The TUC has launched a Speak up for Public Services campaign today that urges the government not to impose below inflation pay increases on public sector workers next year.
The TUC and its 26 member unions representing the UK's public sector workforce have signed a statement calling on ministers to accept the full recommendations that various pay review bodies make.
The unions are also releasing a report, Six Million Pay Cuts, rejecting the government's arguments on pay, including the idea that public sector wages increases are pushing up inflation.
Unison general secretary and president of the TUC, Dave Prentis, said: “A 2% pay limit, for each of the next three years, means a real pay cut for the UK’s six million public sector workers. They will see their living standards cut and cut again. This is an ill-thought out policy that could cause long-term damage to industrial relations, recruitment, retention and morale.
“The government can’t have forgotten what a demoralised, under-resourced public sector it inherited from the Tories. We cannot go back to those days. We shall be campaigning for pay rises that reflect the true cost of living in the UK and reward public servants for the vital work they do."
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