happen in 2010.

"This indicates that workers believe that the economy will improve in 2010 and are hopeful their employer will be able to share the success with them."

The Government recently announced a 1% cap on public sector wage rises for two years from 2011.