'The government implemented a public sector pay freeze for two years from 2010–12 and has subsequently imposed a 1% pay cap, meaning some of the lowest paid workers have seen their income fall in real terms for more than four years.
O'Grady said: "Nearly half a million local government workers earn less than the living wage.
But even as the economy starts to grow, ministers have told them that the pay cap will last until at least 2018.'
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2...n-pay-pensions