Paralysis from Tory leadership race is damaging pay talks, say doctors and teachers

Health workers protest over pay outside Downing Street in London last year. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

Talks over crucial pay deals and funding across the public sector are being damaged by government paralysis as a result of the Tory leadership race, senior teachers and doctors have warned.

Autumn and the new year could see an unprecedented wave of strike action among teaching staff and doctors after a pay deal that is set to see their wages falling in real terms in the face of the cost of living crisis. There have also been warnings that the failure to provide extra funding for the increases will plunge public services deeper into crisis.