Media ININ Economy We Trust
British Transport Minister Mark Harper stressed, on Sunday, that public sector salaries in the country will not be able to keep pace with high inflation, as the country faces a wave of labor disputes.
Strikes are spreading across Britain’s transport network, and last week the Royal Nursing College union announced the first strike dates for its members in more than 100 years.
Consumer price inflation in Britain hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in October, but the latest official wage data, for the period from July to September, showed public sector wages rising 2.4% annually, while the average Private sector wages 6.8%.
“I think wage increases that can keep up with or exceed the rate of inflation … are unsustainable,” Harper said.
He told Sky News: “We want to give all hard-working public sector workers decent wage increases…but wage increases cannot exceed the rate of inflation. There is no money to provide that. This did not happen even in the private sector.
In his November 17 budget statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said government pensions and most benefits would rise in line with inflation, but announced a long-term plan worth 55 billion pounds ($67 billion) a year to cut spending and raise taxes.
