Public sector pay rises cannot match inflation, says transport secretary

Mark Harper raises likelihood of winter strikes as he says keeping pace with living costs is unaffordable

Inflation-matching pay rises for struggling public sector workers are unaffordable", the transport secretary has said, raising the likelihood of winter strikes going ahead across the rail network, schools and the NHS.

Mark Harper said there was not a bottomless pit" of money to meet the demands of workers planning to take industrial action in the coming weeks, even though benefits and pensions are going up in line with inflation.