Workers’ representatives have expressed anger over the decision to award MPs a pay rise above inflation and almost double that offered to parliamentary staff.
The 2.7% pay hike for MPs, taking their basic annual salary from £77,379 to £79,468, is well above the 1.5% received by those serving them in the Commons and the 1% offered to many civil servants.
Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: “It is an outrage that MPs are rewarding themselves with an above-inflation pay rise while civil servants, who do some of the most vital jobs in society, are still subject to a cruel 1% de facto pay cap. PCS are balloting 120,000 members for strike action over pay this summer and today’s news will only anger them further.”The deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, Garry Graham, said: “Our members will see more than a whiff of hypocrisy and double standards in today’s announcement.” Graham said that Prospect’s calls for an independent review of pay in the civil service and wider public sector had been repeatedly turned down by ministers. “There has not been a government in peacetime so reliant on the hard work and dedication of the civil service and its agencies,” he said. “For MPs to be awarded 2.7% when pay rises for those who serve them are held down at 1.5% or less demonstrates a remarkable level of contempt. As we prepare for pay discussions with the Cabinet Office and Treasury, this announcement will only add to the anger and frustration held by members.”
Unison’s assistant general secretary, Christina McAnea, said: “Politicians should now turn their attention to making sure public service workers on outsourced contracts get above-inflation pay rises, too. Many of them missed out on NHS and council pay rises last year but do the same jobs as colleagues. People delivering essential public services shouldn’t be forced to survive on poverty wages.”
Max Freedman, who chairs the Unite union’s parliamentary staff branch, said workers were only receiving a 1.5% pay rise.
He added: “This real-terms cut for staff of MPs is inadequate and unacceptable, and the fact MPs will be seeing a significantly higher rise is insulting. It seems it’s one rule for elected MPs and another for their hard-working and hard-pressed staff. The huge extra pressure on parliament has significant ramifications for the workload of staff, and this decision will feel to many like a slap in the face. Ipsa has failed to properly consult with Unite reps despite our repeated calls for staff to get a fair deal. We have written to Ipsa raising our concerns, and will continue to fight for the real-terms pay rise staff members deserve.”
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