Thread by @LiamHalligan

When ONS recently released new wage data, countless newspaper headlines & broadcast bulletins suggested public sector workers are paid less than rest of us - so deserve a particularly big wage rise.

But it's not true - as I write in @Telegraph 1/12 🧵

telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/…

Public sector workers are paid MORE on average than private sector workers – and have been for decades.

The average weekly public sector wage in 2021 was £579, but just £536 in the private sector – with state workers’ wages around 8% higher. 2/12

Plus, public sector workers generally enjoy a lot more holiday/sick leave and far better job security.

AND they benefit from hugely generous final salary pension schemes – paid for by the rest of us – which have all but disappeared for those taking private sector jobs

3/12

Now, public sector pay was frozen 2011-13, with annual rises then capped at 1pc until 2018.

So, during that period, the public/private sector pay gap narrowed from 15% to 8% now

But public sector pay is STILL much higher – on top of additional benefits of working for state 4/12

Yes, latest ONS data does show private sector wages grew 5.9% over last year, with public sector wages up just 1.8%.

But, during two lockdown years, public sector workers weren't furloughed – so they stayed on full wages, knowing their jobs were safe. 5/12

Millions of private sector workers, in contrast, saw their furlough pay drop by a fifth, while millions more – not least the self-employed army who keep our economy moving – lost almost all their wages, while receiving no state support at all. 6/12

The fact that media commentary consistently fails to point out the reality of public/private pay differentials matters enormously.

This autumn, millions of public sector workers will vote on strike action, in what could be the biggest wave of stoppages since the 1970s. 7/12

Public sector strikes could hit schools, hospitals, fire stations and other vital services, adding to ongoing transport stoppages, if pay disputes aren't resolved.

Many state workers feel their poor pay justifies strikes, whatever the chaos that imposes on the rest of us. 8/12

Some dismiss the prospect of 1970s-style widespread industrial actin, arguing trade unions now less powerful with membership just a fifth of total workforce

But over half public sector workers still unionised - and union leaders' rhetoric becoming evermore strident/militant 9/12

Now don’t get me wrong – NHS nurses & other hard-working frontline state staff DO deserve decent pay rises - that reflect inflation

But NHS managers, GPs doing fewer face-to-face consultations and others in cushy civil service jobs now working more from home? I think not. 10/12

This autumn, as the cost of living rises, public sector union bosses pushing for inflation-busting pay will appeal to broader public for sympathy

So remember, in terms of pay & conditions, public sector workers are, on average, already better off than rest of us.

11/12

Over coming months, public sector unions, keen to humiliate a new Tory PM, will turn the screw.

An “autumn of anger” would then become a “winter of discontent” - that could even topple the government.

I’m not saying it will happen. But it could.

12/12

telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/…