Wages Down for Public Sector

Firefighters, teachers and other public sector workers are thousands of pounds a year worse off than they were in 2010, the TUC has said.

"It's been seven long years of pay cuts for our public servants." TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said.

With inflation outpacing the government's 1% limit on pay rises for state employees, real wages are being eroded, said the trades union body. It said prison officers and paramedics were more than £3,800 a year poorer.

Inflation measured by the most commonly used method, CPI, which does not take housing costs into account, has picked up in recent months hitting 2.9% in May. According to the Bank of England it averaged 2.7% a year between 2010 and 2016. The TUC calculates that if firefighters' wages had kept pace with inflation their average pay would be nearly £2,900 higher than it is. For nuclear engineers and teachers the figure is about £2,500. 

If the paramedic's salary in 2010 had kept pace with inflation measured by CPI, by now he or she should be earning £39,435 - £3,888 more. The TUC says if RPI (the inflation measure which does include housing costs) is used, the paramedic would need to earn £41,717 - £6,140 more - to maintain their 2010 spending power.