Any public pay award below ​cost of living ​is a wage cut

Pay freeze should never have been imposed

Commenting on the chancellor’s announcement that the public sector pay freeze is to end, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said today (Tuesday): “This is no cause for celebration. A pay freeze should never have been imposed in the first place.

“Unless extra money finds its way to ​individual government departments, the freeze will continue. Any pay rise less than the rate of inflation is, effectively, a pay cut.

“Ministers must also find the ​cash to give NHS workers the proper pay award they’ve more than earned. That goes for council​, school and other public sector ​staff who’ve ​either been offered ​nothing or substantially less than the cost of living.”

Notes to editors:
-UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contact:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk