The walkouts could see shortages in hospitals, fire stations, schools and the transport network if negotiations over pay rises are not resolved. Unions say pay offers are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living, but the government says it needs to tackle rising inflation and says raising pay now could lead to even more price rises. What needs to be done to bring prices back to normal? – Latest news on the cost of living In a special Sky News report, Cost of Living: Wage Wars, we look at how a rift between the government and public sector workers risks erupting into large-scale strikes similar to those seen in the late 1970s when millions of workers walked out due to remuneration. Back then, inflation was skyrocketing as it is now, and unions were demanding bigger wage increases for their members. But the Labor government, led by James Callaghan, refused. In a long and blindingly cold winter, strikes broke out. train drivers, nurses, truck drivers – even the gravediggers left. Towards the end of 1978, the binmen went on strike and rubbish was piling up in the streets. Now, the threat of strike action by unions only adds to the challenges facing whoever wins the contest to replace Boris Johnson in a modern take on an old dispute. It comes at a sensitive time for the economy as both the Treasury and the Bank of England struggle to contain inflation. Already this summer, rail strikes by members of The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union have caused widespread disruption across the country. In England and Wales, the majority of teachers were offered a 5% pay rise. In Scotland, the offer was two per cent – both below the rate of inflation. Teachers’ unions say this represents a significant reduction in real terms in the pay of most teachers and all school principals, and that wages have already fallen by 20% in real terms since 2010. “Enough is enough – we have no money” Image: Teacher Rachel Badzire Rachel Badzire, a special needs teacher from Cheshire, says her £35,000-a-year salary is not rising enough to cover the rising cost of living. The mother-of-two said: “I don’t overspend. But I notice that where I could spend £30 or £40, I’m now spending £60. “I can understand that there is no finite wallet, there never has been, but we cannot simply say that one profession is more valuable than another. A nurse saves lives, but without teachers, where does this foundation come from to allow people to grow and get jobs like nursing. “I think more and more people are saying enough is enough, we don’t have the money.” But when it comes to leaving, Rachel is indecisive. “Being a parent myself, students would be annoyed by teachers not attending school. And so I think that adds an extra weight to my decision making. “Having said that, if I were to vote for a strike, I would be very inclined to vote for it.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 3:01 “Enough, we have no money”
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You can share your story, photos or video with us using our app, private messages or email. :: Your report on Sky News apps :: WhatsApp :: E-MAIL By sending us your video/photos/audio you agree that we may transmit, publish and edit the material. “They have to listen to us” In June, firefighters were given an offer of a 2% pay rise, which their union rejected as “completely inadequate”. They say that between 2009 and last year, the real pay of firefighters fell by 12%, to almost £4,000. Adam Hooks is a full-time firefighter and earns £32,244 a year. “When you get to a point where you can’t cover the bills because inflation is so high and you’re not keeping up with inflation, I feel like something has to be done. “I’d like to have enough money so I don’t have to worry about things.” Deciding whether or not to strike is a difficult decision. “No firefighter wants to get hit and a lot of us live in our community. We do the job because we want to help people. But we have to be paid fairly for it. “They need to listen to us. There’s a lot of firefighters that are struggling with wages and just trying to pay the bills, they don’t mind having any luxuries or anything. They’re just struggling to pay the bills.” Image: Firefighter Adam Hooks The nurse replaces meals with high-calorie shakes Nurses like Katie Sutton are turning to more drastic measures to save money. Katie started eating high-calorie shakes instead of preparing proper meals. “It works out at about £2 a meal,” he said. “I usually have a shake and I have 400 calories and it will keep me going. “I already have £250 in my overdraft and the cost of everything is getting too much. I think many nurses will decide there is no choice but to strike. “I’m not sure who will look after my patients if I take action. It’s something I’m going to find very difficult and if this situation isn’t resolved and we don’t get the pay rise we so desperately need, then I’m going to strike.” Image: Nurse Katie Sutton Nurses’ wages have fallen by 10% in real terms Nurses’ unions had demanded pay rises for their members above inflation. In Scotland, a 5% offer was made in May. In July, nurses in England and Wales were told they would receive a pay rise of at least £1,400, which is an average rise of around 4% for most nurses. The Royal College of Nursing said this means the value of nurses’ wages has fallen by 10% in real terms since 2012. Read more: What is causing energy prices to rise? Nationwide offers 11,000 workers bonus to help with bills Families underestimating how much energy bills will rise The government says that an increase in public sector wages would cause a rise in demand for goods and services and this would cause prices to rise. But the cost of living isn’t slowing down either. New forecasts show energy bills could rise to more than £4,200 in April, wiping out the £15bn support package the government has pledged to help struggling families. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 2:34 “I love my job, I can’t leave it” How have wages changed over the years? Sky News’ Data and Forensics team took a look at how wages have changed over the decade to 2021. While average wages have risen, many public sector workers are worse off than they were a decade ago because pay hasn’t risen as much as prices. Real pay – wages adjusted for inflation – is 3.1% lower than in 2012 for primary teachers and 1.9% lower for secondary teachers. Nurses and firefighters appear to be marginally better off than they were a decade ago, but this chart doesn’t tell the full story, as data is only available through 2021. We have more recent data on how real earnings have changed for the wider public sector. As this chart shows, sharp price rises over the past year mean public sector pay is 4.1% lower than in 2012 in real terms. This has widened the gap between the public and private sectors, where average wages are still 4.3% higher than a decade ago. Furthermore, even the modest increase in real wages experienced by firefighters is poor compared to previous years. This chart shows how the financial crisis ended decades of steady wage growth. Between 1988 and 1998, real wages rose by more than a fifth. Whereas, in 2022 we are poorer than we were in 2006 as inflation has eroded our spending power. So even occupations that have experienced modest pay growth are seeing nothing compared to what we saw in the decades before the financial crash, when we were used to continuous large improvements in living standards.
