Millions of public sector workers face pay freeze in wake of coronavirus pandemic

Teachers, police and civil servants face salary squeeze in Rishi Sunak’s spending review

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a public sector pay freeze (AFP via Getty Images)

Millions of public sector workers face a pay freeze next year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.  

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce the move during a government spending review next week as part of efforts to plug the hole left in the nation’s finances by the Covid-19 crisis.  

The freeze, expected to save billions in public spending, would mean workers such teachers, police, civil servants and those in the armed forces see their salaries squeezed.

Any move to freeze public pay would prove highly controversial – but Mr Sunak will argue it is only fair since the private sector has been hit hard during the pandemic, according to The Times.  

Doctors, nurses and other NHS staff will not be included in the pay freeze as recognition of their work during the pandemic.  

The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) said the chancellor could save up to £23bn if he were to impose a three-year public sector pay freeze.  

The centre-right think tank warned that without action to curb pay, the government will face a sharply rising public sector wage at a time of increased borrowing due to the pandemic.  

The CPS argued private sector workers had suffered far more in the pandemic and that measures were needed to ensure the labour market was not unfairly weighted towards the public sector.  

In a report published ahead of Mr Sunak's mini-budget next week, it said that if the NHS was excluded from the pay freeze, it could still save £15.3bn over the three years.  

Alternatively, it said that an annual 1 per cent pay cap would save £11.7bn over the period — or £7.7bn if it did not apply to healthcare workers.  

The report was strongly condemned by the Unite trade union, which said public sector workers had already borne the brunt of the Tories’s austerity cuts following the financial crash.  

UCU assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said they suspected the CPS was being used as an "outrider" ahead of Mr Sunak's statement next week.  

"The CPS analysis is insulting to those public sector workers that have underpinned the fabric of society during this continuing pandemic," she said.  

"In the spring, the prime minister was praising NHS staff for saving his life.  

"Now, in the autumn, he needs to ensure that his chancellor turns those warm words into hard cash for those that ensure the efficient running of the NHS, schools and colleges, and the myriad of services provided on a daily basis by local councils."  

News of the pay freeze comes just a day after the prime minister announced a £16.5bn cash injection into the defence budget.  

Boris Johnson pledged to develop laser weapons for the UK military to replace traditional guns and to create a new Space Command wing.  

Additional reporting by PA