Jeremy Hunt told teachers and NHS staff will quit if austerity used for tax cuts
Nurses, teachers and social workers have warned they are being pushed close to quitting as Jeremy Hunt threatens to bring back austerity in today's Budget.
The Chancellor is plotting cuts to the NHS, schools and council services to pay for tax cuts. Mr Hunt is expected to take 2p off National Insurance in a last ditch roll of the dice ahead of the general election.
A poll has found almost four in 10 (38%) public sector workers have already taken steps to leave their profession or are thinking about it. A quarter (27%) said they have struggled to pay a household bill in the last year. The survey comes as unions warn there will be a “mass exodus" of essential staff unless the Government invests in services in the Budget.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Years of underfunding and mismanagement have left our public services and their workforce at breaking point. Every month experienced and dedicated public servants are quitting in droves because they are burned out, feel downtrodden, undervalued and are struggling to pay their bills.
“If the Chancellor does not invest in our public services the staffing crisis will only get worse and communities across Britain will continue to suffer.” Mr Nowak said that Mr Hunt’s claim it will be a “Budget for long term growth” was “farcical” after 14 years of Tory rule.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea said: “Across health, education, local government, police forces and social care, workers feel guilty they can’t do more to help those needing help and support because services are so stretched. Everything feels broken and no longer functioning as it should. No wonder so many key workers are leaving their jobs. The public wants good, properly resourced, well-staffed essential services. Yet more cuts will simply push services to the point of collapse.”
Mr Hunt’s plan to take 2p off National Insurance repeats what he did in the Autumn Statement in November.
According to the Resolution Foundation, anyone earning below £19,000 will still be worse off overall as ministers have failed to raise the threshold at which you start paying the tax as wages have risen. The biggest winners from the two reductions in National Insurance will be those on £50,000 who will pay £1,200 less in tax a year.
Do you agree with the cut to National Insurance? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
When he was Chancellor, Rishi Sunak broke a Tory election promise by hiking National Insurance to its highest ever level.
Labour’s Rachel Reeves said: “This Budget should be the final chapter of 14 years of economic failure under the Conservatives that has left Britain worse off. The Conservatives promised to fix the nation’s roof, but instead they have smashed the windows, kicked the door in and are now burning the house down… The country needs change, not another failed Budget or the risk of five more years of Conservative chaos.”
Opinium interviewed 1,017 public sector workers between February 29 and March 4.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
