CALLS for Westminster to increase funding for public sector workers have been echoed by Matt Rodda MP in Parliament.

The MP for Reading East spoke at length in the Commons after trade union group Unison gathered nearly 150,000 signatures in just two months over the pay cap.

The petition sparked a lively debate on both sides of the chamber and the Reading politician said a lack of funding was resulting in the loss of 'vital jobs'.

He said: “Government must stop treating public sector workers as the enemy. Our public servants deserve our support, our appreciation and, most of all, a decent standard of living.

“That really is not too much to ask in the 21st century. The pressure on incomes is clear.

“There have been many harmful effects across the public sector. In Reading that has been made worse by the high cost of living in the south-east of England.

“Because of high housing costs and other costs which are similar to outer London, towns like Reading have seen public sector workers in my constituency hit particularly hard by this failed policy.

“Our schools, NHS, police, local government and many other services are being hit by the pay cap and we have seen the loss of teachers and midwives, and shortages in many other key services.

“They have £1bn to pay off the Democratic Unionist party, £3bn to prepare for a failed Brexit.”

Public sector workers have seen the value of their wages drop by nearly £5,000 since 2010 and they are set to lose a further £1,400 by 2020.

Some workers have seen a pay cut of around 15 per cent and Helen Jones, MP for Warrington, raised the motion in the Commons.

She said: “Once again, the Government are deflecting blame. That is the problem and that is what they have done all along.

"I say again that our public sector workers deserve better than that. They deserve far more than warm words. No one is asking for them to be paid an extravagant salary, merely a salary that enables them to live decently.”