Public sector workers rationing heating, survey finds

22 June 2012

Posted by John King

Some public sector workers are being forced to ration the amount of heating they use because they cannot afford to pay their bills.

This is the discovery of trade union Unison's charity arm There For You, which asked some of its members about their financial situation.

It found some people now only put their central heating on when the temperature outside drops below freezing, while others leave it off until the weekends when they might need to have the house warm for visitors.

The news comes after uSwitch.com suggested energy bills could break the £1,500 a year barrier by 2015 and even £2,766 a year by 2018.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said many families are being pushed over the edge by the cost of things like gas and home heating oil.

He added: "Unison questions what the role of the utilities watchdogs are when the poorest in our society cannot heat their homes."

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