In a move to decrease the state budget deficit, non-union state employees, including many UW-Madison faculty and staff members, will receive lower pay raises this year than previously planned.

The Joint Committee on Employment Relations voted to reduce a 2 percent pay raise set for July 2008 to 1 percent, while the 2 percent raise will be deferred until July 2009.

State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, was the only member of the committee to vote against the change and said it was unfair to change the commitment.

The 1 percent raise, which does not compensate for inflation, will likely affect the hiring and retention of UW faculty, according to Risser.

However, John Murray, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said the committee’s decision does not stray from the previous commitment but rather distributes the raises in a different manner.

UW System Spokesperson David Giroux said reducing or postponing faculty payments would put UW-Madison even further behind competing peer institutions.

“It’s simply a statement and fact that I hope will lead to a greater understanding in the future that more must be done to make our UW compensation more nationally competitive,” Giroux said.