Don’t Punish Workers Across England for a Broken System

Reports that the Chancellor is considering a 2p rise in income tax to fill gaps in public finances should set alarm bells ringing for working people across England.

Such a move would hit nurses, teachers, care staff, transport workers and other key workers hardest. This increase or any increase will penalise the very people who keep this country running and take back some of the limited pay rises received.

The Workers of England Union has always been clear, we are not party political. But we are political in standing up for fairness, for working people, and for the public services they provide.

A blanket 2p tax rise or any increase of taxes on workers across England is not fair and it would be just the beginning of further tax increases!!

It would take money from those already struggling with record living costs, frozen wages, and rising bills. For many, it would feel like another punishment for simply turning up to work.

The government argues that higher taxes are needed to fund essential services. Yet those same services have been underfunded for over a decade. Hospitals are understaffed and overstretched. Schools are losing experienced staff faster than they can be replaced. Councils in England are collapsing under the weight of reduced funding.

These crises were not caused by workers across England, they were created by political decisions that favoured tax breaks for wealthy organisations, short-term fixes over long-term planning and not demanding that utility company profits are reinvested back into the economy.

Instead of making workers across England pay for a broken system, the Chancellor should make those companies with the broadest shoulders carry a fairer share.

Closing loopholes for tax-dodging corporations, reforming wealth and capital gains taxes, and ending hidden privileges and breathtakingly high wages for bankers, city council leaders and NHS bosses would raise billions without squeezing household incomes.

Stephen Morris, General Secretary of the Workers of England Union (WEU) said,

“The Workers of England Union will continue to highlight the injustice of broken promises and the growing financial burden on ordinary people. Don’t balance the books on the backs of workers in England, invest in them, reward them, and build a fairer system for all. Be assured that the WEU will continue to highlight these injustices.”