Sunak explained the measures the government is putting in place to protect jobs and incomes, with a £280 billion pledge for this year
On Wednesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out his spending review detailing how much will be spent on public services, lamenting the “economic emergency” that the UK government faces as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. He explained the measures the government is putting in place to “protect people’s jobs and incomes”, with a £280 billion pledge to see the UK through this year alone.
Among the new commitments, Mr Sunak confirmed that public sector workers – excluding some NHS staff and those earning less than £24,000 – will have their pay frozen next year, saying that he could not promise an across-the-board pay rise while many private sector employees have seen their hours and pay cut during the crisis. The pay freeze was first proposed last week in unconfirmed news reports, but was met with hostility from unions.
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, stated that public sector employees were owed a pay rise by the government for their service during the coronavirus crisis:
He said, this is a predictable attempt at divide and rule in the middle of a pandemic. Police officers, prison officers, school support staff, teachers, head teachers, DWP workers, hospital ancillary staff, have all put their lives on the line this year and they all deserve a pay rise. So should the delivery drivers for big supermarkets. We are supposed to be all in this together as working people.
Mr Sunak did, however, guarantee that 2.1 million public sector workers earning below the median wage of £24,000 will receive a £250 pay rise – although this is well former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s proposition of a 10% pay rise for public servants, to “begin to make up the ground they’ve lost over the last ten years”.
More than 1 million NHS staff will reportedly be eligible for a raise.
In addition, the minimum wage – now rebranded as the National Living Wage – will see a 2.2% (19p) increase to £8.91 per hour for those aged 23 and over.