Public sector workers are nation’s lifeblood

THE GMB call out the UK government in shame for kicking the workers while they are down. They helped you through this pandemic, and this is how you want to treat doctors, firefighters, nurses, teachers, the police force? Having just gone through the longest period of austerity, to pay for the world financial crisis, which wasn’t the public sector’s fault I might add. Does the sound like sod’s law , or doesn’t sound like the Conservative government have spent too long in the parliamentary bar before lockdown after their pay raises.

The public are being asked to pick up the ‘bar tab’ for the Conservative government again. The estimated tab being £23 billion a year we could save from more austerity.

This money could be found more creatively, through tax raises and investment.

Our Prime Minister needs to learn our public services saved our Prime Minister from Covid-19, saved lives, kept your street safe, kept your bins emptied, kept your social care system running. Public sector workers are the life blood of what makes us all one nation.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak is poised to make workers pick up his bar tab while they’re down with another pay freeze for public sector workers in England.

It adds insult to injury for millions of workers who have put themselves

in danger by dedicating their whole year to keeping us safe – isn’t it time we hand back the UK government bar tab in pay raises they owe public sectors workers or is it time to strike?

I think that is something we could all drink to.

Richard J Raybould Chair of Torbay and South Devon GMB