The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares that public sector services such as the NHS are running out of people resources and good will; further that the years of frozen pay, followed by a 1% pay rise-reluctantly given by this Government three years ago and initially tied with restrictions, is an insult; further that there is a rise of public sector workers having to turn to foodbanks due to the Government’s policies; and further that many are leaving their jobs as they cannot afford to live on their pay.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to recognise the worth of public sector workers and recognise the financial losses that have been incurred.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Sandy Martin , Official Report, 26 February 2018; Vol. 636, c. 11-12P.]
[P002115]
Observations from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss):
The Government thank the hon. Member for Ipswich (Sandy Martin) for his petition and recognise the concerns of his constituents expressed within over levels of public sector pay.
Public sector workers deserve to have fulfilling jobs that are fairly rewarded. At the Budget, the Government reconfirmed the announcement from September to move away from the across the board one percent public sector pay policy, towards a more flexible approach on pay.
Whilst in place however, the one percent pay policy did not mean that public sector workers did not see any increase in their salaries. In 2016 over 50% of nurses and NHS staff had an average increase of over 3%, and teachers’ average pay increased by 3.9% in 2015-16 and 4.6% in 2016-17, including increases in promotions and responsibility allowances.
The petition makes a specific reference to the NHS, the Government recognise that in the NHS there are unique pressures this year: there are more operations than ever and more people going to A&E than ever. That is why the Chancellor has committed to fund pay awards for Agenda for Change staff (nurses, midwives and paramedics), as part of a wider NHS funding commitment, that are agreed as part of a deal with the unions. As a result, there is the opportunity, through the Health Secretary’s discussions with the Unions, to agree a pay deal to deliver productivity improvements and higher pay awards for NHS staff.
We still need to deal with our country’s debts to ensure we have a strong economy to enable us to invest in our public services. This means that we will continue to take a balanced approach to public spending.
The Government will consider each specific workforce to ensure pay is set so that we can continue to both attract and hold on to the excellent staff that support our world- leading public services.
Before we make final decisions on pay awards for 2018-19, we are seeking the views of the independent pay review bodies, which will consider the evidence on how we ensure we attract and retain the very best people within our public services, like giving people more flexibility over their working hours.
The independent pay review bodies will report in spring and summer 2018, at which point we will consider their recommendations and announce public sector pay awards for each of those workforces.