Kay Burley questioned Labour’s claim to be the “party for the workers” this morning amid a backlash over a proposed pay rise for the public sector.
Ministers have suggested increasing salaries by 2.8% next year for NHS workers, teachers and senior civil servants, but unions say that is not enough.
The Royal College of Nursing called the proposed hike “deeply offensive” while the British Medical Association claimed there were “very real risks” workers may go on strike as a result.
On Sky News this morning, presenter Burley asked justice secretary Shabana Mahmood: “How much do you value nurses?”
The cabinet minister said she valued them and all workers in the justice system, before deflecting and pointing to the usual process which defines the pay process for public sector workers.
Burley noted that this pay rise would be “below inflation”, which is expected to go up next year.
Mahmood said once again that this is a process for the independent pay review bodies, but Burley hit back: “I thought you were supposed to be a party for the workers?”
Mahmood hesitated before replying: “Of course we are a party for all types of workers – public and private workers.”
She said the government was still grappling with the inheritance from the Tories – Labour claim the last government left a £22bn black hole in the public finances – and suggested this was simply their starting position in the pay negotiations.
“Of course that is an independent process and that will conclude in the normal way,” Mahmood said. “I’m not going to get ahead of that.”
But Burley replied: “You gave a shedload of money to rail workers when you first came into power.
“Avanti West Coast staff are telling us they are going to strike over Christmas now. What’s your message to union workers?”
“My message to all workers is that this is a national effort to try and make sure that public service delivery in this country actually works,” she said.
Burley cut in: “Are you asking them not to go on strike?”
The minister said: “Well I wouldn’t want to see any strikes, of course not, I’m sure the transport secretary is working very closely with the trade unions that she ultimately has to deal with.”
