London: Millions of public sector workers, including teachers and doctors, in the UK will get pay rises of around six per cent after prolonged strikes across industries, the UK government announced.
“I can confirm that today we’re accepting the headline recommendations of the Pay Review Bodies in full,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday, noting that the offer is “final” and that there will be no more talks on pay.
“We will not negotiate again on this year’s settlements. And no amount of strikes will change our decision,” he added.
UK teachers and junior doctors have been offered a 6.5 per cent and a six per cent rise, respectively, according to Thursday’s proposal. Police and prison officers would receive a seven per cent pay rise, Xinhua news agency reported.
Sunak said the government will not fund them by borrowing more or increasing taxes.
“It would not be right to increase taxes on everyone to pay some people more, particularly when household budgets are so tight. Neither would it be right to pay for them by higher borrowing because higher borrowing simply makes inflation worse,” he added.
–IANS