Public sector workers need a pay rise – even Tory voters think so | Frances O’Grady

Public servants' pay continues to plummet in real terms, but the consensus is growing that they should receive a rise. The government must listen

Although it seems longer, it was just three weeks ago that Conservative MPs returned from the election with tales of lost votes from nurses and teachers - and the unfairness of artificial public sector pay caps exploded into the mainstream of political debate. Today there is yet further evidence that solving the public sector staffing crisis is urgent: for every five new nurses and midwives joining the NHS, six experienced staff leave.

It should have been no surprise that the government artificially holding down pay for 5.5 million workers was an election issue. Not when midwives are down over 3,000 a year in real terms, and nurses, teachers and firefighters are all down over 2,000.

Related: Applauding a public sector pay cap? Tories are cheering their own demise | Polly Toynbee

Everyone in the public sector has seen their real pay fall year on year since 2010

Continue reading...