In the last few weeks I’ve received hundreds of emails about public sector pay and I’ve spoken to nurses, teachers and police officers directly. I want to see public sector workers paid fairly – a decent amount for the work they do, and enough to pay the bills.
The Government has been determined to build a strong economy to make sure people have jobs and a good standard of living. The priority has also been to help the worst off – so the National Living Wage was introduced and over a million people have been taken out of income tax altogether by increases in the personal allowance. That’s meant a tax cut for most people of over £1,000. Unemployment is now at its lowest since 1971, the minimum wage has gone up from £5.93 to £7.50 and the top 1% of earners pay 28% of income tax, so inequality has fallen.
But where does that leave people in public sector jobs? In general, public sector workers are more qualified and better paid. Some have benefitted from the Living Wage, most have gained from the rise in the personal allowance, and those in the early years of their careers have often had annual pay rises. But those further on in their careers have borne the brunt of the 1% pay cap. Add in the rising cost of living, especially high housing costs in this area, and that’s why nurses and police officers I spoke to are really feeling the squeeze. So the question is – can we lift the public sector pay cap?
Lifting the cap will cost over £5 billion a year, and the money would have to come from somewhere. Borrowing more passes debts onto future generations. Taxing the rich doesn’t tend to give you as much money as you expect, and can mean you collect less tax. We shouldn’t pretend there are easy answers. The best way to spend more on public services is through economic growth. So we must build a more productive economy, and that way we’ll be able to give public sector workers – and all workers – a proper pay rise.