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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/19/the-guardian-view-on-public-sector-pay-time-for-a-rise
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| The Guardian view on public sector pay: time for a rise | The Guardian view on public sector pay: time for a rise |
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| Nurses, teachers and firefighters will be thousands of pounds worse off a year in real terms by 2020 | |
| Mon 19 Jun 2017 19.29 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 22.06 GMT | |
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| Harder work, for less pay. That’s the situation millions of public sector workers find themselves in. Their average real wages have steadily fallen since 2010 thanks to pay caps and rising inflation. At the same time, nurses, firefighters and police officers have found themselves stretched ever further by public spending cuts that require them to do their jobs with dwindling resources. | Harder work, for less pay. That’s the situation millions of public sector workers find themselves in. Their average real wages have steadily fallen since 2010 thanks to pay caps and rising inflation. At the same time, nurses, firefighters and police officers have found themselves stretched ever further by public spending cuts that require them to do their jobs with dwindling resources. |
| Two years of pay freezes, followed by four years of capped pay, have left median public sector wages £1,000 lower in real terms than they were in 2010. This will get worse: the government has announced the 1% annual pay cap will remain in place until at least the end of this parliament, despite the fact that inflation stands at a four-year high. The Trades Union Congress has estimated that this will make nurses, firefighters and teachers more than £2,500 a year worse off by 2019. This will reduce public sector wages to their lowest level relative to the private sector in more than 20 years – and back then there were significant staff shortages in professions such as nursing. | Two years of pay freezes, followed by four years of capped pay, have left median public sector wages £1,000 lower in real terms than they were in 2010. This will get worse: the government has announced the 1% annual pay cap will remain in place until at least the end of this parliament, despite the fact that inflation stands at a four-year high. The Trades Union Congress has estimated that this will make nurses, firefighters and teachers more than £2,500 a year worse off by 2019. This will reduce public sector wages to their lowest level relative to the private sector in more than 20 years – and back then there were significant staff shortages in professions such as nursing. |
| This past month should serve as a tragic reminder of just how fundamental these jobs are. From firefighters working double shifts and risking their lives to save people from Grenfell Tower, to the policemen and medical staff who run into danger straight after a terrorist attack, to the teachers putting in overtime to teach our children, their work is the backbone of a civilised society. Yet we expect them to put up with falling pay cheques. Little wonder that one in five health workers have sought debt advice, some nurses are reportedly using food banks, and teachers in the south are struggling with their housing costs to the extent that some have found themselves homeless. | This past month should serve as a tragic reminder of just how fundamental these jobs are. From firefighters working double shifts and risking their lives to save people from Grenfell Tower, to the policemen and medical staff who run into danger straight after a terrorist attack, to the teachers putting in overtime to teach our children, their work is the backbone of a civilised society. Yet we expect them to put up with falling pay cheques. Little wonder that one in five health workers have sought debt advice, some nurses are reportedly using food banks, and teachers in the south are struggling with their housing costs to the extent that some have found themselves homeless. |
| Further cuts to real pay not only put public sector workers under intolerable pressure, they are a false economy. Falling pay will only compound the recruitment crises that are afflicting public services. A quarter of teachers leave the profession within their first three years’ teaching: the highest turnover in years. The nursing shortage now stands at over 30,000, and is forecast to get even worse after Brexit. The wage bill for temporary and agency staff – much more expensive than their permanent peers – is spiralling. There has been a 50% increase in agency spend by NHS trusts in just five years, and a 15% increase in the amount schools are spending on supply staff. | Further cuts to real pay not only put public sector workers under intolerable pressure, they are a false economy. Falling pay will only compound the recruitment crises that are afflicting public services. A quarter of teachers leave the profession within their first three years’ teaching: the highest turnover in years. The nursing shortage now stands at over 30,000, and is forecast to get even worse after Brexit. The wage bill for temporary and agency staff – much more expensive than their permanent peers – is spiralling. There has been a 50% increase in agency spend by NHS trusts in just five years, and a 15% increase in the amount schools are spending on supply staff. |
| All the while, executive pay continues to steadily climb: it was announced last week that the chief executive of the energy company SSE is getting a 72% pay rise. We expect nurses and firefighters to make do with pay cuts while corporate executives enjoy huge windfalls. It’s time to drop the austerity pay cap: our public sector workers are long overdue a proper pay rise. | All the while, executive pay continues to steadily climb: it was announced last week that the chief executive of the energy company SSE is getting a 72% pay rise. We expect nurses and firefighters to make do with pay cuts while corporate executives enjoy huge windfalls. It’s time to drop the austerity pay cap: our public sector workers are long overdue a proper pay rise. |
| Public sector pay | |
| Opinion | |
| Public services policy | |
| Public sector cuts | |
| Public finance | |
| Executive pay and bonuses | |
| NHS | |
| editorials | |
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