Prentis calls for a fairer Britain

UNISON is calling on the chancellor to use his debut budget on Wednesday to release the stranglehold on public service pay."Alistair Darling's first budget gives him an ideal opportunity to show his mettle and set out a vision for a fairer Britain," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis.Subjecting low-paid public sector workers to a 2% pay squeeze was "grossly unjust", he said, warning the consequences would be damaging.Enforcing the limit risks derailing reforms, and threatens to throw the public sector back into the recruitment and retention crises of the 1990s, Mr Prentis said.Setting out UNISON's vision for fairness, he stressed: "It is catch-up time. Our members are struggling with rising food, energy, and housing costs and cannot afford to take a pay cut."At the same time we see the incomes of the super-rich continue to soar away. The chancellor must stick to his guns and ensure that the non doms are made to pay for the public services they use without making a contribution to their funding and upkeep."The union is also pressing for urgent action to ensure equal pay for women.Without funding from the government, employers were meeting their legal obligations by cutting pay and jobs, Mr Prentis pointed out."We know that this is hitting services vital to our country's future - from local environmental services at the frontline of tackling climate change to school support staff essential to improving literacy and numeracy."