First Minister announces above inflation pay rises for public sector workers in Wales

The Welsh Government has also agreed up to an average 5 per cent pay award for civil servants and for staff at a number of other public bodies, including Natural Resources Wales and the Development Bank of Wales.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said: "People across Wales have told us over the summer that public sector workers are the backbone of the services we all rely on – from the nurses in our NHS to teachers in classrooms across Wales.

"They want them to be fairly rewarded for the vital work they do.

"These pay awards reflect how we value them and respect their hard work."

She added: "The public has also been clear they want to see improvements in public services – especially in the NHS and education.

"We will work with these services to deliver on what people have told us over the summer listening exercise.

The Welsh Government said it has accepted the pay recommendations for the 2024-25 financial year.

The announcement comes after the new Labour UK Government approved recommendations of public sector pay bodies in the summer.

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Doctors at the BMA Cymru Wales welcomed the announcement.

Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey, co-chairs of the BMA’s Welsh Junior Doctors Committee, said the pay award was “another step in the right direction to better valuing doctors and restoring our pay”.

“Whilst we will continue to fight for full pay restoration to recover the years of real-terms pay cuts, today’s award does provide some further reversal of that erosion,” they said.

Dr Stephen Kelly, chair of the BMA’s Welsh Consultants Committee, said: “Earlier this year, our members voted to take industrial action over their pay after they were awarded another below-inflation pay award.

“Thanks to weeks of negotiations with the Welsh Government, we were able to reach a fairer settlement, and whilst it didn’t fully restore the real-terms pay lost over the last 15 years, today’s announcement of a 6% pay uplift brings us another step closer to achieving this goal.”

Teaching unions said it was vital the pay award was fully funded for all schools.

Laura Doel, national secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said: “While we understand the award will be fully-funded, we will be examining the detail with a microscopic lens to ensure all costs are covered for all schools, not just average costs.

“This is absolutely crucial at a time when so many school leaders are already suffering sleepless nights worrying about how they can set balanced budgets, with some facing the completely unpalatable prospect of making valued staff redundant.

“Investment in both the staffing and resources needed for schools to provide the high-quality education all children deserve really shouldn’t be too much to ask.”