The government wants us to think there is no money for civil and public servants' pay. But pay in the private sector is increasing at 1 % higher than the public sector; senior civil servants can get as much as £40,000 in bonuses; and billions can be found to bail out the bankers.Sir Gus O'Donnell, Head of the Civil Service, and permanent secretaries have urged you not to rock the boat at a time of economic difficulty by voting for industrial action.
Are we asking too much?
We simply want to protect the living standards of public servants with inflation level basic pay increases. We want a level playing field. Pay progression costs should be funded separately, as is the case elsewhere in the public sector, so that more money is available for basic pay increases.
This can easily be afforded. It is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of bankrolling the bankers. The financial crisis is not of our making - we don't have to pay for it.
