First, it is clear that public sector workers are still better paid than their equivalents in the private sector – who endured a substantial real fall in earnings following the recession in 2008. Moreover, those in the public sector generally tend to benefit from greater job stability and generous pension entitlements.

Secondly, the 1 per cent rise tells only part of the story. It ignores the structure by which the wages of many public-sector workers rise every year through the system of incremental pay bands. The main pay system for NHS staff, Agenda for Change, comprises nine fixed pay bands within which staff can climb annually; earning more by progressing up the scale until they reach the top of the band. Through this system, 54 per cent of NHS staff in England have actually seen an annual increase of, on average, between 3 and 4 per cent in the past year – in addition to the 1 per cent pay award.

A proper review of how all pay awards and increments work across the public sector would be extremely wise before there is any move towards a change in policy likely to cost many billions. As the IFS has pointed out, Labour’s plans to boost public-sector wages would cost more than £9 billion per year by 2021/22.