Responding to the budget today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “From taxing the banks to grappling with energy bills, there’s much to welcome in this budget. Making the uplift in mileage rates permanent will make a real difference to public service workers.
“But this was the government’s first chance to turn the prime minister’s historic ambition for a new economic settlement into action. On that count it falls short.
“To improve ordinary people’s everyday lives in a way that lasts, the government needs to move beyond small fixes and deal with the fundamental causes of the miseries so many face.
“There’s no doubt about what’s needed: undoing privatisation, ending the scourge of outsourcing and making the wealthiest pay their fair share to properly fund public services. It all follows from the prime minister’s powerful analysis.”
“The prime minister needs to trust his own ideas and defy the forces trying to bind him to economic orthodoxy. A confrontation with the vested interests that profit from the status quo can only be deferred for so long.”
The union also welcomed the 3.9% increase to the national minimum wage and national living wage for 2.3 million workers. Andrea said: “The rise shows the chancellor’s determination to act on the cost of living.” But she added: “Good intentions aren’t enough to protect workers from sky-rocketing costs.
“Millions of workers are struggling to afford life’s essentials, from food to fuel and housing. They need pay rises which keep up with prices. At the least, the government should be setting the national living wage at the same level as the real living wage.”