UK Armed Forces annual pay award
 

The 2002 report of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body was published on 29 Jan 02. I'm not sure when the 2003 report came out, but the numbers were on the streets by mid Feb 03. I am therefore assuming the 2004 announcement is not far away. Has anyone out there any news/rumours/useful input on the likely award this time around?

Biggus,

Defence budget scrabbling to recover £3 billion,

Public sector having equally intense time,

Go on, have a guess at say, 2.6%.

Regards,

Lost in space.

May be enough to keep pace with tax and NI increases but probably not :sad:

Same increase as the firemen got ? :hmm:

Based on the facts that we have just won a war (so won't be needed for a few years in the politician's eyes), the Defence budget being massively overdrawn, and the Defence White Paper hinting at numerous redundancies.

My own predictions are:

1. 2-2.5% (or whatever figure around or just under inflation the Government think they can get away with).

2. FRI's reduced by 50% (with heavy hints that they will be binned completely next year).

Food and accom to increase above rate of inflation and/or pay increase?

Naturally the food and accom will increase by a greater rate. And don't forget that the pay rise will be split 1.25% in Apr and the other 1% in October but all charges will increase in one fell swoop in Apr.

But the Armed Forces Pay Review Board are independent, like...well, Lord Hutton.

Theoretically the AFPRB could blame us for the war because there wouldn't have been one if we'd not showed up in Iraq and could also claim we have WME (Weapons of Mass Expense), thus requiring us to be removed by a coalition of review teams immediately...

:hmm:

Eductaion Time
 

Before this thread descends into a rant about the AFPRB I thought I could add some value!

The AFPRB is truly independent and on the whole Forces friendly. If you have worked with them or spoken to them during their visits, and they go everywhere including the operational theatres, you will know they are well informed, fair and at no stage does the word 'affordability' come into their deliberations.

The Government (Treasury & MOD) and all three Services give evidence to the AFPRB formal sessions and their report - if you can be bothered to read it - sets out quite clearly what they believed from the evidence and the areas where they were less convinced.

The real problem starts when their recommendations arrive with the Government. MOD now have to fund the increase from within current budgetary provision (at one stage HMT gave an automatic uplift to cover the pay award but this stopped some 10 years ago). So PUS and 2nd PUS who are responsible for the cash get into a tremendous tizzy about affordability. It is these hoods who have in the past (but not recently) suggested staging awards.

If it all looks like going pair shaped CDS will wade in on behalf of the Forces. One year the PUS of the day was trying to balance the budget and suggested that the X-factor increase could be reduced - after all we had increased separation and associated allowances and that was what X-factor was all about, wasn't it? CDS firmly told the PUS to stop being daft and read the small print - with over 25% of the Forces deployed to places where people shot at them he thought failing to implement the AFPRB's recommendations on X-factor could turn out to be a career limiting move!

Hey ho - I reckon 2.6 average but 3.2 for lower ranks and less for the brass. Watch recruiting and retention adjustments - they after all designed to do what it says on the tin and lets all pray for a big increase on X-factor as the Forces are stretched well above the design limit put in place by SDR in 1998.

I agree with Impiger. AFPRB are very fair and impartial. They have never recommended staged pay awards, which have always been a Treasury ploy. Come to think of it, we haven't had a staged pay award for some years now. The current Chair of AFPRB is Brenda Dean, the former print workers' union boss and, therefore, hardly a pillar of the establishment. Anyway, don't take my word for it, read their last report: Armed Forces Pay Review Body Recommendations - 2003 And if you can't be bothered to do that, then don't bleat about something you know cock-all about.

Provided the pay award tracks inflation, I'm happy. I'm not sure what more we should expect.

I do not want to dampen anyones spirit but the chances of an increase in X factor are nil. Examination of last years report will reveal that the 5 year X factor review was brought forward to 2003 (vice 2004 I believe). How nice and independant one might think. I would say b*****ks. Since it is obvious that the Govn already wanted to to war before said review then it was to their ie the Govs advantage to review the X factor sooner rather than later. Heaven forbid they might be forced to increase it after a War. Funny old thing it was unchanged!

Whatever you guys get, it'll be more than those who are on a post-PVR pension will get until they reach their equivalent 55 point. I knew that and it doesn't affect me, but I wonder whether some PVR retirees are aware of it. But we'll get a jolly nice pay rise when we do reach our equivalent 55 year points, of course...

And yes, many of us knew several months before Trust-Me Tone sucked Mad George's ar$e so publicly that we were being set up for another Gulf War. Nothing was going to stop him doing "What ma' Daddy bin' startin', y'all, ah'm goin' t' finish. Yee-hah, let's go kick us some Eye-raqi butt.."

I hope that you all get the pay rise you so richly deserve. But I'm so glad I punched out.

Added later: I agree, the AFPRB teams do listen. If you ever get the chance to attend one of their information-seeking visits, TAKE IT!!

Pay Review Body Report is out on 16 Feb - or so says my source!

Heard in the office, belived I think from RN sources, that its between 3.7 and 4.2%. Apparently its public within some RN areas. Can anyone confirm or deny?:confused:

BEagle,

Here I am doing my daily bit in the skies over 'Eye-Rack' wondering just how little the Forces are going to get. I personally am convinced it will be below inflation and staged. With the great holes that have 'suddenly' appeared in the MOD budget recently it would not surprise me if there was NO rise!

LTB

The figures you quote are exactly the same as the 2002 pay award - are you sure that some joker hasn't passed your RN chums a copy of an old report with a new cover on it?

D4R

D4R

You may well be right. I knew the figures were "strangely" familiar :O

Still 4.2% will probably not cover my Council Tax increase...................but then it never has:mad:

It will never be enough;)

I've always believed that the AFPRB carries out an annual independant review and then makes recommendations only. The MOD/Treasury then accepts or modifies the AFPRB's recommendations.

I think the government would be on a hiding to nothing if they did not accept the AFPRB's recommendations this year; more than most.

DP H,

If I rememeber rightly, the government have always (within reason), accepted the AFPRB recommendations in recent years, the only added bonus (as far as the gov't is concerned) is that they have phased in pay rises in the past, though this has not been the case recently though.

Lets hope that we get a decent/deserved rise this year, though I guess 3% is the best we can hope for.

Just found out:

The 2004 Reports of the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body and Senior Salaries Review Body are expected to be published during the morning of Thursday 12 February 2004. Details will be available on dNet (http://centre.defence.mod.uk/dgcc_ne...0402/afprb.htm) and on the MOD internet site (http://www.mod.uk/issues/pay/index.htm) as soon as possible after 1100 hours.

There will be dancing in the streets, I don't think

From MOD Intranet
NEWS CONTINUED
2004 Reports of the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB)


On Thursday 12 February the Secretary of State for Defence is expected to announce the publication of the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body Thirty-Third Report 2004.
At 1100 hrs on Thursday 12 February the following documents will become available on this page:

Written Ministerial Statement
Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body Thirty-Third Report 2004
Signal to All Military Personnel
Review Body on Senior Salaries Twenty-Sixth Report 2004

Those lucky enough to be viewing from an IGS machine can gaze upon our revered 'leader'
http://centre.defence.mod.uk/dgcc_ne...mages/hoon.jpg
The Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP


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