But this masks the scale of the problem – recessions are always a good time to bury bad news in the form of attacking other terms and conditions of service. Recruitment freezes mean other workers pick up the jobs left unfilled. Hard won conditions, rewarding extraordinary working arrangements like shift working, are rapidly removed and sickness payments are being attacked by Dickensian managers across the board.
Imposing pay cuts has now become almost the norm in the public sector. Employers – even with a choice to consider a wage increase where they have managed to ride out the worst of the recession - have simply decided that the simplest way to be seen to be ‘efficient’ is to demoralise workers with a further year of financial hardship. Can anyone recall a discussion about rewarding the workers who have pulled out all of the stops to keep organisations – whether public or private - functioning during the recession? No. Neither can I.
Anna Rose
