LONDON (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will offer millions of public sector workers pay rises averaging five per cent next week, the Financial Times reported today (July 15), citing unnamed government ministers.
Annual pay reviews for almost half of public sector workers – including teachers, nurses, police, prison staff, civil servants and the armed forces – are due shortly.
The FT reported one senior minister as saying the government would accept the recommendation of independent pay review bodies – which are likely to recommend raises of around five per cent – while another said directly that pay rises of around five per cent were expected.
PAY GROWTH HAS LAGGED IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
A spokesperson for Johnson’s office declined to comment on the report.
British consumer price inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1 per cent in May and the Bank of England forecasts it will exceed 11 per cent in October.
Meanwhile, pay growth in the public sector has lagged that for private sector workers, averaging just 1.5 per cent over the past year compared with 8.0 per cent in the private sector, where it has been bolstered by one-off bonuses.
“If you went below their recommendations, you’d save a bit of money but what would be the net saving?”
Unnamed Cabinet minister
Britain’s government had planned on public sector pay rises of around two per cent, but the FT quoted one senior minister as saying that rejecting the pay review bodies’ recommendations would lead to an increased number of strikes.
“If you went below their recommendations, you’d save a bit of money but what would be the net saving?” the cabinet minister was quoted as saying without being named.
“You’d end up with a lot of strikes and a big economic hit. You’re going to have strikes in any event, but that would make things much worse.”
A five per cent rise would cost almost £7 billion (US$8.3 billion) more than a two per cent rise, but may have to be funded from within existing budgets, the FT said.
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