Keir Starmer has said he does not want to see public sector workers go on strike over pay.
It comes as the pay review body for teachers in England has recommended a pay rise of about 4% this year, while its NHS equivalent has recommended about 3%, according to figures first reported by The Times.
The decision of the independent pay review bodies to recommend pay rises higher than the government offer presents a headache for Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Both figures are higher than the 2.8% the government had budgeted for in their proposals to the pay bodies, and are likely to place further strain on public finances.
Speaking to broadcasters on a visit this morning, he was asked about reports saying that workers like teachers or nurses could go on strike if the government insists on funding pay rises through cuts elsewhere in departmental budgets.
Starmer said that he wanted to avoid strikes, and he suggested that his more collaborative approach was working better than the last government’s.
He said: “I don’t want to see strike action, I don’t think anybody wants to see strike action.
“And certainly here we are in a healthcare environment with all the staff working really hard. The last thing they want to do is to go into dispute again.
“We solved disputes, we are working with the NHS. It’s because of the way that we are working with the NHS that we are able to bring waiting lists down … What I think we are proving here – what I hope we are proving – is if you work with the NHS staff, you get better results than the last government, which just went into battle with them.
“So, we have got our doctors and nurses on the front line, not the picket line, and I think everybody appreciates that’s a much better way of doing business.”
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Can you trust Labour?
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This hasn’t aged well…
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