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Category: public sector pay freeze

  • Don’t hate HMRC staff over their 13% pay rise

    People have been reacting to the news that the government is giving some HMRC staff a pay rise. Understandably, they’ve been making comparisons to NHS staff’s 1% increase. But as some people have said on social media – we shouldn’t begrudge HMRC staff a decent raise.

    That 13% HMRC pay rise

    The FDA is the trade union for “professionals and managers in public service”. It recently wrote about the government pay deal for some HMRC staff. The FDA said that talks on this pay deal started in July 2020 and now the government and trade unions have reached a deal. The FDA said this was:

    a three-year deal giving an average pay award of 13% across the term. A 3% increase would be awarded in March 2021 (backdated to June 2020), followed by a 5% increase in June 2021 and a 5% increase in June 2022.

    It wasn’t just the FDA which was involved. Other bodies such as the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union were too. But some people on social media are upset about it. This is because the Tories are only giving NHS staff 1%:

    But people also made important points. Lina said:

    And another user pointed out:

    Divide and conquer

    Moreover, people pointed out that it plays into the Tories’ divide and conquer agenda, among other things:

    Of course, in reality most public sector staff have seen their real terms pay take a hit since 2010. As Unison pointed out, the cost of living (inflation) in the last decade rose by 35.6%. It noted that:

    The average public sector worker has seen an even steeper 14% decline in the value of their wages. For the public sector worker who has not benefited from any incremental progression in their pay, the cut has been 18%, leaving their 2020 wage over £6,800 down on the value of their earnings in 2009 and the accumulated loss from their wage failing to keep pace with inflation each year standing at over £53,307.

    So, HMRC staff’s 13% rise across three years barely makes up for a lost decade.

    Scraps off the Tories’ table

    Meanwhile, as one Twitter user said, the situation for nurses is dire:

    And let’s not forget the “inadequate” £20 Universal Credit uplift. Nor must we ignore the millions of legacy benefit claimants who haven’t got any increase at all. The number of households living in destitution more than doubled in 2020. But never mind. Because while all this was going on, Boris Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings got a 40% pay rise in 2020. And MPs, meanwhile, got an “inflation-busting” 3.1% pay rise, bringing their annual salary close to an eye-watering £82k.

    So we shouldn’t be angry at other workers earning more money. Our anger should be directed at a system and its gatekeepers which allow so many people to live in poverty in the first place. HMRC staff getting scraps off the Tories’ table is the thin end of the wage crisis wedge.

    Featured image via DPP Law – Flickr

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Marr just witnessed a car crash. It was a Tory minister on NHS pay.

    The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday 7 March saw a Tory minister crash and burn. But education secretary Gavin Williamson wasn’t talking about schools when it happened. He was defending the Tories’ appalling 1% pay rise for nurses.

    An insult?

    BBC News reported that:

    In November [2020], the government announced that public-sector workers would have their pay frozen in 2021-22. The exception was for those on salaries under £24,000 and NHS staff…

    On Thursday [4 March], the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) gave its evidence to the NHS pay-review body.

    And, as BBC News said, the DHSC opted for:

    a 1% pay rise across the board for 2021-22, citing the “uncertain” financial situation and current low inflation.

    Unsurprisingly, people have been angry about this.

    On the defensive

    NHS organisations have spoken out. Trade unions are incensed. So, the Tories are, naturally, on the defensive. But sending out Williamson to do the Sunday morning TV shows maybe wasn’t their best idea. Because on Marr, he fell apart.

    The host forced Williamson to watch footage of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak clapping for carers. Then, Marr asked him if he clapped too. Williamson said:

    Like everyone. The whole nation went out there to clap.

    It was obvious from Williamson’s pained grimace that he knew where this was going.

    Just a little prick

    Marr was straight back on him, asking:

    do you think, therefore, that the whole nation agrees with the Royal College of Nursing [RCN] that this 1% pay increase is frankly an insult?

    Williamson went straight into typical Tory spiel mode. He started talking about the government’s “largest investment” in the NHS. But Marr wasn’t having it. He interrupted him, saying:

    none of that helps an exhausted, crying nurse. … Do you think the nurses deserve more than 1%?

    Again, Williamson twisted and turned. Marr again interrupted. Williamson squirmed and stuttered. Marr interrupted once more. But overall, Williamson’s defence was that 1% was all the government “can afford”. He said this is because the Tories are dealing with:

    an incredibly challenging economic situation

    Here we go again.

    Del Boy economics

    As The Canary has already debunked, the Tories aren’t that ‘economically challenged’. All they’ve done is get their mates at the Bank of England to print a load of money. And it’s cash the Tories won’t have to pay back to anyone:

    So it seems this is the austerity that was all too predictable. But by the looks of things, nurses and their supporters aren’t going to put up with it.

    Everybody out?

    Some unions are talking about strike action. The Canary reported that the RCN:

    has warned a large number of nurses could leave the profession due to the “slap in the face” from the government. RCN has decided to set up a £35m industrial action fund to support members wanting to strike.

    On Saturday 6 March, #NHSStrike was trending on Twitter. So, could industrial action be looming? Unite has said similar to the RCN. And Williamson’s weak excuses on Marr will only compound the anger.

    Featured image via BBC iPlayer – screengrab

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on The Canary.