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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Ministers give up 2008 pay rises | Ministers give up 2008 pay rises |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| All government ministers will give up their 1.5% pay rise for this financial year, Downing Street has announced. | |
| The prime minister's decision was approved at this morning's Cabinet meeting, his spokesman said. | The prime minister's decision was approved at this morning's Cabinet meeting, his spokesman said. |
| Gordon Brown said ministers would not accept a pay rise "given the importance of public sector pay restraint at a time of economic uncertainty". | Gordon Brown said ministers would not accept a pay rise "given the importance of public sector pay restraint at a time of economic uncertainty". |
| David Cameron and Conservative MPs on the ministerial payroll say they will also give up their pay rises. | |
| The government also announced it was to back proposals from Sir John Baker's review that MPs no longer vote on their own pay rises. | |
| But they have rejected a £650-a-year "catch-up" payment for MPs, on top of their annual pay rises. | |
| Ministerial salaries | Ministerial salaries |
| Ministers will back proposals that MPs no longer vote on their own pay rises, instead they should accept the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body. | Ministers will back proposals that MPs no longer vote on their own pay rises, instead they should accept the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body. |
| They also plan to recommend that MPs' pay increases should be linked to the median average of rises paid to a wide range of public sector workers. | They also plan to recommend that MPs' pay increases should be linked to the median average of rises paid to a wide range of public sector workers. |
| It is all very well ministers giving up their pay increase, but this is small comfort to millions of public sector workers who are faced with an effective three-year pay cut Unison spokeswoman | It is all very well ministers giving up their pay increase, but this is small comfort to millions of public sector workers who are faced with an effective three-year pay cut Unison spokeswoman |
| Mr Brown also accepted recommendations from the Senior Salaries Review Body for pay rises next year of 1.5% for senior civil servants, 2.2% for senior military officers and very senior NHS managers, and just over 2.5% for judges. | Mr Brown also accepted recommendations from the Senior Salaries Review Body for pay rises next year of 1.5% for senior civil servants, 2.2% for senior military officers and very senior NHS managers, and just over 2.5% for judges. |
| Ministers' pay should go up in line with that of senior civil servants, who will get a 7% increase over next three years - and were due to get a 1.5% rise in the next year. | Ministers' pay should go up in line with that of senior civil servants, who will get a 7% increase over next three years - and were due to get a 1.5% rise in the next year. |
| But the pay restraint applies only to their ministerial salaries, they will still receive the general MPs' pay rise. | But the pay restraint applies only to their ministerial salaries, they will still receive the general MPs' pay rise. |
| MPs will vote on their salaries on 3 July. | MPs will vote on their salaries on 3 July. |
| Shadow Commons leader Theresa May described the move by Cabinet ministers to give up their pay rises for this financial year as a "gesture". | |
| Union anger | |
| She said it was also a "distraction" from the central issue of the day, which is "the rising cost of living for families across the country". | |
| "David Cameron and the small number of Conservatives on the ministerial payroll will also give up their pay rises for this financial year," she said. | |
| "And the shadow cabinet will reject the above inflation pay rise for MPs as recommended by Sir John Baker's review. | |
| "David Cameron has long called for an end to MPs voting on their own pay." | |
| The government's decision over the part year to award in two stages the 2.5% pay rise recommended for public sector workers - meaning they were effectively getting 1.9% - prompted anger from the unions. | The government's decision over the part year to award in two stages the 2.5% pay rise recommended for public sector workers - meaning they were effectively getting 1.9% - prompted anger from the unions. |
| A spokeswoman for Unison said: "It is all very well ministers giving up their pay increase, but this is small comfort to millions of public sector workers who are faced with an effective three-year pay cut." | A spokeswoman for Unison said: "It is all very well ministers giving up their pay increase, but this is small comfort to millions of public sector workers who are faced with an effective three-year pay cut." |
| The union is balloting its local government members on whether they want to strike over a 2.45% pay offer. | The union is balloting its local government members on whether they want to strike over a 2.45% pay offer. |
| The Baker review also examined, but rejected, introducing performance related pay for MPs after concluding that there would be no fair or acceptable way of measuring performance. | |
| The review also rejected increasing pay for MPs to reflect how long they had been doing the job. |