Unions: Govt needs challenging on public sector pay

Striking public sector workers are due to rally at locations up and down the country as unions underline their opposition to the government's public sector pay.

Gordon Brown said yesterday in an interview with the BBC he was determined to stick to his "controversial" stance on public sector pay, which is seeing pay rises for nurses, police, teachers and others being determined below inflation.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC), Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the University and College Union (UCU) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) are joining together to oppose Mr Brown's commitment to keeping inflation low.

"Over 100,000 civil and public servants, from coastguards and driving examiners to jobcentre staff and immigration staff, are coming together today with other public sector workers in protest at the government’s policy to cap public sector pay to below inflation," PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said.

"Today's unprecedented strike action illustrates the breadth and depth of the anger over the government’s insistence to cut the living standards of hard working civil and public servants some of whom earn just above the minimum wage.

"In the face of growing anger the government must act quickly and review its discredited policy of capping pay to below inflation and using public sector workers as an anti-inflationary tool."