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Public sector workers: Pay rises announced for a million people Public sector workers: Pay rises announced for a million people
(about 1 hour later)
A million public sector workers are to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly 10 years, the government says.A million public sector workers are to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly 10 years, the government says.
It includes 2.9% extra this year for the armed forces, 2.75% for prison officers and 3.5% for teachers. It includes 2.9% extra this year for the armed forces, 2.75% for prison officers and up to 3.5% for teachers.
Police will see a 2% rise, the same increase seen by junior doctors, GPs and dentists. Police will see a 2% rise, the same increase seen by GPs and dentists.
The move confirms the scrapping of the 1% pay cap last year and follows campaigns by unions for higher wage rises.The move confirms the scrapping of the 1% pay cap last year and follows campaigns by unions for higher wage rises.
The government said the increases were affordable within its spending plans. Individual departments are having to fund the pay rises, rather than the money coming from the Treasury.The government said the increases were affordable within its spending plans. Individual departments are having to fund the pay rises, rather than the money coming from the Treasury.
'Decade of pay cuts' The pay rises for doctors, dentists and teachers only apply to England, while the pay rises for prison officers and police officers apply to England and Wales
Labour called for the government to "end the cruel pay cap once and for all". The armed forces pay offer is for the whole of the UK.
Peter Dowd, the party's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "Public sector workers have faced nearly a decade of austerity pay cuts and an onslaught on their living standards. Details of the announcement include:
"The government's offer fails to compensate workers for the huge losses in income they have faced under the Tories' brutal pay restraint policy." Analysis by BBC Reality Check
He added that "the lack of new funding for departments also means pay rises will have to come at the cost of other services". Comparing public and private sector pay is tricky because public sector workers are on average better qualified and many lower-paid jobs such as cleaning and security have been outsourced from the public sector to the private.
When plans to end the 1% public sector pay cap in England and Wales were announced last year, deals were only confirmed for some NHS and prison staff and police. If you look at what has happened to growth in pay since 2010, private sector pay has been growing faster, due to the effect of two years of public sector pay freezes starting in 2011, followed by 1% caps.
A new pay deal for the NHS was announced in March, promising a 6.5% increase over three years. But both public and private sector workers have seen their average pay rising more slowly than prices.
Workers voted on and agreed to the deal in June, meaning 1.3 million were to see the rise in their July pay packets. The comparison between public and private sector pay also ignores pension provision, which tends to be better in the public sector, and bonus payments, which are more common in the private sector but excluded from these average earnings figures.
The cap for police and prison officers was also lifted last September, with unions accepting rises of 1% with a 1% bonus and 1.7%, respectively, for this year. 'Public service cuts'
The cost of scrapping the 1% cap is estimated at £4bn. The move was seen as a bid to boost staff recruitment and retention as well as improve morale in the public sector. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "By increasing the pay levels, albeit by less than the rate of inflation, that can only be paid for by cuts within the public services.
The Minister of State for Children and Families, Nadhim Zahawi, said it was right for teachers to get a pay rise. "And so, if it's local authorities or anybody else, they're going to have to pay for it by either removing their balances, which they shouldn't be doing, or by cutting services further."
"It is good news," he told BBC News. "You can't have great schools without having great teachers - and we've got to make sure they are paid properly - and ultimately we've got to find the money from budgets in government." The cost of scrapping the 1% cap is estimated at £4bn.
Unions had been arguing for pay rises closer to 5% to make up for the austerity measures introduced by David Cameron's government eight years ago. The move has been seen as a bid to boost staff recruitment and retention as well as improve morale in the public sector.
The rise for members of the armed forces is 2%, falling short of the 2.9% recommended by the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body, but is being supplemented by a one-off payment of 0.9% this year. Unions have been arguing for pay rises closer to 5% to make up for the austerity measures introduced by David Cameron's government eight years ago.
Chief secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss said the announcement was "fantastic news just before the summer for a million workers right across the public sector".
She said: "We hugely value the work that people do, whether it's teachers, soldiers or police officers."
But Prospect union deputy general secretary Garry Graham said: "Today's pay deals for the armed forces, prison workers and teachers are welcome but confirm what we have long suspected, this government have put civil servants firmly at the back of the queue on public sector pay.
"Instead of playing cynical divide-and-rule games with overworked and underpaid public sector workers, the government should be committing to above-inflation pay rises for all public servants, with no group left behind."