Living standards are tumbling – here’s why public sector strikes are justified

Strikes in the public sector aren’t much fun but real-terms pay cuts make them absolutely necessary, writes James Moore

Industrial strife: ministers face more of it from a short-changed public sector (Getty)

There’s some welcome good news for ordinary everyday bank workers – the kind for whom the megabucks earned by their executives and city colleagues are but a distant dream obtainable only via lottery wins.

The union, Unite, tweeted that it had secured a £1,000 one-off payment for three out of four staff working at Virgin Money. Those who earn less than £50,000 annually will qualify. The bank said the cash would be paid in addition to a 5 per cent pay rise that took effect earlier this year.

It was the second such wage increase announced in the banking sector recently. Santander said it would give more than 11,000 employees a 4 per cent pay bump from August. This covers all those earning less than £35,000 and represents 60 per cent of the workforce.