LONDON (Reuters) – Britain announced below-inflation pay rises for police officers and National Health Service (NHS) staff on Tuesday, as part of an annual pay review for public sector workers that comes amid soaring prices.
Police officers in England and Wales will receive a consolidated pay award of 1,900 pounds ($2,287), equivalent to a 5% increase overall, Britain’s interior ministry said.
Eligible dentists and doctors will get a 4.5% increase, while 1 million NHS staff, including nurses, paramedics and midwives, will get a pay rise of at least 1,400 pounds ($1,684) with lowest earners getting up to 9.3%, the health ministry said.
The increases are part of annual pay reviews due for almost half of some 5.7 million public sector workers including teachers, nurses, police, prison staff, civil servants and the armed forces.
They come as British consumer price inflation hovers around 40-year highs and is predicted to reach 11% later this year, contributing to labour strikes over pay that have threatened disruption to transport and other services.
Public sector pay growth has lagged that of the private sector, averaging just 1.5% over the past year compared with 8% for the latter.
($1 = 0.8310 pounds)
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)
