Public sector pay freeze puts manifesto promise to boost new teacher pay to £30,000 in doubt
Harry Yorke
Fri, 20 November 2020
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson’s election pledge to raise newly qualified teachers’ pay to £30,000 appeared in doubt on Friday as Rishi Sunak prepares to usher in "pay restraint" across the public sector.
The £6,000 pay hike was a central plank of the Conservative Party’s election manifesto, with Mr Johnson promising to make teaching one of the “most competitive” jobs in the graduate labour market.
However, Downing Street refused to say whether the commitment, which represents a 25 per cent uplift and is supposed to be fulfilled by 2022, would still be met after the Chancellor sets out the one-year spending review next week.
Ministers have previously said the rises would have to be funded from planned increases to school budgets over the next three years.
It came as the Office for National Statistics yesterday confirmed that public sector debt hit £2.08 trillion in October, with Government borrowing in the first seven months of the financial year rising to an estimated £215bn.
Government spending as a share of GDP has also risen from 40 per cent to 60 per cent of GDP in 2020, the highest level seen since the Second World War, according to an analysis by the Resolution Foundation think tank.
Mr Sunak said that the figures showed that “over time it’s right we ensure the public finances are put on a sustainable path”, with the Chancellor now expected to announce a one-year freeze or cap.
Teachers, police officers, soldiers and civil servants are expected to be included, although NHS workers could be exempted in recognition of their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
The reports prompted a widespread backlash from trade union leaders yesterday, with Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, warning that “industrial action cannot be ruled out.”
Frances O’Grady, leader of the Trades Union Congress, added: “TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "A pay freeze would be a bitter pill for care workers, refuse collectors, emergency workers and all the key workers in the public sector who have helped keep the country going through this pandemic.”
While the freeze or cap is expected to last for one year, there are fears that the scale of the blackhole in the public finances created by the crisis will require continued restraint throughout the course of this Parliament.
The Centre for Policy Studies think tank has estimated that a three-year freeze could save the Exchequer up to £23 billion, falling to £11.7bn if Mr Sunak opts for a one per cent pay cap, and £7.7bn if healthcare workers are excluded.
Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, told The Telegraph that it was “difficult” to see how the Government could maintain the commitment to increasing qualified teachers’ salaries to £30,000.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The teaching profession has already endured a decade of pay freezes, in contrast to pay growth in the private sector.
“This made teaching an uncompetitive career option for graduates who have looked to other sectors to build their careers. The government’s plans will make a dire situation even worse.”
Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said that there would be “no return to austerity” but refused to rule out a public sector pay freeze.
Asked whether newly qualified teachers would be exempt, he added: “You wouldn’t expect me to comment on what could, or may or may not be in the spending review next week.”
The Telegraph understands that Mr Sunak is also unlikely to bring forward any long-term solution for fixing Britain’s social care system.
Government insiders had previously suggested that Downing Street had been considering a cut to university tuition fees, as recommended by the Augur review.
However, the idea is also believed to have been dismissed following the decision to opt for a one-year spending review.
Boris Johnson’s election pledge to raise newly qualified teachers’ pay to £30,000 appeared in doubt on Friday as Rishi Sunak prepares to usher in "pay restraint" across the public sector.
The £6,000 pay hike was a central plank of the Conservative Party’s election manifesto, with Mr Johnson promising to make teaching one of the “most competitive” jobs in the graduate labour market.
However, Downing Street refused to say whether the commitment, which represents a 25 per cent uplift and is supposed to be fulfilled by 2022, would still be met after the Chancellor sets out the one-year spending review next week.
Ministers have previously said the rises would have to be funded from planned increases to school budgets over the next three years.
It came as the Office for National Statistics yesterday confirmed that public sector debt hit £2.08 trillion in October, with Government borrowing in the first seven months of the financial year rising to an estimated £215bn.
Government spending as a share of GDP has also risen from 40 per cent to 60 per cent of GDP in 2020, the highest level seen since the Second World War, according to an analysis by the Resolution Foundation think tank.
Mr Sunak said that the figures showed that “over time it’s right we ensure the public finances are put on a sustainable path”, with the Chancellor now expected to announce a one-year freeze or cap.
Teachers, police officers, soldiers and civil servants are expected to be included, although NHS workers could be exempted in recognition of their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
The reports prompted a widespread backlash from trade union leaders yesterday, with Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, warning that “industrial action cannot be ruled out.”
Frances O’Grady, leader of the Trades Union Congress, added: “TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "A pay freeze would be a bitter pill for care workers, refuse collectors, emergency workers and all the key workers in the public sector who have helped keep the country going through this pandemic.”
While the freeze or cap is expected to last for one year, there are fears that the scale of the blackhole in the public finances created by the crisis will require continued restraint throughout the course of this Parliament.
The Centre for Policy Studies think tank has estimated that a three-year freeze could save the Exchequer up to £23 billion, falling to £11.7bn if Mr Sunak opts for a one per cent pay cap, and £7.7bn if healthcare workers are excluded.
Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, told The Telegraph that it was “difficult” to see how the Government could maintain the commitment to increasing qualified teachers’ salaries to £30,000.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The teaching profession has already endured a decade of pay freezes, in contrast to pay growth in the private sector.
“This made teaching an uncompetitive career option for graduates who have looked to other sectors to build their careers. The government’s plans will make a dire situation even worse.”
Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said that there would be “no return to austerity” but refused to rule out a public sector pay freeze.
Asked whether newly qualified teachers would be exempt, he added: “You wouldn’t expect me to comment on what could, or may or may not be in the spending review next week.”
The Telegraph understands that Mr Sunak is also unlikely to bring forward any long-term solution for fixing Britain’s social care system.
Government insiders had previously suggested that Downing Street had been considering a cut to university tuition fees, as recommended by the Augur review.
However, the idea is also believed to have been dismissed following the decision to opt for a one-year spending review.
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