Top-ranking civil servants and judges have received pay rises amounting to tens of thousands of dollars.

The Government has not released details of how the pay structure has been upgraded, but has learned those already earning more than $115,000 a year will see their salaries rise due to the changes being rolled out as a result of a three-year review.

The intention is to boost salaries of highly placed civil servants and members of the judiciary closer to the levels offered in the private sector to address the problem of private businesses luring away executive level staff with offers of greater financial rewards, according to Bermuda Public Services Union president Ed Ball.

The salary step-ups for high-ranking civil servants and judges ? first reported on ZBM News on Thursday night ? follows a recently agreed inflation-busting three-year pay deal for 1,800 civil servants.

The public service pay scale has 50 levels and previously ranged from $27,944 up to $171,152. The top nine levels have now been changed in the first phase of an overhaul of the pay scale system.

Civil servants earning $115,164 or more have been elevated by one, two or three levels resulting in pay increases above $20,000 being awarded in some cases.

Mr. Ball, whose union represents civil servants, said: ?Bermuda?s civil service has been suffering from the private sector coming in and poaching key civil servants which has forced officials to come up with a new pay and grading scheme and an urgent succession plan.

?This is the one industry that keeps the whole Bermudian economy working from a political, economic and social standpoint.

?When a private company can offer a civil servant up to $50,000 more, when they are junior to their department head, it becomes a massive problem.?

He said some top civil servants would now see their pay jumping between one and three steps higher up the pay scale as a result of a three-year long review.

?The pay levels have been lagging behind the private sector and have been trailing for the past five or seven years,? said Mr. Ball. Private sector businesses could offer salary increases of $20,000 and other bonuses to ?poach? key staff, he added.

The civil service salary scale is being broadened and the changes to the high end salaries was one of the phases in which negotiations had concluded, said the union chief.

Having to compete against the high salaries on offer in the private sector was illustrated by the difficulties recruiting for key positions and that was why senior positions in Government and the judiciary had been upgraded, said Mr. Ball, adding: ?Hopefully it will be one of the impetuses to keep a valued person employed within the civil service.?

Calls for more information were referred by Director of Communication and Information Beverle Lottimore to Cabinet Secretary John Drinkwater. Mr. Drinkwater could not be reached for comment last night.

Earlier this year a pay deal was struck that means civil servants pay will rise by 4.5 percent this year, a further four percent next year and a yet to be decided amount in 2008.