Speak out on postcode pay cuts

by Going To Work | May 23rd 2012 | Take Action

In the Budget, George Osborne announced that the Government intends to introduce localised pay in the public sector. We’re worried this could have a catastrophic impact on hard hit regions of the country.

Public sector workers right across Britain are already getting a real terms pay cut of more than 10%, thanks to a two-year pay freeze, followed by a two-year 1% increase cap – well below the rising cost of living. Now the government want to hold back pay in some regions for even longer.

Our whole country would be hit by this idea. Public services such as schools would find it harder to attract and retain the best staff in low pay areas and a real-terms pay drop for hundreds of thousands of workers would harm already struggling retailers by leaving people with less money to spend. More people would move to seek jobs in prosperous areas, and divisions would widen even further.

There’s no evidence the private sector is struggling to attract job applicants and of course many national employers use national bargaining and pay scales too.

It’s not fair or practical that our nurses, teachers and other key public sector workers should have their pay determined by their postcode. People doing the exact same job, with the same skills and same experience should be paid the same.

The public agree, with a recent poll showing just 28% of voters think regional public service pay is fair, and only 17% think it would help regional economies. With our current high levels of unemployment and low consumer confidence, now is absolutely not the time to take wages out of our regional economies.

Please help us to get our case heard through our regional media and by our MPs.

You can use our tools to write a letter to your local paper, where it will be noticed by our regional politicians and decision makers. We’ll give you tips on how to stand the best chance of getting your letter in print. We can also help you to write a letter to your MP, asking them to oppose these proposals in Parliament.