Federal Staffers Get 2.5% Hike; 3.5% for Some

By ARI PAUL

President Bush issued an executive order Jan. 4 raising Federal civilian-employee pay by 2.5 percent and by an additional 1 percent on average for locality pay in some cases.

COLLEEN M. KELLEY: Pleased by upgrade.

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen M. Kelley celebrated the news last week, calling it an improvement over the White House's earlier offers.

"This pay raise, which is half a percentage point higher than initially proposed by the White House for 2008, is well-deserved by the women and men who serve our nation faithfully and with dedication every day in their roles as Federal employees," she said in a statement. "NTEU is pleased that members of Congress recognized the important and positive role Federal workers play in the life of our country, and the critical role that fair and adequate pay has in the lives of employees."

Private Sector Pays More

In October, the union leader had lamented the findings of the Federal Salary Council report showing that workers in the private sector receive on average a 23-percent higher salary than their Federal counterparts.

"Pay remains what it has been over a long period of time - a key factor in the ability of Federal agencies to recruit and retain the high-quality employees they need to serve the public," Ms. Kelley said. "This is particularly important as the work of government becomes ever more complex and the competition with the private sector for talented employees grows ever more challenging."

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management lists the 2008 Federal salary schedules on its Web site, at www.opm.gov/oca/08tables/index.asp.