£2.95m decision made prior to election
The Chairman of the Public Services Commission admits a decision to give workers a pay rise was made before the election - but the announcement was held off until today to avoid 'muddying the water'.
This morning, it was made official that civil servants will receive a 2.2% increase in their salaries, backdated to 1 April 2016.
The pay deal also covers manual workers and other 'by analogy' groups - including Tynwald members.
It's more than double the amount forecasted by Treasury, and individual government departments will have to cover the unbudgeted sum - around £1.6 million - from their own budgets.
It follows an independent arbitration process with trade unions, who demanded a rise to the tune of 4.4%.
John Shimmin says the deal was ironed out some time ago:
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