Public sector workers across the UK, including nurses, doctors, teachers, and armed forces personnel, have been offered pay rises ranging from 3.6 percent to 4.5 percent, BBC reported on Thursday.
The decision followed the government’s acceptance of recommendations from independent pay review bodies—exceeding the 2.8 percent initially budgeted by the Treasury.
Under the new proposals, NHS staff in England on Agenda for Change contracts, which excludes doctors, dentists, and senior managers, will receive a 3.6 percent increase.
Doctors, dentists, prison staff, and teachers have been offered 4 percent, while members of the armed forces are set to receive the highest raise at 4.5 percent .
The Department for Education has pledged an additional £615m to help fund the increases, but said schools would be asked to partially fund the awards through “improved productivity and smarter spending”.
While education unions welcomed the move, they warned that without further funding, school budgets could be strained.
In the health sector, the government claims frontline services will remain unaffected.
According to BBC, the health department said cuts to “frontline services” would not be necessary, arguing that the money could be found through cutting the use of temporary staff, cutting “duplication and waste”, and its plan to abolish NHS England.
Senior NHS managers and senior civil servants are set to receive a 3.25 percent rise.
The pay awards come amid a backdrop of fluctuating inflation, which rose to 3.5 percent in April.
The Bank of England anticipates a peak of 3.7 percent in the coming months, potentially complicating the government’s efforts to justify the deals to public sector employees.
Last year, the Labour government ended a series of strikes by approving pay increases between 4.75 percent and 6 percent. That decision was met with criticism from Conservative figures, who accused ministers of losing control over public sector pay.
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