HUNDREDS of thousands of public sector workers in Wales, including teachers, doctors, and civil servants, are set to receive pay rises ranging from 5% to 6% for the 2024-25 financial year. The Welsh Government has announced these increases as part of its efforts to improve compensation and address inflationary pressures.
The specifics of the pay rises are as follows:
- Teachers will receive a 5.5% increase.
- NHS staff on Agenda for Change terms will also receive a 5.5% rise.
- Doctors and dentists, including GPs and salaried GPs, will see a 6% pay award, with an additional £1,000 for junior doctors.
- Civil servants and staff at various public bodies, such as Natural Resources Wales and the Development Bank of Wales, will receive an average increase of 5%.
These pay rises will be backdated to the beginning of each profession’s pay year. For teachers, this period runs from September to August.
The Welsh Government had originally budgeted for a 3.5% pay rise, but officials are optimistic that additional funds from the UK Government will cover the difference. The total amount required to fund these increases has yet to be disclosed.
In England, similar pay rises have been announced, and Welsh treasury officials anticipate receiving extra funding as a result. NHS pay rises in Wales are aligned with those in England, while teachers’ pay in Wales is determined by a separate pay review body.
First Minister Eluned Morgan commented, “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 but 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.”
Cabinet Secretary for Finance Rebecca Evans added, “We greatly value the hundreds of thousands of people working across the public sector in Wales and the work they do every day. We have worked hard to be able to make this offer. We are committed to working in social partnership with trade unions to achieve fair pay settlements which are affordable while also recognising the huge contribution made by public sector workers.”
The details of next year’s budget will be unveiled when Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents her budget on October 30.
Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey, co-chairs of the BMA’s Welsh Junior Doctors Committee, described the announcement as a “step in the right direction to better valuing doctors and restoring our pay.” They added, “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.”
Dr Stephen Kelly, chair of the BMA’s Welsh Consultants Committee, noted, “Earlier this year our members voted to take industrial action over their pay after they were awarded another below-inflation pay award and less than the DDRB recommendation for the 23/24 financial year. After years of being undervalued for our service, doctors made this tough decision to help achieve a fairer deal to retain and attract experienced doctors to work in Wales. 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.”
Both Dr Kelly and Dr Babs-Osibodu will now present the proposal to their members.
Laura Doel, national secretary at the school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, expressed caution, stating, “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.”
Unite regional officer Daryl Williams said: “Welsh NHS staff have suffered real terms pay cuts and have seen their living standards fall for over a decade. This has created huge recruitment and retention issues, which is a direct result of staff being thousands of pounds worse off in real terms.
“NHS workers across Wales deserve a restorative pay award and today’s announcement must be the beginning of Welsh Government honouring its 2023 commitment to pay restoration.
“Unite’s health members will have the final say on whether they believe this is an acceptable pay offer through a ballot.”
Tom Hoyles, GMB Senior Organiser, remarked, “To see First Minister Eluned prioritising a pay deal for public services so early in her tenure is a great sign. The only way to get our economy growing is to put money in working people’s pockets. It’s important to us that both Labour Governments continue to make that a priority. We’ll now put the deal to our members, who will have the final say.”
