Unions ‘peddling nonsense’ to back up pay rise claims

STRIKING unions have been accused of peddling ‘nonsense’ pay- cut figures to pressure ministers into massive pay-outs.

MPs say unions representing millions of public sector staff are inflating claims about the real-terms pay cuts faced by their members.

This is because unions compare pay to the retail price index measure of inflation, which the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank has said ‘is known to be upwardly biased’.

The fall in pay is, in some cases, less than half the figure claimed, a series of independent analyses showed. It comes as last- ditch talks between teachers’ unions and ministers are due to be held

‘Known to be upwardly biased’

today in an effort to prevent nationwide disruption.

The National Education Union (NEU) was one of the unions accused of skewing the data towards senior pay grades that had suffered the greatest cuts.

Tory MPs dismissed union claims of real-terms pay cuts as ‘rubbish’, saying it was ‘nonsense’ that public sector workers are ‘on their own’ in a global cost of living crisis.

A Mail audit has put the unions’ claims to the test. The analysis showed while striking workers have suffered real-terms falls in pay, the hit to living standards in the decade before inflation rocketed may not be as severe as claimed.

Unions claimed that university staff have suffered real-terms pay cuts of almost a fifth since 2009. But based on the consumer prices index measure of inflation, the figure would be around half this.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘It’s all rubbish. The idea that public sector workers in the UK are on their own is nonsense.’ Doug McWilliams, of the Centre for Economic and Business Research consultancy, said: ‘Recently, pay hits in the public sector have got bigger, but it’s important for them not to exaggerate their claims as it ruins their validity, and affects their credibility.’

But Kevin Courtney, of the NEU, said: ‘The central argument doesn’t

change on any measure you care to use: teachers have had doubledigit, deep and sustained realterms pay cuts since 2010.’

■ Cleaners could respond to 999 calls if firefighters go on strike.

Fire services have been training office staff as back-up, The Sunday Telegraph reported.