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Washington, D.C.—The president of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers today called on the administration to issue immediately the executive order needed to implement the full 4.1 percent pay raise authorized by Congress for civilian federal employees.

Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said of the nearly month-long delay that “federal employees have waited long enough.”

President Bush “needs to do what Congress has authorized,” she said, and in so doing “respect federal employees and the work they do.”

The 4.1 percent raise for civilian federal employees—more than double the 2.0 percent raise authorized by President Bush and paid to federal employees effective with the first full pay period in January—was approved by Congress on Jan. 22 in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, and signed into law the next day.

It cannot be implemented, however, until the administration issues an executive order defining how much of that money, if any, is allocated to locality pay.

“Unfortunately, federal employees look to be on track to repeat 2003,” Kelley said, noting that a dispute between Congress and the White House over the amount of a fair raise for federal workers

resulted in a two-part raise last year, with some employees not getting the full amount of their raise until well into the summer. And just as occurred in 2003, federal salaries for this year will have to be calculated twice at considerable expense to agencies.

“Every time government and private sector experts look at the recruitment and retention problems plaguing federal agencies,” President Kelley said, “they identify pay that is not competitive with the private sector as a key factor.” She added: “Playing games like this with the pay of government employees serves only to make those problems worse.”

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents some 150,000 employees in 29 agencies and departments.