NHS staff across Wales are “likely to be angry” with another below inflation pay award, unions have said, as the Welsh Government said it would award a 3.3 per cent increase from April.

Unison Cymru said that, with inflation at 4.2 per cent, the pay rise “will leave nurses, healthcare assistants, porters and catering staff worse off in real terms.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles announced on 12 February that he had “accepted the recommendations made by the NHS Pay Review Body” for the 3.3 per cent rise.

The union says health workers’ pay in Wales already lags behind Scotland, where staff negotiate pay directly with government and employers through their unions.

Unison Cymru says the London-based pay review body system used in Wales is outdated and failing to deliver pay increases needed to recruit and retain health staff and wants ministers to open direct pay negotiations after the Senedd election.

Unison Cymru chair of health committee Dawn Ward said: “For many NHS staff, this is not about percentages on paper, it’s about choosing between heating and eating, watching every pound and worrying about the next bill.

“The lowest paid workers are already stretched to the limit.

“Healthcare assistants, cleaners and porters keep services running but struggle to make ends meet. Morale is low because people feel taken for granted.

“Staff want fairness and respect.

“That means a pay rise that makes a real difference in their lives, not one that disappears as soon as it reaches their bank account.”

Unison Cymru head of health Tanya Bull said: “Let’s not pretend this is generous. It is another real terms pay cut.

“Health boards cannot expect to recruit and retain staff when supermarkets are offering higher starting rates.

“Workers in Scotland negotiate directly with their government through their unions.

“They are treated better because they have a voice at the table.

“Health is devolved, yet Welsh NHS pay is still tangled up in decisions made in Westminster.

“That’s absurd.”

RCN Wales Executive Director, Helen Whyley, said the 3.3 per cent pay award “is very disappointing and shows a failure to grasp the reality facing nursing staff in Wales.”

“At a time when the cost of living remains high another real term pay cut is being imposed again on a workforce already stretched to its limits,” she said.

“The Welsh government has made a commitment to pay restoration back to 2008, and this award falls well short of that pledge and of what is needed to value and retain staff.

“It is particularly indefensible that the government have once again fallen back on the Pay Review Body (PRB) process that unions widely rejected after raising expectations for direct negotiations.

“Nursing staff were led to believe a different approach was coming.

“Instead, they have been handed more of the same. “

“Morale is already fragile and staff feel consistently undervalued.

“Fair pay and clear career pathways are essential to keeping experienced professionals in the NHS and attracting the next generation.”