Freezing MoD recruitment is a disastrous error – Prospect responds to govt announcement on public sector pay

The government has announced that it is to accept the recommendations of its pay review bodies on pay.

This includes a 5.5% increase for senior civil servants but the government has not allocated extra money to pay for it. As a result some departments will have to make cuts to pay for the rise, while others will be able to make use of underspend to cover the cost.

The government has also announced that it will freeze civilian recruitment at the Ministry of Defence, despite thousands of unfilled vacancies.

Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect, responded:

“For a Prime Minister and Chancellor who came into office promising economic stability, the chaotic handling of this process will inspire little confidence in workers worried about their futures during the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

“The fact that they are taking a knife to public services to pay for these pay rises signals that they have learned nothing from the austerity years. More than a decade of underfunding left us unprepared for the pandemic with public services across the board at breaking point.

“In particular, freezing civil service recruitment in the Ministry of Defence is a disastrous error that risks putting our nation’s security at risk. The department already has thousands of vacancies, and many of these civil servants work directly supporting the effort to win the war in Ukraine.

“It’s time the government recognised the value of its public services and allocated the money required to maintain them properly.”