Millions of key workers set to be paid more as Rishi Sunak confirms end to pay freeze
More than five million key workers are in line for a pay rise after the chancellor ended the freeze on public sector pay.
Rishi Sunak confirmed the news in the autumn budget today.
But the government has yet to guarantee the increase will be higher than the rising cost of living, meaning workers could still feel worse off. Mr Sunak said inflation is expected to average 4% over the next year.
The uplift will apply to the UK’s 5.68 million public workers including teachers, NHS staff such as nurses and paramedics, police officers, civil servants, prison guards and the military.
NHS workers in England were given a backdated 3% rise ‘in recognition of their extraordinary efforts’ over the Covid pandemic, it was announced in July.
Since then living costs have risen considerably with a 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance, higher gas and fuel prices and a £20-a-week benefits cut.
Mr Sunak said the pay freeze would end in April when employees could expect to see their salaries increase.
Unison union general secretary Christina McAnea has said it would continue ‘in all but name’ unless Whitehall departments were given extra money by Mr Sunak to fund inflation-busting wage increases.
Speaking to Sky News yesterday business minister Paul Scully refused to rule out pay rises being cancelled out by inflation.
He said: ‘That will be determined by the pay review bodies. The chancellor is keen to give people a rise.
‘They will then take that into account as they look to what should be an appropriate rise for the public sector, given the public finances.
‘I can’t pre-empt what they are going to do. We will see where we are come next April when the review bodies have reported.’
Pay for most frontline workforces is set through an independent review body which makes recommendations to ministers.
Officials said the government would be requesting ‘full recommendations’, with awards to be announced next year. Kevin Courtney of the National Education Union said there was ‘no prospect of clarity’ for public workers until 2022.
Former prime minister David Cameron capped public sector pay rises at 1% throughout his six-year Tory austerity government from 2010.
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