ON THE BRINK OF MELTDOWN
» Chancellor to swing axe at public services » Unions fear a jobs exodus of broken staff
BEATEN down nurses, teachers and social workers have warned they are near to quitting as Jeremy Hunt’s Budget today threatens to bring back austerity.
The Chancellor is plotting more cuts to the NHS, schools and council services to pay for tax cuts.
But he is expected to take 2p off National Insurance in a cynical attempt to woo voters ahead of a general election this year.
King Charles, looking well despite beginning treatment for cancer last month, held the customary pre-Budget audience yesterday with the Chancellor at Buckingham Palace.
It came as a poll found one in four of public sector workers have considered or taken steps to leave their jobs.
A quarter have struggled to pay a household bill in the past year.
And unions warn there will be a “mass exodus” of essential staff unless the Government invests in services in this Budget. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Years of underfunding and mismanagement have left our public services and their workforce at breaking point.
“Every month experienced and dedicated public servants are quitting in droves because they are burned out, feel downtrodden, undervalued and are struggling to pay their bills.
“If the Chancellor does not invest in our public services, the staffing crisis will only get worse and communities across Britain will continue to suffer.” Mr Nowak added Mr Hunt’s claim will be a “Budget for long-term growth” was farcical after 14 years of Tory rule. Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea said: “Across health, education, local government, police forces and social care, workers feel guilty they can’t do more to help those needing help and support because services are so stretched.
“Everything feels broken and no longer functioning as it should. No wonder so many key workers are leaving their jobs.
“The public wants good, properly resourced, well-staffed essential services. Yet more cuts will simply push services to the point of collapse.” Mr Hunt’s plan to cut National Insurance repeats what he did in the Autumn Statement last November. According to the think-tank Resolution Foundation, anyone earning below £19,000 will be worse off overall as ministers have failed to raise the threshold at which you start paying the tax as wages have risen.
The biggest winners from the two reductions in National Insurance will be those on £50,000, who will pay £1,200 less a year. When he was Chancellor, now PM Rishi Sunak broke a Tory election promise by hiking National Insurance to its highest ever level.
Labour’s Rachel Reeves said: “The country needs change, not another failed Budget or the risk of five more years of Conservative chaos.”
Opinium interviewed 1,017 public sector workers between February 29 and March 4.
Dedicated but burned out public servants are quitting in their droves
TUC’S PAUL NOWAK UNIONS WARN OF CRISIS