Rishi Sunak has announced a “final” offer to public sector workers of a pay rise of around 6 per cent — but it will be paid for by spending cuts elsewhere.
The increase for 2023-24 was recommended by official pay review bodies and accepted by the prime minister.
Police and prison officers will receive a 7% increase, teachers will get 6.5%, junior doctors will get 6% and soldiers will get 5%.
Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street on Thursday, Sunak said it would cost billions and would not be paid for by tax rises or more borrowing.
“That means government departments have had to find savings and efficiencies elsewhere,” he said.
That suggests cuts will have to be made in other areas to fund the pay hikes.
Sunak said it would also be funded by increasing the NHS surcharge for foreign nationals and fees for migrant visa applications.
The PM urged public sector unions to call off industrial action and accept the offer.
“No amount of strikes will change our decision,” he said. “Today’s offer is final. There will be no more talks on pay.”
Teachers unions have already said they will recommend to their members they accept the offer and call off planned strikes.
But junior doctors began five days of strike action in England today, after calls for a 35% pay increase were rejected.
Government does not have to accept what the bodies decide and had previously hinted that they could ignore the recommendations because they risked stoking inflation.
But a refusal to agree to the higher rise would likely have risked triggering further strike action across the public sector.
Inflation is currently stubbornly high at 8.7%, despite the prime minister’s pledge to halve it by the end of the year.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, this morning refused to say whether the party would support what the review bodies recommended as it did not have access to the Treasury’s books.