Union leaders have described Gordon Brown's promise to keep public sector pay increases below inflation as a ‘slap in the face' for workers. Peter Allenson, national organiser for public services with the Transport and General Workers Union, said Gordon Brown's promise to keep public sector increases within his 1.9% target ‘amounted to a slap in the face' with the retail price index at over 4%. ‘Our members are being hit by a double whammy of below real inflation pay rises plus an increasing workload as the change agenda is rushed through with job cuts, increased pressure, poor consultation and falling morale,' Mr Allenson claimed. The CBI has praised the government's firm stance on pay, claiming it is a sign that the Chancellor is taking a ‘firm grip' on spending. ‘Government spending has risen substantially over the past decade, and borrowing has doubled that predicted by the Treasury in 2001,' said CBI deputy director general John Cridland. ‘We now need to see restraint on both counts and the chancellor's decision last week to hold down public sector pay growth was a positive start.'
