Government departments have recommended a pay rise of 2.8% for millions of public sector workers including teachers, NHS staff and senior civil servants next year. Unions responded by saying the proposed pay increase was too low, with one threatening strike action.

Syria's prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers were still at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad, but some state workers failed to return to their jobs, and a United Nations official said the country's public sector had come “to a complete and abrupt halt.

Public sector workers will only get above inflation pay increases if they improve productivity, Downing Street has said. Unions have reacted with anger to proposals for a 2.8% pay increase for teachers, NHS staff and senior civil servants next year.

A Cabinet minister has said Government proposals to raise pay by 2.8% for millions of public sector workers are just the start of the process as she sought to quell a union backlash. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would not “get ahead of” the recommendations of reviewing bodies,