Mark Eastwood MP welcome pay rise for almost 900,000 public sector workers
Today the Chancellor has announced that almost 900,000 public sector workers including doctors, teachers and police officers will see above-inflation pay rises for the third year in the row – reflecting their dedication, hard work and contribution to our country.
Welcoming the announcement, Mark Eastwood MP for Dewsbury said:
Recent months have underlined what we always knew – that our public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country and are always there for us to rely on when we need them. I welcome today's announcement that almost 900,000 hard-working public sector workers will see above-inflation pay rises. This commitment shows we will always stand squarely behind our public sector workers as they continue to keep us safe, better our communities, and look after those who need it.
This year’s pay awards reflect the enormous effort made by those in the public sector during the coronavirus outbreak…
- NHS – doctors and dentists will receive a pay rise of 2.8 per cent. As part of a three-year pay deal reached in 2018, nurses who are still moving up their pay structures will receive an average 4.4 per cent rise this year. This year’s awards will benefit around 69,000 employees.
- Teachers – will receive the largest pay rise, with salaries increasing by 3.1 per cent. This pay award is equivalent to a £1,250 increase to average classroom teacher pay.
- Police officers – will receive a 2.5 per cent rise in pay. Police constables will earn up to £1,002 more this year. This comes as we’ve already recruited the first 3,005 officers as part of our plans to recruit 20,000 additional officers over the next three years.
- Prison officers – will receive a 2.5 per cent pay rise. This pay award will benefit 11,655 fair and sustainable prison officers, and 6,152 closed grade prison officers.
- Armed Forces – will receive a 2 per cent pay rise. This comes as 16,340 new recruits have joined the UK Regular Armed Forces over the last year, up 30 per cent compared with the previous 12 months. Since 2017, the Armed Forced have benefited from increases to pay of 7 per cent.
- Meanwhile, more than one million NHS workers including nurses will continue to benefit from the three-year Agenda for Change pay deal struck separately in 2018, under which the starting salary for a newly qualified nurse has increased by over 12 per cent since 2017-18.
Because public sector pay awards must deliver value for money for the taxpayer. The Chancellor has today launched the Comprehensive Spending Review, outlining that, in the interest of fairness we must exercise restraint in future public sector pay awards, ensuring that across this year and the Spending Review period, public sector pay levels retain parity with the private sector.
