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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Nimo Omer

Friday briefing: Rishi Sunak offers a new pay deal to the public sector – but will it end the dispute?

​​Rishi Sunak NHS Sun Hannah J Davies Henry Nicholls Jorja Smith Police the British Medical Association
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference in Downing Street, London, following the announcement of pay recommendations for public sector workers.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference in Downing Street, London, following the announcement of pay recommendations for public sector workers. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/PA

Good morning.

It feels like the dispute between workers in the public sector and the government has been going on forever, with fraught negotiations and industrial action now commonplace in many industries.

Yesterday, Rishi Sunak decided that it had gone on long enough. The prime minister announced that the government will accept, in full, the recommendations made by various independent pay review bodies for 2023-24. Sunak laid out how much each sector would be receiving and why the government would not be borrowing any money to fund the rises, which will be around 6% depending on the sector, with the money diverted from existing public service budgets. Call off the strikes, he told the unions: this is the final offer.

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