Teachers and nurses in the public sector could see a pay increase of up to 4% during the next fiscal year.
A report in The Times states that the School Teachers’ Review Body is expected to recommend a salary increase of around 4%. The NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation will be closer to 3%.
The government has budgeted for 2.8% of the total amount.
After the Office for Budget Responsibility raised its predictions for wage growth overall in the March spring statement, the pay review bodies recommended that higher settlements be made.
The National Education Union (NEU), which has previously warned that it would strike should the government not improve the “unacceptable proposal” of 2,8%, had said so.
In a preliminary online poll conducted by the union earlier this month, 84% of its members said they would “take action to ensure an increased wage award”, even though only 47.2% voted.
Teachers from the NASUWT union have also threatened a strike, unless they receive a new salary award that is funded in full by the government and not the school budget.
Unions may also have concerns about the lower NHS recommendations. The Royal College of Nursing, a union, demanded in mid-April that the government take a final decision regarding the pay settlement for 2025-2026, stating that “nursing personnel need certainty immediately”.
The reports were presented to the chancellor by the RCN on 1 April. “Each day without a pay award means another day when the government leaves the nursing staff in darkness and without money.”
The current 2,8% wage offer has been deemed an insult by unions.
The government is responsible for making the final decision on the pay of the public sector.
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