TUC - Nurses facing £1,500 real wage cut if government imposes 2% public sector pay awards

• Another year of “pain misery is unsustainable”, says TUC
• TUC accuses government of "making key workers poorer while lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses”
• Union body warns that frontline services facing “huge stealth cuts” this year

Nurses and paramedics will suffer a real-terms pay cut of over £1,500 in 2023/24 if the government pushes ahead with plans to increase public sector wages by just 2%, the TUC has warned today (Wednesday).

The union body says that millions of key workers face another year of “pay misery” after more than a decade of having their wages held down.

New analysis shows that many frontline staff will see the value of their pay packets shrink again if the government imposes a 2% settlement for 2023/24:

• Hospital porters’ real pay will be down by £1,000.
• Maternity care assistants’ real pay will be down by £1,200.
• Nurses’ real pay will be down by £1,500.
• Paramedics’ and midwives’ real pay will be down by nearly £1,900.

The TUC says that key workers in the NHS have already endured a “brutal decade” of pay cuts and pay freezes.

Analysis by the union body shows that if the government imposes a 2% pay settlement on public servants:

• Porters’ real pay in 2023/24 will be worth over £2,000 a year less than in 2010.
• Maternity care assistants’ real pay in 2023/24 will be worth over £5,000 a year less than in 2010.
• Nurses’ real pay in 2023/24 will be worth nearly £7,000 a year less than in 2010.
• Paramedics’ and midwives real pay in 2023/24 will be worth nearly £9,000 a year less than 2010.

The TUC says that stagnant wages have played a major role in the “crippling staff shortages” that vital NHS services are facing.

Polling from the TUC published last month revealed that around one third of key workers in the public sector (32%) have already taken steps to leave their profession to get a job in another field or are actively considering it.

The TUC says that means around 1.8 million public sector workers are seriously thinking about quitting their jobs for good.

Almost half (45%) of key workers in the public sector say the government approach on pay has made them more likely to leave their job in the next one to three years.

The union body says the government “only has itself to blame” for the current wave of strike ballots across the public sector.

The TUC says Britain’s “pandemic heroes” have been pushed to the brink by years of pay cuts.

Stealth cuts

The TUC also warned that public services face “huge stealth cuts” this year if the Chancellor does not protect services and staff from soaring inflation.

Research published by the TUC and NEF reveals that an additional £43bn a year (2022/23 prices) will be needed by 2024/25 just to ensure real spending on public services stays at the level set out in the October 2021 spending review.

The union body warned that huge damage that will be done to public services and key workers’ livelihoods if Rishi Sunak does not keep pledge to fund ‘world-class public services’.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Our amazing key workers in the public sector have endured a brutal decade of pay cuts and freezes.

“They cannot afford to tighten their belts any further. Many are at breaking point.  

“Another below-inflation award will hammer morale at a time when staff are leaving in droves and staff shortages are crippling vital services.

“Ministers should be giving public servants the fair pay rise they have earned – not driving them towards foodbanks.

“But this is a government that is choosing to make nurses poorer as its lifts the cap on bankers’ bonuses.

“The Conservatives only have themselves to blame if there are large-scale strikes this winter. They have pushed our pandemic heroes to the brink.”

On the threat of “stealth cuts”, Frances added:

“Rishi Sunak promised that he would deliver ‘world-class public services’.

“But this pledge will be in tatters if he does not protect schools, hospitals and councils from soaring inflation.

“If ministers fail to provide the additional funding needed, they will be making huge stealth cuts to frontline budgets.

“At a time when operation waiting lists are soaring, school buildings are crumbling and local government is on its knees that would be unforgivable.

“Slashing money for public services is a false economy. They are vital for growth and the health of our nation.”

ENDS

- NHS pay: Pay data compares wages in 2010 and in 2023 and is adjusted for inflation using CPI – comparing 2010 wages in real terms today (if they had kept up with the cost of living) with 2023 wages. Pay figures are for individual occupations at the top of agenda for change pay scale 

- Autumn budget and spending review 2021 – Sunak speech: The full speech made by Sunak, with his promise to deliver on the ‘people’s priority of world class public services’ is here: www.gov.uk/government/speeches/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-speech

- Stealth cuts: The amount needed for public services to stand still without real-terms pay cuts to public sector workers has been calculated by taking the real value of departmental spending set out in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2022 using the average CPI inflation expectations from the Treasury review of forecasters as of October 17th, taken from HMT’s Forecasts For The UK Economy. This is compared to the real value expected at the 2021 Spending Review based on Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts for CPI inflation in October 2021. All figures are presented in 2022/23 prices.