20 March 2024 , 10:13
1068
0
The Government has been urged to raise the salaries of civil servants, following new research that showed their wages are relatively lower now than nearly 50 years ago, according to the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS).
Dr Mark Williams from Queen Mary University, London conducted an analysis of Civil Service pay trends, which revealed that while salaries were 5% above the average UK wage in the 1970s and 80s, they're now 10% below the average. Wages have dipped by an average of 1.5% annually since austerity began in 2011, according to the report.
Fran Heathcote, the PCS general secretary, said: "Successive governments should hang their heads in shame at the way they've treated their own workforce over the last 50 years. We hear a lot of talk from ministers saying how much they value our members' work. Now is the time for them to put their money where their mouth is and level up their pay."
"We won serious concessions from the Government last year as a result of our industrial action, including a £1,500 bonus, but there's still a long way to go before we get back to the comparative pay of the 1970s. Civil servants play a huge role in making sure the country runs smoothly and it's about time the Government recognised that by giving our members a well-deserved pay rise."