The parade of anxious ministers pressing for pay rises now includes Defra secretary Michael Gove, health secretary Jeremy Hunt, education secretary Justine Greening and foreign secretary Boris Johnson. The economics of capping public sector pay – to meet the government’s flexible deficit reduction target – have not changed. It also pointed out that although public sector pay levels had held up better than private sector pay in the years immediately after the 2007-8 crash, the gap is now closing, while nurses’ and other health workers’ burdens have risen and their morale is rapidly falling. Public sector unions may be about to rediscover their political power. Every 1% increase in public sector pay costs about £1.5bn a year: increasing pay while protecting services means finding new money.

Source: The Guardian July 03, 2017 18:11 UTC