There are plenty of bad current arguments for there to be public sector pay rises at present. One being used is that public sector workers have been able to keep their jobs during these difficult times and therefore should have more money. We don’t find that all that convincing an argument to be honest.

There’s also an extremely good argument against public sector pay rises at present. It’s actually used, to be merely dismissed, in a piece advocating such wage increases:

Here it warned that “we must exercise restraint in future public sector pay awards” to ensure “fairness” and “parity” with the private sector, where, the Treasury helpfully points out, wages have fallen 1.2% in the year to May 2020.

If everyone else’s pay has been falling - we are in something of a recession you know - then it seems fair to us that everyone’s pay falls.

Yes, we’re aware of the Keynesian argument that government should spend more in such times and while we don’t hold that much truck with it this isn’t what we’re talking about. A permanent addition to the incomes of state workers is not the same, in any manner, as a time limited boost to demand in the economy to deal with a recession.

Right now the economy is some 10 to 15% smaller than it was in January. Why should those employed by the government now claim a larger share of that smaller amount?