The government made recommendations in December for a 2.8% pay rise for teachers, NHS staff and other public sector workers for the financial year beginning in April, saying it was a “reasonable amount” given forecasts for the economy.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said ministers “hiding behind discredited pay review bodies” to suppress pay would only make problems with staff recruitment and retention worse.
Rachel Reeves has been warned public sector unions will demand higher pay increases to compensate for accelerating inflation, heaping pressure on the chancellor to find billions of pounds in extra funding.
Unions are awaiting reports from the various independent pay review bodies for the public sector, which could accept the government’s suggested increase, or recommend higher settlements.
At the time of the government’s pay recommendation in December, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was forecasting inflation would average about 2.6% in the coming financial year.
