London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Strikes threat as UK public sector staff given below-inflation pay rise

Strikes threat as UK public sector staff given below-inflation pay rise

Unions warn many workers will quit teaching, nursing and social care rather than take real-terms pay cut

Public sector unions raised the prospect of widespread strikes in schools and hospitals after being told millions of their workers are to receive below-inflation pay rises.

Ministers announced the pay rises on Tuesday, with NHS staff receiving a rise of at least 4.5%, teachers at least 5% and £1,900 for police officers. Health unions angrily denounced the NHS pay rises as a “betrayal” and “a kick in the teeth”, and warned stoppages could be on the horizon.

With energy and food costs soaring, unions had demanded pay rises in line with inflation – currently 9.1% but expected to rise to 11% later in the year, according to the Bank of England – putting them on a collision course with ministers who have said pay restraint is necessary to curb rising prices.

Unions warned many staff would quit rather than accept a real-terms pay cut, exacerbating recruitment and retention problems in key areas such as teaching, nursing and social care – and adding to waiting times for NHS operations and ambulance call outs.

In a series of ministerial statements on Tuesday afternoon, the government announced:

*  More than 1 million NHS staff, including nurses, midwives and paramedics, will get a pay rise of £1,400, equivalent to 4%. However, cleaners and porters will get 9.3% while dentists and consultant doctors will receive 4.5%.

*  Teachers have been awarded 5% – though newly qualified teachers will get 8.9%.

*  Police officers in England and Wales will receive a consolidated pay award of £1,900, equivalent to a 5% increase overall. Prison officers will receive a 4% base pay increase.

*  UK armed forces will receive a base pay rise of 3.5%.

Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, predicted an exodus of disillusioned nurses from the NHS. “This is a grave misstep by ministers … they have enforced another real-terms pay cut on nursing staff. It will push more nurses and nursing support workers out of the profession,” she said.

The NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts in England, warned the government’s failure to fully fund the awards had left the NHS in England in “the impossible position of having to choose which services they will cut back in order to find an unexpected £1.8bn to fund the additional rise.”

The Department of Health and Social Care factored a 3% pay uplift into NHS England’s budget for this year, and has refused to cover the cost of the difference.

“The government promised rewards for the dedication of the public sector workforce during the pandemic. What they have delivered instead, in real terms, is a kick in the teeth. The so-called wage offer amounts to a massive national pay cut. We expected the inevitable betrayal but the scale of it is an affront,” said Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary.

Schools in England could face disruption as a result of industrial action later this year, after teaching unions dismissed a 5% pay award by the government as “wholly inadequate” in the face of soaring inflation.

The government said the award was the highest in 30 years and includes an 8.9% uplift for teachers’ starting salaries, taking them up to £28,000 outside London, though this still falls short of the government’s 2019 manifesto pledge of £30,000.

Teaching unions responded angrily, pointing out that the pay increase, to be introduced from September, represents a real-terms pay cut. “After 12 years of pay freezes, pay pauses and below-inflation pay awards amounting to a 20% real-terms cut, teachers will be dismayed to hear that the government expects them to stomach the largest real-terms cut to their pay,” said Dr Patrick Roach, the NASUWT general secretary.

The 5% offer for experienced teachers marks an improvement on the 3% originally proposed by the government. It will mean an increase of almost £2,100 on the average salary of £42,400, but the unions said the increase did not go nearly far enough.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It seems that loyal, hard-working public servants are always expected to take the hit. Unsurprisingly, they have had enough and we – like other unions – will be consulting our members to see whether they wish to take industrial action in response to this decision.”

The Police Federation broadly welcomed the award with its chair, Steve Hartshorn, saying it was a “small first step” in repairing a strained relationship with the government.

The federation representing Metropolitan police officers – the biggest branch – attacked the award, pointing out in recent years police pay has fallen 20% behind inflation. Its chair, Ken Marsh, described the award as “derisory” and “a betrayal.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Shawbrook IPO Marks London’s Biggest UK Listing in Two Years
UK Government Split Over Backing Brazil’s $125 Billion Tropical Forest Fund Ahead of COP30
J.K. Rowling Condemns Glamour UK Feature of Nine Trans Women as 'Men Better at Being Women'
King Charles III Removes Prince Andrew’s Titles and Orders His Departure from Royal Lodge
UK Finance Minister Reeves Releases Email Correspondence to Clarify Rental-Licence Breach
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
×