Clarke could not explain why No. 10 slapped the Bank of England governor earlier this year because he said people should not expect big pay rises – and now he says exactly the same thing. (See 9:21 a.m.) Asked why Andrew Bailey was criticized by No. 10 for his comment, Clarke simply said, “Ultimately what a spokesman said is about them.” In February, Bailey said:
I’m not saying that no one receives a salary increase, do not misunderstand me, but I think what I’m saying is that we need to see restraint in wage negotiations, otherwise it will get out of control. Asked this morning if he was saying that people in the public sector should not expect wage growth in line with inflation, Clarke replied: “Right.”
He defended the government’s decision not to get directly involved in talks between the administration and the railway unions in view of this week’s strike. “Ultimately, we will only confuse things if we add a third party to these negotiations,” he told Today.
He said the railway industry needed structural reforms. He told Sky News:
Train companies and the Network Rail are working to offer a sensible reform agenda and a reasonable and fair wage agreement with the unions. Practices across the network are out of the box, honestly, and need to be reformed. We can not have put 16 16 billion during the pandemic as taxpayers, worth λι 600 per household, and still have a rail system where some of what is happening and where, frankly, fares are higher than they should be . and efficiency is lower than it should be due to the way trade unions operate.
He said he believed that “very, very few people” – in the private or public sector – would receive double-digit pay offers. “I think it would be very unsustainable if they did,” he said.
However, he also said he expected public sector employees to be offered “good” pay – although he stressed that they would not match the level of inflation this year. (See 9:21 a.m.) He told Sky News:
From what I understand, and it ‘s early, [proposd public sector pay] The rewards come at a reasonable level, which is great. This means that there will be good pay offers, I think, at the table for the public sector workforce. It is important to wait and see what these awards are and, obviously, the individual workforce and the unions will have to respond. But I think people need to recognize that if we are going to prevent the evil of inflation – inflation destroys savings, it destroys growth. It hurts any economy where it is endemic – then we have to show collective responsibility to society as a whole. Updated at 09.51 BST
Finance Minister says private and public sector workers should not expect wage increases to match inflation
Good morning. Inflation is at its highest level in 40 years, and Britain’s return to the economic landscape of the 1970s and 1980s will be a step forward this week with the largest national strike in a generation. In many other key public services, unions are also threatening to go on strike this summer. This is from my colleague Gwyn Topham about train strikes. The issues are slightly different for different sectors, but at the heart of this week’s rail strike and all the other possible departures that may come later, is the payoff. With inflation heading for 11%, real wages are falling. Simon Clark, the secretary general of the Treasury Department, gave interviews this morning and gave the harshest message so far from a government minister that workers can not expect wage increases that will match inflation. Stressing that this was a message to people in both the private and public sectors, Clarke told Today: In the current 9% inflation landscape, bordering on 10%, there is no viable expectation that inflation can be matched to wage bids. This is not something that is going to be seen – honestly, in both the private and public sectors. We can not get to a world where we are chasing inflation expectations this way, because that is the surest way I can think of to bake into the 1970s rerun that this government is determined to prevent. I will be posting more of Clarke interviews and strike-related details in the morning programs soon. Here’s the agenda for the day. 11.30: Downing Street briefs the lobby. 2.30pm: Home Secretary Priti Patel receives questions from the public. 15:00: Alistair Jack, the Scottish Secretary, gives information to the Scottish Communities Affairs Committee. I try to watch the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I will be more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if it is of general interest, I will post the question and answer over the line (ATL), although I can not promise to do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m at @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected] Simon Clarke Photo: Sky News Updated at 09.55 BST
title: “Rail Strike Goes On As Minister Says Wage Increases Can Not Keep Pace With Inflation Uk Policy Live Policy " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-05” author: “Helen Durden”
Clarke could not explain why No. 10 slapped the Bank of England governor earlier this year because he said people should not expect big pay rises – and now he says exactly the same thing. (See 9:21 a.m.) Asked why Andrew Bailey was criticized by No. 10 for his comment, Clarke simply said, “Ultimately what a spokesman said is about them.” In February, Bailey said:
I’m not saying that no one receives a salary increase, do not misunderstand me, but I think what I’m saying is that we need to see restraint in wage negotiations, otherwise it will get out of control. Asked this morning if he was saying that people in the public sector should not expect wage growth in line with inflation, Clarke replied: “Right.”
He defended the government’s decision not to get directly involved in talks between the administration and the railway unions in view of this week’s strike. “Ultimately, we will only confuse things if we add a third party to these negotiations,” he told Today.
He said the railway industry needed structural reforms. He told Sky News:
Train companies and the Network Rail are working to offer a sensible reform agenda and a reasonable and fair wage agreement with the unions. Practices across the network are out of the box, honestly, and need to be reformed. We can not have put 16 16 billion during the pandemic as taxpayers, worth λι 600 per household, and still have a rail system where some of what is happening and where, frankly, fares are higher than they should be . and efficiency is lower than it should be due to the way trade unions operate.
He said he believed that “very, very few people” – in the private or public sector – would receive double-digit pay offers. “I think it would be very unsustainable if they did,” he said.
However, he also said he expected public sector employees to be offered “good” pay – although he stressed that they would not match the level of inflation this year. (See 9:21 a.m.) He told Sky News:
From what I understand, and it ‘s early, [proposd public sector pay] The rewards come at a reasonable level, which is great. This means that there will be good pay offers, I think, at the table for the public sector workforce. It is important to wait and see what these awards are and, obviously, the individual workforce and the unions will have to respond. But I think people need to recognize that if we are going to prevent the evil of inflation – inflation destroys savings, it destroys growth. It hurts any economy where it is endemic – then we have to show collective responsibility to society as a whole. Updated at 09.51 BST
Finance Minister says private and public sector workers should not expect wage increases to match inflation
Good morning. Inflation is at its highest level in 40 years, and Britain’s return to the economic landscape of the 1970s and 1980s will be a step forward this week with the largest national strike in a generation. In many other key public services, unions are also threatening to go on strike this summer. This is from my colleague Gwyn Topham about train strikes. The issues are slightly different for different sectors, but at the heart of this week’s rail strike and all the other possible departures that may come later, is the payoff. With inflation heading for 11%, real wages are falling. Simon Clark, the secretary general of the Treasury Department, gave interviews this morning and gave the harshest message so far from a government minister that workers can not expect wage increases that will match inflation. Stressing that this was a message to people in both the private and public sectors, Clarke told Today: In the current 9% inflation landscape, bordering on 10%, there is no viable expectation that inflation can be matched to wage bids. This is not something that is going to be seen – honestly, in both the private and public sectors. We can not get to a world where we are chasing inflation expectations this way, because that is the surest way I can think of to bake into the 1970s rerun that this government is determined to prevent. I will be posting more of Clarke interviews and strike-related details in the morning programs soon. Here’s the agenda for the day. 11.30: Downing Street briefs the lobby. 2.30pm: Home Secretary Priti Patel receives questions from the public. 15:00: Alistair Jack, the Scottish Secretary, gives information to the Scottish Communities Affairs Committee. I try to watch the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I will be more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if it is of general interest, I will post the question and answer over the line (ATL), although I can not promise to do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m at @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected] Simon Clarke Photo: Sky News Updated at 09.55 BST
