New analysis by the official opposition reveals that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will hit every key worker earning over £18,000 in England with a real-terms pay cut next year.
This includes over 160,000 key workers in the South East region – the teachers, police officers and Armed Forces personnel on the front line of the battle against Covid-19.
At the Spending Review on 25 November, the Chancellor announced a ‘pay freeze’ for all public sector workers earning above £24,000 in 2021-22.
NHS workers weren’t included, while those earning less than £24,000 were promised “a fixed increase of £250”.
Taking into account inflation over the next fiscal year, that means every non-NHS public sector worker earning over £18,000 will actually get a real-terms pay cut.
In the South East, this includes:
- 15,829 police officers
- 79,778 teachers
- 32,365 civil servants, including tax inspectors, prison officers and probation officers
- 38,150 members of the Armed Forces
On top of the pay freeze, the Spending Review also contained a one-billion-pound council tax bombshell hidden in the small print and a cut to Universal Credit that will hit those who can least afford it.
The Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South, said,
“Just when our key workers need Government support through this challenging winter period, instead of rewarding them for their heroic efforts this year, the government chooses to give them a pay-cut.
“This is a completely unacceptable way to treat those have been there to protect and support us when we needed them most and I will be challenging the government for its justification on this.”
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds MP said:
“Key workers kept our country going this year, but the Chancellor has rewarded over a million of them with a real-terms pay cut.
“It’s totally irresponsible to hit workers in their pockets when the economy is so weak, but the least the Chancellor can do is be upfront about it.
“Instead, he’s trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the police officers, teachers and Armed Forces personnel who’ve kept the country going during this pandemic.
“They shouldn’t have to carry the can for this Government’s mistakes.”
