3.5% pay rises recommended for NHS, police, teachers and judges – as union brands it ‘a disgrace’
Ministers have recommended NHS workers, police officers, teachers and judges are all given a 3.5% pay rise for the next financial year.
Government departments have written to the independent pay review bodies of each sector to submit their evidence and say what figure is deemed affordable by them and the Treasury.
But a number of unions are calling for much higher pay awards for the last financial year before negotiations even begin for 2023/24, and the figure for the following 12 months may not meet expectations.
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Starting with the NHS – including doctors and dentists – the Department for Health and Social Care said: “Through the current financial settlement provided by HM Treasury to the department and reprioritisation decisions, funding is available for pay awards up to 3.5%.”
The document said anything above this level “would require trade-offs for public service delivery or further government borrowing at a time when headroom against fiscal rules is historically low and sustainable public finances are vital in the fight against inflation”.
Rachel Harrison, national secretary for the GMB union that represents ambulance workers and other NHS staff, called the offer “a disgrace”.
“Today’s submission to the pay review body shows this government’s true colours,” she said.
“Ambulance workers – and others across the NHS including cleaners, porters and care workers – who are the backbone of the health service deserve better.
“Ministers have no intention of recognising the true value of the entire workforce. It’s a disgrace and will do nothing to end GMB’s NHS and ambulance strikes.
“This backroom deal with some sections of the workforce is a tawdry example of ministers playing divide and rule politics with people’s lives.”
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November 2022: ‘Inflation-busting pay rises are unaffordable’
Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, said the government “couldn’t have done better than this” if it was actively trying to worsen the NHS crisis and warned it “could prove the final straw” for staff questioning whether to leave the NHS.
She called for pay talks for all health unions as she hit out at the government for only meeting with the RCN.
“Ministers need to start behaving like grown-ups and up their game substantially,” she added.
Police budget
The recommendation from the police came from the Home Office, which pointed to forces having “previously indicated that a pay award above 2% for 2023/24 may be affordable”.
The document said the department was carrying on discussions with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners but added: “Considering the additional funding available from the police funding settlement for 2023/24, and forces seeking to maximise efficiencies, our current assessment is that there is scope for forces to budget up to a 3.5% pay award within the existing settlement.”
Read more:
NHS crisis: Why are so many staff leaving the health service?
Nurses to halt strike action as union ‘confident’ of agreeing pay deal with ministers
‘Nothing in letter to call off teachers’ strike’
For teachers, the document from the Department for Education said a 3.5% rise – including 3% awards for experienced teachers and raising starting salaries to £30,000 – “will be manageable within schools’ budgets next year, on average, following the additional funding provided at autumn statement”.
But ministers also said the amount available could be impacted by energy costs faced by schools adding: “It is difficult to forecast energy costs. Different energy scenarios mean that more headroom could be available than the 3.5% currently estimated.
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“This could allow for additional investment in areas which benefit pupils, including, for example, a higher pay award.”
The National Education Union joint secretary, Kevin Courtney, said he was “pleased” the government is offering formal talks and he hopes it means they are willing to talk about pay after previous talks this year have failed to result in an offer.
But he said their offer of talks “still contains no suggestion that they are willing to talk about pay rises this year”.
Mr Courtney added that the Department for Education’s suggestion of a 3% pay rise for experienced teachers is less than the current inflation forecast for quarter three year so will amount “to a further pay cut”.
He said there was nothing in the letter to suggest they should call off next week’s teacher strikes but there is still time for an offer to be made before the union’s national executive meets this Saturday.
And when it came to judges, the Ministry of Justice proposed that “pay for all judicial office holders should increase by 3.5% in 2023/24”, adding it would cost £23m.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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