Public servants' average earnings rose by 6.7 per cent in the year to March, with earnings growth strongest for local authority employees, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The data, published yesterday in the CSO's Public Sector Employment and Earnings, show that weekly earnings for public servants averaged €820 per week.

Excluding the health sector, average weekly earnings in the public sector increased by 6.2 per cent. The annual rate of inflation in March was 2.1 per cent.

Public sector employment fell marginally in March by 100, compared with the previous December. But there were 4,400 more public servants in that month compared with March 2004, driven mainly by recruitment in the health and education sectors.

Commenting on the latest figures, Isme chief executive Mark Fielding said that they proved that claims that public sector pay was lagging behind pay in the private sector were false.

"The figures prove once and for all that the powerful vested interests in the public sector unions have been attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of those of us in the private sector by their outlandish statements.

"It is incredible that, at a time when indigenous manufacturing is on its knees, those in the public sector with jobs for life, shorter working hours and five-star pensions continue to push out the begging bowl under the guise of benchmarking," Mr Fielding said.

According to the latest CSO data, the average public service weekly pay packet, of €820.82, compares with equivalent earnings of €572.84 for industrial workers.

But public sector union Impact rejected Isme's position. Bernard Harbor, information officer, Impact, said that the CSO figures for average industrial pay are not a study of the entire private sector. Mr Harbor also cited other reasons for public sector pay being higher, including the higher qualifications of public servants, relative to those in the private sector.

"Public servants are also much more likely than their private sector counterparts to be in a trade union. That means that it's very difficult for public sector employers to dodge the pay increases negotiated in national deals," said Mr Harbor.

Data on trends in trade union membership was also published yesterday by the CSO and shows that trade union participation is significantly higher in the public sector than in other sectors of the economy.

A breakdown of the figures shows local authority employees' average earnings grew by 13.2 per cent, compared to overall earnings growth of 6.7 per cent.

On Monday, employers' federation Ibec called for greater control of local authority expenditure as part of its campaign to reduce the share of local authority funding borne by business.