By UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan
Next week’s spring forecast arrives at a moment when the country is asking some hard questions about what growth really means, and who it is for.
For those of us working on the frontline across our public services, the answer is clear. Sustainable economic growth does not appear out of thin air. It rests on a bedrock of strong, properly resourced public services that support people, communities and local economies every single day.
That is why next week’s statement from the chancellor matters. Given the commitment to only having one major financial event each year, and with just three months since the last budget, expectations of any big announcements are modest.
No one is anticipating sweeping new spending pledges or dramatic policy shifts. But what we are looking for, and what working people deserve, is a clear signal that this government understands that the direction of travel must change.
Because right now, public services are being asked to deliver more with less at precisely the moment the country needs them most. From the NHS to local councils, the services that keep communities healthy, safe and functioning are stretched wafer-thin. Investment in public services is not a line on a national balance sheet: it is the foundation on which economic recovery depends.
This forecast also lands at a crunch point for working people. In just a month, important new workplace rights under the Employment Rights Act, including enhanced rights to sick pay, are due to come into effect.
UNISON fought hard for these protections and they matter. But rights on paper are meaningless without the staff, infrastructure and enforcement capacity to make them real. Without boots on the ground, progress risks becoming promise without delivery.
Meanwhile, the pressures facing ordinary working-class families have not eased. Even with headline inflation figures looking more positive, low pay continues to collide with high everyday costs.
Any rumoured u-turn on youth minimum wage rates would send entirely the wrong signal – that young workers can once again be asked to shoulder the burden of economic uncertainty through lower pay.
Meanwhile, in workplaces across the country, outdated mileage rates leave workers subsidising essential services from their own pockets. Food, energy bills and rent are all still unaffordable for many. Unemployment is rising in too many areas.
I met with Rachel Reeves this week (pictured above) and emphasised to her that the cost of living crisis is not yesterday’s story. It is still shaping lives now.
And let’s be clear: scapegoating migrant workers will not rebuild public services, fix staffing shortages or strengthen our economy. Division can never be a substitute for investment.
If the Labour government is serious about getting the country back on track, this spring forecast must begin to show a shift in priorities. Growth will follow when we invest in the people and services that hold the country together. That is the signal public service workers will be listening for.
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