asked the Minister for the Public Service the minimum and maximum pay scales for the following categories at the end of the 24th wage round; tax officer; clerical assistant; messenger; law clerk; staff nurse; local authority craftsmen and refuse collector; and if he will agree that as the average industrial earnings at March 1984 was £194 per week, the majority of minimum and maximum earnings for the categories above are below the average earnings in the Republic.
Written Answers. - Average Industrial Earnings.
70.
The information requested by the Deputy is as follows:
|
Grade |
Minimum Point |
Maximum Point |
|
£ per week |
£ per week |
|
|
Tax Officer |
116.55 |
201.96 |
|
Clerical Assistant (Civil Service) |
105.36 |
156.02 |
|
Messenger (Civil Service) |
130.34 |
137.33 |
|
Law Clerk |
159.00 |
201.01 |
|
Staff Nurse |
167.90 |
213.24 |
|
Local Authority Craftsman |
159.06 |
173.94 |
|
Refuse Collector |
127.74 |
137.34 |
The minimum and maximum points used are those currently in effect. I take it that in the second part of the question, the Deputy is referring to average gross earnings by all workers in transportable goods industries as published by the Central Statistics Office. In March 1984 this figure was £154.15, and not £194 as the Deputy states in his question. The corresponding figure for March 1985 was £166.74.
I would point out that the Deputy in attempting to compare basic pay rates for the grades listed above with average industrial earnings figures covering gross payments (including overtime pay, regular bonus, service pay, shift and other allowances) is not comparing like with like. A number of the grades listed above qualify for premium payments (such as overtime, service pay, unsocial hours payments etc) in addition to their basic rates. Accordingly the comparison made by the Deputy is not valid.