Commenting on the Government’s claims that most British workers have seen their take home pay increase, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said:
“The Government can massage economic figures all it likes, but the real test is what working people feel in their pocket each week – and on that test it is failing miserably. For public sector workers who have endured year upon year of pay freezes and hardship under this heartless government, it is not becoming easier to put food on the table or heat their homes.
“The ONS shows that average weekly earnings before tax rose by a paltry £3 between 2012 and 2013, which is little consolation for workers who have suffered from inflation growing faster than pay for the past five years. We need a step change on pay, not spin and wishful thinking.”