By
Thousands of public sector workers are to get a pay rise this year, the government has announced, with doctors and teachers in line for the biggest increase, following a testing few months on the front line.
Army workers, teachers, police and prison officers, the National Crime Agency, doctors, dentists, the judiciary, senior civil servants and senior military personnel will all see their wages jump, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced.
Nearly 900,000 people will benefit across the country, with teachers and doctors seeing the largest rise at 3.1% and 2.8% respectively, he said.
It follows a public sector freeze in 2011 and 2012, with pay capped at 1% a year for until 2017.
Police and prison officers will see their pay rise 2.5%, while Armed Forces workers will receive a 2% uplift under the latest announcement.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “These past months have underlined what we always knew – that our public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country and that we can rely on them when we need them.
“It’s right therefore that we follow the recommendations of the independent pay bodies with this set of real-terms pay rises.”
Each award is recommended by independent pay review bodies, and this year government accepted the headline recommended rise for each workforce.
Abass Latifat
