Pay cap not dead until money appears in public sector pay packets

Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect union commenting on the Government’s pay cap plans

Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect union, commenting on the Government’s plan to only lift the 1 per cent pay cap for some groups of public sector workers, said:
 
“After seven years of the pay cap which has seen pay fall by 15% in real terms, public sector workers will not be bought off with vague promises of a review.
 
“The pay cap will not be dead until public sector workers see more money in their pay packets.
 
“This isn’t just about pay review bodies or staff shortages it is about ensuring the Treasury provides the investment necessary for a fair pay rise across our public services.
 
“Any attempt to cherry-pick which public servants deserve a pay rise will be a betrayal to the expertise and dedication public servants make for the good of the country.”
 
“Civil servants will not need to read between lines to know that this announcement offers them nothing. We have asked government to listen to reason, its increasingly clear we will need to do more than that and Prospect is now focused on real action for change not rhetoric.”

Notes

Only 45% of public sector workers are covered by a Pay Review Body. 55% of public sector workers – about 3 million in total – aren’t covered by any pay review body – including 9 out of 10 of civil servants. These include:

• All direct employees of Government Departments and arms-length bodies, except for the Senior Civil Service (around 1% of the total), prison service staff, and some employees of the National Crime Agency.
• Schools staff other than teachers – such as Teaching Assistants and other school support staff – who total around 900,000 workers, and together make up more than 60% of school staff