- Government reacted to unending strike actions by the Labour Unions
- UK announced moderate salary increment for the public servants
- UK to raise over £1bn from new proposed Visa fees and Health Surcharge
UK economy has been on the edge since the beginning of 2022. The cost of living and inflation rate have been record breaking high. Labour Unions have engaged the UK government severally and have demanded for higher wages to help public employees cope with the high cost of living.
The economy has also witnessed several strike actions by Doctos, Teachers and even Transport workers to force the government attend to their demands.
As the government is currently working hard to stabile the economy, the PM had maintained that any salary increment would push up the inflation rate. Meanwhile, the Bank of England raised its interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.0% during its June meeting, marking the 13th consecutive hike. This announcement was greeted will more strike actions.
After accepting the recommendations of the pay review Bodies, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday offers teachers, doctors and other workers pay increases of 6% and above. The Police and Doctors were the highest beneficiary not exceeding 7%.
“Today’s offer is final. We will not negotiate again on this year’s settlements and no amount of strikes will change our decision,” Sunak said.
The pay increases are below Britain’s current 8.7% inflation rate but this would bridge the gap following the country’s worst bout of industrial unrest in more than 30 years.
How to Finance the Salary Review
The UK government proposed to generate over £1 billion to support the salary review by upward adjustment of immigration visa fees and the cost of accessing the IHS without adding to the burden on UK taxpayers. This funding will be essentially to ensure the successful implementation of the salary increase for public employees.
Implication on Visa and IHS Fees
The new policy means anybody going to the UK will pay more than before. As at 14th of July 2023, visa fees outside of UK for 6months, 2 years and 5 years are £100, £376 and £670 respectively. Nigerians on Postgraduate Study Visa in the UK currently pays £363 and £705 for IHS (average of N1,142,760). Priority visa application cost £250. With the new policy, Nigerians planing to study in the UK for Postgraduate might be paying over N1,800,000 to apply for study visa and IHS fees.
