‘Unfair’ to suggest public sector workers will queue up for pay rises – minister

It is “unfair” to suggest more public sector workers will take industrial action in light of the Government’s pay offers to train drivers and junior doctors, a senior minister has said.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, a Cabinet Office minister, said the Government was “sticking to the promises we made in opposition” in its deals with public sector workers.

A new pay offer aimed at ending the long-running dispute with train drivers came to light on Wednesday.

The deal, which is to be voted on by the Aslef union, would include a backdated 5% increase for 2019 to 2022, 4.75% for 2022 to 2024 and a further 4.5% for 2024 to 2025.

A separate offer to junior doctors is an uplift worth 22% over two years.

Pay rises for other public sector workers were announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she laid out plans for public expenditure in the early weeks of Labour coming to power.

When it was put to him that other public sector workers will be queuing up for a 15% pay rise after the Government’s offer to train drivers and junior doctors, Mr Thomas-Symonds, disagreed.

“I think that’s an unfair characterisation as well,” the paymaster general told Times Radio.

“I think what is absolutely crucial here is we are a Government again that is sticking to the promises we made in opposition.

“We promised we would sit down and find solutions, and people expressed scepticism about that, but actually that is precisely what we have done in Government.”

He said it was wrong to suggest there would be no reform of the railways alongside the pay offer, adding: “We are absolutely looking to deliver a better service for passengers and, frankly, it’s a low bar given the state the railways have been in in recent years.”

Aslef’s dispute is believed to be the longest-running one of its kind in history of Britain’s railways, according to the union.

The drivers are being recommended to accept the offer, which would end the two-year-long dispute, during which they have taken 18 days of strike action as well as refusing to work non-contractual overtime, causing huge disruption to passengers.

Shadow Commons leader Chris Philp accused the Government of “naivety” and claimed other trade unions would ask for more money.

He told Times Radio: “Clearly the Labour’s trade union paymasters have played them like a fiddle.

“The first rule of negotiation is if you make an offer, in this case, a pay offer, you make sure that everything that needs to be settled and agreed is agreed at the same time. You don’t leave things undone, as this Labour government has clearly done.”

He added: “This is unbelievable naivety from the Labour government, thinking you can just throw some money at a trade union and that just solves all the problems.

“Of course, what they do is come back and ask for more. And other trade unions come back and ask for more as well.”