‘Reckless’ to give pay rises to nurses and teachers, says Downing Street

Please sir, can I have some more?

On the day inflation hit a 40-year-high, Downing Street has rejected calls to increase public sector worker pay. A spokesperson for the prime minister said it would be "reckless" to provide across-the-board pay rises in line with inflation to teachers, nurses and more. They said an increase would directly impact public sector workers if it were to feed into an inflationary spiral, warning the money they had could end up "worthless". "It’s important to stress that does not mean we do not want to reward public sector workers with a pay rise," they said. "It’s just we must make sure we don’t do anything that would have a knock-on impact that feeds into this global inflation spiral." The statement comes amid mounting criticism over the Treasury's plans to provide state pensioners with an extra 10 per cent in payments next year to stay in line with inflation. The government is planning a return to the “triple lock” system, through which the state pension is increased annually by whichever is highest: in line with inflation, average earnings or a flat rate of 2.5 per cent. On Tuesday, rail staff who were members of the RMT union walked out over job cuts, conditions, pay and pensions. Union bosses blamed the government for cuts and below-inflation wage proposals, while the government say pay increases could send soaring inflation out of control. Royal Mail workers, criminal barristers and some teachers are among other groups threatening to strike later this summer. Related Links

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