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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
Make the rich pay
We as trade unionists must be the voice of the disenfranchised and we must now stand together and demand more from our elected representatives, writes NEU rep ROBERT POOLE

I FEEL like I’m stuck in an endless loop. Groundhog day on steroids. It’s deja vu all over again. What year is this? 2010? Yes everyone, they’re freezing our pay again. Or should I say cutting pay because in real terms we all know that’s what it is.

The government has decided, in its infinite wisdom, that what the economy really needs right now is for people to have less money. Not all people of course, don’t get me wrong. If you’re a mate or a minister or the daughter of a donor then you’re probably sitting pretty on a large contract to deliver PPE.

Alas, the time for clapping key workers is over and it’s back to shafting them. In the recent spending review Rishi Sunak — the billionaire banker turned MP, the man who is richer than the Queen — announced that public-sector workers, police officers, firefighters and teachers will receive a pay freeze.

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