Rishi Sunak willing to ignore recommended public sector pay rises, says minister

Sunak says he is willing to be unpopular, as Treasury minister John Glen says government has to consider inflation before accepting coming year’s awards

Striking junior doctors from British Medical Association on the picket line (PA)

Rishi Sunak’s government is willing to block recommended public pay rises, Tory minister John Glen appeared to confirm in a move sparking outrage from union leaders.

Mr Sunak also gave a clear sign he is ready to defy the pay rises put forward by the review bodies, saying he was willing to make “difficult” and unpopular decisions on public sector wages.

The government is likely to block some of the recommendations for teachers, police officers, prison officers and junior doctors to receive pay hikes of 6 per cent or more, The Times reported on Saturday.

Mr Glen signalled that ministers were willing to overrule the independent bodies because the government had to bear down on stubbornly-persistent inflation.

“As a matter of principle, pay review bodies are a very significant part of resolving the pay issues – but obviously, we’ve also got to take account of the effect on inflation. It would be irresponsible not to do that, so we haven’t finished that process,” he told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday.

Unions have expressed outrage over the idea that Mr Sunak could tell his ministers to take the rare step of rejecting some recommendations of the pay review bodies – which the government has been at pains to point out are independent during the recent wave of strike action.

“So much for the ‘independence’ of the pay review bodies,” said Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU).

She added: “Teachers will be infuriated. And they will not forget which party suppressed their pay for over a decade.”

Rishi Sunak said he was willing to be unpopular in order to keep inflation in check (BBC)

The education pay review bodies has already recommended that teachers get a 6.5 per cent rise for 2023-24, while junior doctors, police officers and prison officers were thought to be in line for at least 6 per cent.

But Mr Sunak told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “When it comes to public sector pay, I’m going to do what I think is affordable, what I think is responsible.

“Now that may not always be popular in the short term, but it’s the right thing for the country,” he said.

Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said defying the recommended pay rises “will have profound consequences for future industrial relations, with industrial action likely in the autumn”.

Labour has signalled it would rule out rejecting the review bodies’ advice.

Shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky: “If we were in government right now we would be asking the pay review bodies to give far more weight to the retention and recruitment crisis in the recommendations that we make.”

She added: “We’d take seriously their recommendations but we wouldn’t be bound by them.”

An HM Treasury spokesperson said: “We have now received the recommendations from most of the pay review bodies. The government is considering these and will respond in due course. No decision has been taken at this time.”