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Public sector pay cap: May 'recognises sacrifices of workers' Public sector pay cap: May 'recognises sacrifices of workers'
(about 5 hours later)
Theresa May recognises the sacrifice made by public sector workers during years of wage restraint, Downing Street has said, in a clear hint that the 1% pay cap could be lifted. Whitehall departments are at odds over plans to raise the public sector pay cap after No 10 offered a clear hint that it would be lifted.
The prime minister’s official spokeswoman said she would not pre-empt the process that is used to set the salaries of nurses, doctors, teachers, armed personnel and others. However, she did not deny reports that May was ready to take action to ease the burden felt by workers who have endured a seven-year cap as part of the government’s austerity programme. The Cabinet Office and the Treasury disagree over the details of proposals to relax restrictions covering the salaries of nurses, doctors, teachers, armed personnel and others, sources have said.
“We know a number of people in the public and private sectors feel like they are just about managing, and we recognise the sacrifice they are making. But there is a process in place and I can’t pre-empt the process.” The prime minister’s official spokeswoman fuelled speculation that the cap would be lifted when she said on Monday that May recognised the sacrifice made by public sector workers during seven years of wage restraint.
She insisted the Conservative government was listening to the experts. One pay review body has warned that the ability to fill some NHS, military and civil service jobs could “deteriorate rapidly”. “We know a number of people in the public and private sectors feel like they are just about managing, and we recognise the sacrifice they are making,” she said. “But there is a process in place and I can’t pre-empt the process.”
The Senior Salaries Review Body, which makes recommendations for some NHS managers, military officers and top civil servants, suggested it was difficult to act effectively with its hands tied by the government’s cap. An informed source said Treasury officials were willing to relax pay for a select number of civil servants but suspected that the Cabinet Office had tried to bounce the government into leaking a story on pay restraint to the Sun.
“In the current context, it is difficult for the SSRB to operate effectively,” it said, raising concerns of frustration and a lack of motivation for workers. The Sun claimed an announcement of an end to the seven-year cap was expected to form the centrepiece of the chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn budget.
“If the government continues to see value in having an independent body to advise on senior salaries, we believe that some serious reflection is required about how to make better use of it.” The Treasury is due to send out letters within weeks setting out the remit for public sector pay review bodies for next year’s pay round.
Janet Davies, the chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said if reports of the pay cap being lifted were true it would mark significant progress and show the government was listening to nurses’ campaigning. “The leak looked as if it has been timed to put pressure upon the Treasury,” the source said. “Remit letters are overdue so they need to make some kind of decision. All agree that any lifting of the cap should be on a case-by-case basis, not general. But the details have not been agreed and the Treasury, as ever, is urging caution.”
“But any offer from the PM or Treasury needs to not only scrap the pay cap for future years but go some way towards making up for lost earnings,” she said, warning that industrial action was on the table if May and the chancellor, Philip Hammond, failed to scrap the cap. Under one plan being considered, the lowest-paid public sector workers, along with groups with the biggest retention problems such as nurses and senior civil servants, could be granted a pay rise at least in line with inflation next April, with restraint for others lifted in 2019.
“Nursing pay has fallen by 14% in real terms since 2010, now worth £3,000 each year,” she said. The prime minister’s spokeswoman said the government was listening to the experts. One pay review body has warned that the ability to fill some public sector jobs could “deteriorate rapidly” if the cap continues.
The Senior Salaries Review Body, which makes recommendations for some NHS managers, military officers and top civil servants, suggested it was difficult to act effectively with its hands tied. “In the current context, it is difficult for the SSRB to operate effectively,” it said.
The FDA, the senior civil servants union, welcomed the reports but added that departments must be free to pay market rates if they were not going to lose staff to big business. “While lifting the pay cap would be a great start, we hope these reports can lead to a more open dialogue about pay reform that gives departments greater freedom to pay market rates for the skills our civil service needs,” said the FDA general secretary, Dave Penman.
Janet Davies, the chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said that if reports of the pay cap being lifted were true it would mark significant progress and show the government was listening to nurses’ campaigning.
“But any offer from the PM or Treasury needs to not only scrap the pay cap for future years but go some way towards making up for lost earnings,” she said, warning that industrial action was on the table if May and Hammond failed to scrap the cap. “Nursing pay has fallen by 14% in real terms since 2010, now worth £3,000 each year,” she said.
Nurses will demonstrate outside parliament on Wednesday over the issue, which was a central theme in the election after May was confronted by a nurse who had suffered as a result of the pay cap.Nurses will demonstrate outside parliament on Wednesday over the issue, which was a central theme in the election after May was confronted by a nurse who had suffered as a result of the pay cap.
Many Tory MPs have admitted that the inability to attract public sector workers hampered their efforts during the election in which the party lost its majority. Many Tory MPs have admitted that the inability to attract public sector workers hampered their efforts during the election, in which the party lost its majority.
Rehana Azam, the GMB national secretary, said: “The artificial cap on pay was always a political choice by the Conservative government. This damaging policy has seen thousands pinched from public sector workers over seven years.”Rehana Azam, the GMB national secretary, said: “The artificial cap on pay was always a political choice by the Conservative government. This damaging policy has seen thousands pinched from public sector workers over seven years.”
She said it would be a victory for the union’s campaign if the cap was lifted, but “the devil will be in the detail”.She said it would be a victory for the union’s campaign if the cap was lifted, but “the devil will be in the detail”.
“All public sector workers must receive proper pay rises – including those not covered by pay review bodies, such as school support staff, council workers and police staff. The prime minister will not be able to get away with a sleight of hand on this one – we’re watching very closely.” “All public sector workers must receive proper pay rises – including those not covered by pay review bodies, such as school support staff, council workers and police staff,” she said. “The prime minister will not be able to get away with a sleight of hand on this one – we’re watching very closely.”