Giving in to nurses’ pay demands would “stoke” inflation and have a “huge impact” on public finances, a minister has told Sky News.
Oliver Dowden said he would “dearly love for the government to be able to write the cheque” and meet the call of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which wants a pay rise of at least 17%.
But he said the government remains “resolute” and repeated a claim that giving in to public sector unions over pay demands would cost every household an extra £1,000 a year.
Challenged on the numbers he presented – as independent forecasters have predicted much lower inflation of 5.5% next year – Mr Dowden said “that’s a totally different proposition”.
But he said it was right for the government to follow the recommendations of independent pay review bodies, who suggested a pay rise for nurses of around 4% over the summer – before inflation soared – to “take the politics out” of the discussion.
