IN the present economic conditions the public sector pay freeze agreed by the States earlier this week must make sense.

It is nevertheless a move to be regretted, forced on the Island by circumstances almost exclusively beyond our control which demonstrate how vulnerable we can be to external forces.

It is also the case that the impact of the pay freeze will be felt very differently at the various levels of the public sector workforce. Those on fat salaries might find it easy enough to make minor economies, but those on relatively low wages are likely to feel the pinch much more severely.

It is also worth pointing out that although the cost of living has fallen thanks to the dwindling influence of GST and low interest rates, the price of basic commodities and services still make Jersey an expensive place to live – an effect felt most by those on the lowest incomes.

The States Members who backed the Council of Ministers’ call for the freeze will, of course, argue that the measure is about more than simply saving much-needed cash. It will, they say, protect jobs among the 6,730-strong public sector workforce. This should be a powerful incentive for all those concerned to stomach what is undoubtedly a bitter pill.

There is, however, another, less favourable consequence of freezing pay that cannot be ignored. Major factors which move economies out of recession are confidence and the revival of consumer spending. Neither of these forces will be boosted by limiting the amount of money in the pockets of a major sector of the working population.

This point will not be lost on the unions representing public sector workers, whose officials will also be very conscious of the asymmetric effects of the pay freeze on different categories of worker. Predictably, therefore, the reaction of the unions to the freeze is proving to be less than enthusiastic.

How union suspicion and resentment will translate into action is as yet unclear, but it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that those workers who have already demanded a significant pay increase and who perceive that pay negotiations have now been derailed will consider launching a summer, autumn and winter of discontent.

The pay freeze is part of the answer to our present problems. Unfortunately, it also poses questions which are quite likely to add to the difficulties that this community is now facing.