UK public sector pay deal must avoid entrenching inflation
World
UK public sector pay deal must avoid entrenching inflation
LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Monday that the next round of public sector pay rises must avoid embedding inflation deeper in the economy, but would be as generous as possible.
Public employees' pay settlements are due to be announced in the coming weeks on an sector-by-sector basis following a series of reviews by independent panels. Those panels make a recommendation to the government which then takes a final decision.
Asked by reporters ahead of a major policy speech whether he would accept the recommendations, Hunt said such decisions would be difficult and had to be based on a wide range of factors.
"We want to be as generous as we possibly can without taking any decision that will entrench high inflation," Hunt said.
Faced with high inflation after years of stagnant wages, Britain has experienced more than six months of intermittent strikes across the public sector since last year's pay review process, with many of those disputes still unresolved.
"We understand how important it is for people to be paid fairly when they're working very hard, and we respect the independence of the pay review process," Hunt said. "We will take a decision in the round."
