Recommended pay hike for nurses, police and troops could be snubbed to curb inflation, Rishi Sunak signalled yesterday.
The Prime Minister indicated he could overrule proposals from independent Pay Review Bodies into how much of a wage hike public sector workers should receive. Unions would react furiously to the Government ignoring the recommendations - particularly when ministers used last year’s reviews to offer staff real-terms pay cuts, triggering a wave of public sector strikes.
The Government is expected to publish its plans next week - and Mr Sunak has pledged to halve inflation this year to about 5%, as one of his top five priorities. The PM said ministers “should not fuel the fire ” of inflation, currently running at 8.7%.
