Public sector workers 'battered'

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The government's pay settlement for public sector workers has left them feeling "battered, bruised and simply unappreciated", unions say.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the "below-inflation" rise of 2.5% in two stages was "plain wrong" and "must never be repeated".

Prison officers have staged a walkout, with nurses and police also unhappy with the settlement.

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown says it is needed to curb inflation.

'Genuine improvements'

In his address to the annual Trades Union Congress in Brighton, Mr Barber praised the government for investing more in public services, but added that staff had not received adequate pay rises.

He said: "No sensible observer can deny that genuine improvements have resulted from this extra money.

The good agencies are being brought down by the bad - giving the whole sector a shady reputation Brendan Barber, TUC

"And no reasonable person can deny that public services must always be ready to change, to be in tune with changing times, and use resources as efficiently as possible.

"But equally nobody can deny that many public servants have come to feel battered, bruised and simply unappreciated."

"Let's be clear that this year's centralised attempt to railroad through below-inflation public sector pay has been plain wrong - and must never been repeated."

Mr Barber, who has called for tax exiles to be given fewer "loopholes", criticised the UK's "wealth gap", saying 1% of the population owned 20% of its assets.

The "super-rich" must not be thought of as the "new untouchables", he added.

Very low pay also had to be tackled.

Mr Barber said one homeworker he knew of was paid 60p for every pair of trousers sewed, while a Polish man earned just £2 an hour and worked a 70-hour week.

Unscrupulous agencies had to be punished: "There's nothing wrong with matching employers with short-term needs, with workers with short-term availability. There will always be a role for that.

"But the good agencies are being brought down by the bad - giving the whole sector a shady reputation."

Mr Barber urged the government to push for a European directive to crack down on agencies running illegal practices.