By Sachin Ravikumar
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain announced below-inflation pay rises for police officers and National Health Service (NHS) staff on Tuesday, as part of an annual pay review for public sector workers that comes amid soaring prices and industrial unrest.
With inflation set to top 11% later this year, the increases given to millions of public sector workers are being closely watched as ministers warn of the danger of a wage-price spiral and unions demand bigger raises for their members.
Police officers in England and Wales will receive a consolidated pay award of 1,900 pounds ($2,287), equivalent to a 5% increase overall, Britain’s interior ministry said.
Eligible NHS dentists and doctors will get a 4.5% increase, and 1 million NHS staff, including nurses, paramedics and midwives, will get a pay rise of at least 1,400 pounds ($1,684) with lowest earners getting up to 9.3%, the health ministry said.
“The government promised rewards for the dedication of the public sector workforce during the pandemic. What they have delivered instead, in real terms, is a kick in the teeth,” Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite labour union, said.
The increases are part of annual pay reviews due for almost half of some 5.7 million public sector workers including teachers, nurses, police, prison staff, civil servants and the armed forces.
They come as British consumer price inflation hovers around 40-year highs and is predicted to reach 11% later this year, contributing to labour strikes over pay that have already disrupted transport networks and threaten a number of other services.
Public sector pay growth has lagged that of the private sector, averaging just 1.5% over the past year compared with 8% for the latter.
($1 = 0.8310 pounds)
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James, Alexandra Hudson)
