When prices go up, the fortunes of the Government go down. It’s as close to an axiom as we can find in politics. The Government is finding it hard to maintain control while the cost of everything goes up and that includes, inevitably, the cost of labour. The public sector unions are demanding pay rises closer to the rate of inflation than the Government is prepared, or perhaps able, to yield. Rishi Sunakseems ready to ignore the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies and let the strikes run. It would be a mistake to do so.
The first deal that can be done, which could then be a template for all the rest, is with the teachers. The National Education Union (NEU) was offered a one-off payment of £1,000 for the current academic year and an average pay rise of 4.5 per cent from September 2023. The NEU turned away the offer, pointing out that teaching salaries have fallen 11 per cent when inflation is taken into account between 2010 and 2022.
