https://sputnikglobe.com/20230628/uk-labour-opposition-leader-wont-commit-to-public-sector-pay-awards-1111518874.html
UK Labour Opposition Leader Won't Commit to Public Sector Pay Awards
UK Labour Opposition Leader Won't Commit to Public Sector Pay Awards
Sputnik International
The UK's Labour Party opposition has backed the Tory government to the hilt on policies which brought about the current economic crisis and wave of strikes — including the COVID-19 lockdowns and sanctions on Russia.
2023-06-28T12:37+0000
2023-06-28T12:37+0000
2023-06-28T12:57+0000
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united kingdom (uk)
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keir starmer
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Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has refused to commit to independently-decided public-sector pay awards — a day after the Tory government drew fire for hinting at the same.Speaking at a public event on Tuesday, the opposition leader said his party would "inherit a real mess" from the Conservative government if it wins the next general election.Pressed on whether he would comply with the recommendations of public-sector pay review boards (PRBs), Starmer said only that Labour would have to deal with a "really badly damaged economy."The Trades Union Congress (TUC), many of whose member unions affiliate to and fund the Labour Party, accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Conservative government of "playing politics with working people's incomes" on Monday after junior Health Minister Helen Whately hinted in a TV interview that the PRBs' pay recommendations might not be honored.But Whately's boss, Health Secretary Steve Barclay, later clarified that government departments should "continue to defer to that process to ensure decisions balance the needs of staff and the wider economy."Labour shadow leveling up minister Alex Norris appeared to contradict his party leader on Wednesday morning when asked on live TV about a looming strike by National Health Service consultants — the senior hospital doctors — with junior doctors already taking action in demand of a 35 percent pay rise after years of wage stagnation."We don't want to see crucial public servants on strike," Norris said. "We have to take it seriously when they think it's got to the stage where they have to withdraw their labor."Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, a close ally of Starmer, was more forceful on Monday, telling a news presenter that the government's public sector pay policy was in "chaos."Labour has wholeheartedly supported the government's policy sanctions and import embargoes on Russia — over its military involvement in Ukraine — which fueled the energy and inflation crisis that led to a wave of strikes as pay offers fail to keep up with price rises. The last Labour government of PM Gordon Brown in the 2000s prompted a protest by police officers — prevented by century-old law from forming a trade union or striking — in 2008 after it attempted to defer part of a rise determined by the Police Negotiating Board to the middle of the year, rather than pay the full amount from the start.Sunak himself hinted on Monday that the government may refuse to accept PRB pay awards, saying the fight against inflation took priority.Labour has enjoyed a more-than-20 point lead over the Tories in polls since former PM Boris Johnson was forced to resign in a palace coup led by Sunak. His successor Liz Truss was brought down after just six weeks in Downing Street after the Bank of England and City of London traders turned against her plan to renew economic growth with tax cuts.
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european inflationary and energy crisis, wave of strikes across britain over below-inflation pay rises, can the british government bring down inflation by cutting public-sector pay?
european inflationary and energy crisis, wave of strikes across britain over below-inflation pay rises, can the british government bring down inflation by cutting public-sector pay?
UK Labour Opposition Leader Won't Commit to Public Sector Pay Awards
12:37 GMT 28.06.2023 (Updated: 12:57 GMT 28.06.2023) The UK's Labour Party opposition has backed the Tory government to the hilt on policies which brought about the current economic crisis and wave of strikes — including the COVID-19 lockdowns and sanctions and import embargoes on Russia.
Labour Party leader
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to commit to independently-decided public-sector pay awards — a day after the Tory government drew fire for hinting at the same.
Speaking at a public event on Tuesday, the opposition leader said his party would "inherit a real mess" from the Conservative government if it wins the next general election.
Pressed on whether he would comply with the recommendations of public-sector pay review boards (PRBs), Starmer said only that Labour would have to deal with a "really badly damaged economy."
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), many of whose member unions affiliate to and fund the Labour Party, accused Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak and his Conservative government of "playing politics with working people's incomes" on Monday after junior Health Minister Helen Whately hinted in a TV interview that the PRBs' pay recommendations might not be honored.
"It risks permanent economic harm — and will undoubtedly damage recruitment and retention of staff in our vital public services," TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said. "Instead of blaming workers who can't afford to put food on the table or petrol in their cars to get to work, ministers should focus on a credible plan for sustainable growth and rising living standards."
But Whately's boss, Health Secretary Steve Barclay, later clarified that government departments should "continue to defer to that process to ensure decisions balance the needs of staff and the wider economy."
Labour shadow leveling up minister Alex Norris appeared to contradict his party leader on Wednesday morning when asked on live TV about a looming strike by National Health Service consultants — the senior hospital doctors — with
junior doctors already taking action in demand of a 35 percent pay rise after years of wage stagnation.
"We don't want to see crucial public servants on strike," Norris said. "We have to take it seriously when they think it's got to the stage where they have to withdraw their labor."
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, a close ally of Starmer, was more forceful on Monday, telling a news presenter that the government's public sector pay policy was in "chaos."
"I mean, seriously — do they really have a policy at all?" Thornberry asked. "It was only a few months ago that they said that they couldn't possibly pay out any more than the pay review. Now today, they seem to be saying that they're going to override the pay review bodies."
Labour has wholeheartedly supported the government's policy sanctions and import embargoes on Russia — over its military involvement in Ukraine — which fueled the energy and inflation crisis that led to a wave of strikes as pay offers fail to keep up with price rises.
The last Labour government of PM Gordon Brown in the 2000s prompted a protest by police officers — prevented by century-old law from forming a trade union or striking — in 2008 after it attempted to defer part of a rise determined by the Police Negotiating Board to the middle of the year, rather than pay the full amount from the start.
Sunak himself hinted on Monday that the government may refuse to accept PRB pay awards, saying the fight against inflation took priority.
"Government borrowing is something that would make inflation worse, so the government has to make priorities and decisions about where best to target our resources," the PM told TV reporters. "And that's why when it comes to public sector pay, we need to be fair, but we need to be responsible as well."
Labour has enjoyed a more-than-20 point lead over the Tories in polls since former PM Boris Johnson was forced to resign in a palace coup led by Sunak. His successor Liz Truss was brought down after just six weeks in Downing Street after the Bank of England and City of London traders turned against her plan to renew economic growth with tax cuts.
