{"id":1134062,"date":"2023-07-14T15:51:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T15:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1667113"},"modified":"2023-07-14T15:51:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T15:51:00","slug":"sunak-wants-migrants-to-bear-the-burden-of-public-sector-payrise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/07\/14\/sunak-wants-migrants-to-bear-the-burden-of-public-sector-payrise\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunak wants migrants to bear the burden of public sector payrise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Prime minister Rishi Sunak has made a final offer on public sector pay. Or so he says. The PM said in a speech<\/a> that the government would be not budging on future strikes<\/a>, but also that pay rises would not come from taxes or cuts. Barring a magic money tree, how’s he going to manage this, then?<\/p>\n

It seems he plans to put the cost<\/a> on migrant workers. This will be done through visa fees and charges for using the NHS that migrants will have to pay. So, in other words, he’s punishing migrants for the Tories own poor economic management.<\/p>\n

Suank said<\/a>:<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the decision has been difficult, and why it has taken time to decide the right course of action. I can confirm today that we are accepting the headline recommendations of the pay review bodies in full, but we will not fund them by borrowing more or increasing your taxes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Politico<\/em>, the money will also be made up by freezing recruitment in some departments:<\/p>\n

The government promised that a rise in visa fees and extra charges on migrant workers using the health service will meet some of the cost while there will be a civil service recruitment freeze in the Ministry of Defense until March 2025.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The planned pay rises will go to doctors, police officers, teachers, prison officers and senior civil servants. But, Sunak maintains that further rises<\/a> will make the cost of living crisis worse. Yet not everyone is convinced.<\/p>\n

Reactions<\/h2>\n

The reaction among different militant sectors has been varied<\/a>. Teachers, for example, look set to end their strikes. But doctors look ready to press on. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told reporters:<\/p>\n

I think we\u2019ll be seeing a new wave of industrial action.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It also has to be said that many people simply did not believe there would be no cuts. Diane Abbott applauded the workers for beating the Tory government, but said services would be cut to fund the rises:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Striking workers have done well to force the government into this.
But with real pay falling it is not enough to prevent staff leaving. And Sunak is butchering services to fund it.<\/p>\n

Sunak offers at least 6% pay rise to millions of public sector workers https:\/\/t.co\/HIPlZxxezX<\/a><\/p>\n

— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) July 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n