UK Chancellor Sunak Announces Partial Pay Freeze For Public Sector Workers

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2020) Public sector workers in the United Kingdom, with the exception of National Health Service staff and those earning under the country's median wage, will have their pay frozen in 2021, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday.

"First, taking account of the Pay Review Body's advice, we will provide a pay rise to over a million nurses, doctors, and others working in the NHS. Second, to protect jobs, pay rises in the rest of the public sector will be paused next year," Sunak said to parliament while presenting the government's spending review for the coming year.

The chancellor added that the 2.

1 million public sector workers who earn less than the UK's median wage of 24,000 Pounds ($32,045) per year would be guaranteed a pay rise of at least 250 pounds ($333).

"What this means ... is that while the government is making the difficult decision to control public sector pay, the majority of public sector workers will see their pay increase next year," Sunak stated.

Earlier in his statement, the chancellor cited an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast, published on Wednesday, which predicts an 11.3 percent contraction in the UK economy in 2020, the largest fall in output in more than three centuries.