Latest updates: Berry says 19% asked for by nursing union is too high but compromise position is essential
In her Guardian column yesterday Polly Toynbee wrote a withering assessment of the government’s justification for its pay offer to nurses. She wrote:
In every interview ministers hide behind the sanctity of the “independent” pay review bodies, claiming they set public pay. They don’t and nor are they “independent”. The government decides on pay, using PRBs as camouflage. The 60 or so members of these eight bodies covering public sectors are picked by ministers, as is their Office of Manpower Economics secretariat. I tried to speak to some members – no luck. Only two of those 60 people come from the employees’ side, says the TUC: one from the army, with no affiliated union. (The Tory press protests at the armed forces standing in for some public staff paid more than them. That’s because, banned from striking, they get short-changed by government; a recent report says Met police, likewise banned, are increasingly forced to use food banks).
These opaque PRBs are nothing like the Low Pay Commission that sets the minimum wage, whose membership is shared between academics, employers and unions: the TUC says it works well. PRBs have two main criteria to consider, both bogus. What are the current financial circumstances, and what may be needed to recruit, retain and motivate staff? But they are given a fixed spending envelope, with a set pay rise baked in. Any extra pay comes out of the departmental budget, causing cuts.
I describe it as fiercely independent. I know there’s a lot of cynicism about, but all of the members of pay review bodies, and there are many of them, fiercely guard their independence and regard what they do as very important to all the stakeholders in a particular issue.
It took place in February and the world was a rather different place in February and therefore I think some of the evidence they considered was probably out of date by the time it was published. Because the process is very slow, the decision is a bit lagged.
I think they [ministers] should ask the pay review body to reconsider what they did last year, and not reopen last year, because I think it’s too late to do that, but actually say I want you to do a very quick turnaround for this year’s recommendations and I want you to take account on anything you might have missed last time round.
King Charles will have to wait to give his first speech setting out the government’s coming agenda in parliament, after ministers decided to extend the current session. The Commons is usually reset in the spring, but Sunak has decided to put the renewal back to the autumn, meaning the current session could even continue until November 2023. “This is to make sure we have the time we need to deliver the PM’s ambitious agenda,” a government official explained. The thinking appears to be that too much time was lost over the summer — when the Johnson government distracted itself to destruction. But it means Sunak will govern for about 12 months without a King’s Speech.
Latest updates: Berry says 19% asked for by nursing union is too high but compromise position is essential In her Guardian column yesterday Polly Toynbee wrote a withering assessment of the government’s justification for its pay offer to nurses. She wrote:In every interview ministers hide behind the sanctity of the “independent” pay review bodies, claiming they set public pay. They don’t and nor are they “independent”. The government decides on pay, using PRBs as camouflage. The 60 or so members of these eight bodies covering public sectors are picked by ministers, as is their Office of Manpower Economics secretariat. I tried to speak to some members – no luck. Only two of those 60 people come from the employees’ side, says the TUC: one from the army, with no affiliated union. (The Tory press protests at the armed forces standing in for some public staff paid more than them. That’s because, banned from striking, they get short-changed by government; a recent report says Met police, likewise banned, are increasingly forced to use food banks).These opaque PRBs are nothing like the Low Pay Commission that sets the minimum wage, whose membership is shared between academics, employers and unions: the TUC says it works well. PRBs have two main criteria to consider, both bogus. What are the current financial circumstances, and what may be needed to recruit, retain and motivate staff? But they are given a fixed spending envelope, with a set pay rise baked in. Any extra pay comes out of the departmental budget, causing cuts.I describe it as fiercely independent. I know there’s a lot of cynicism about, but all of the members of pay review bodies, and there are many of them, fiercely guard their independence and regard what they do as very important to all the stakeholders in a particular issue.It took place in February and the world was a rather different place in February and therefore I think some of the evidence they considered was probably out of date by the time it was published. Because the process is very slow, the decision is a bit lagged.I think they [ministers] should ask the pay review body to reconsider what they did last year, and not reopen last year, because I think it’s too late to do that, but actually say I want you to do a very quick turnaround for this year’s recommendations and I want you to take account on anything you might have missed last time round.King Charles will have to wait to give his first speech setting out the government’s coming agenda in parliament, after ministers decided to extend the current session. The Commons is usually reset in the spring, but Sunak has decided to put the renewal back to the autumn, meaning the current session could even continue until November 2023. “This is to make sure we have the time we need to deliver the PM’s ambitious agenda,” a government official explained. The thinking appears to be that too much time was lost over the summer — when the Johnson government distracted itself to destruction. But it means Sunak will govern for about 12 months without a King’s Speech. Continue reading…
