Commenting on research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), which shows that city workers’ pay has risen by 7% in a year, compared to a growth of 2% across the UK as a whole, Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said:
“Public sector workers facing pay freezes, job losses and rising inflation will be stunned to hear that pay in the City has rocketed by nearly four times the national average. The financial sector is doing very nicely in this recession while, in the real world, low-paid families are left to pick up the pieces.
“It cannot be right that the sector that caused the recession can continue with this champagne lifestyle, while the economy goes from bad to worse. The Government has abandoned any attempt at fairness, by taking the easy option to cut deep the public sector, while dodging decisions about clamping down on the bonus culture and making everyone pay their fair share”.