Government recommends 2.8% pay rise for public sector workers

The BMA said the recommended pay rise for 2025/26 “indicates a poor grasp of the unresolved issues from two years of industrial action”.

Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive Prof Nicola Ranger described the pay recommendation as “deeply offensive”.

“The government has today told nursing staff they are worth as little as £2 extra a day, less than the price of a coffee,” she said.

“Fair pay must be matched by structural reform. Let’s open direct talks now and avoid further escalation to disputes and ballots.”

Helga Pile told the BBC’s Today programme that the proposals could lead to staff leaving the NHS and will hit morale ahead of an “incredibly tough winter”.

The Department for Education said the 2.8% pay rise would “maintain the competitiveness of teachers’ pay despite the challenging financial backdrop the government is facing”.

However, the National Education Union said it fell “well short of the urgent action needed”.

General Secretary Daniel Kebede said: “Teacher pay has been cut by over a fifth in real terms since 2010, hitting teacher living standards and damaging the competitive position of teaching against other graduate professions.”

Eight pay review bodies recommend annual pay awards for around 45% of people working in the public sector, although ministers make the final decision and are free to ignore their recommendations.

They take evidence from a range of sources, but unions have argued the bodies’ hands are significantly tied by government-set constraints, including the overall level of funding available to departments.