HEALTH staff across Wales and the rest of the UK are set to receive a 3.3 per cent pay rise from April after the Government accepted the latest recommendations from the independent review body – but unions say the increase still falls short after years of falling real-terms wages.

The decision follows months of pressure from unions representing nurses, paramedics, porters and other frontline staff, many of whom have taken industrial action in recent years amid rising workloads and the cost-of-living crisis.

The Health Secretary has confirmed that ministers will implement the headline award recommended by the NHS Pay Review Body for workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, meaning most staff covered by the Agenda for Change contract will see their salaries rise at the start of the new financial year.

Union leaders say the timing is welcome – but the figure itself does not go far enough.

Responding to the announcement, GMB Trade Union said the increase marks the first time in several years that NHS staff will receive their pay award on schedule, avoiding the delays that have previously left workers waiting months for back pay.

Rachel Harrison, national secretary for the union, said: “GMB welcomes the efforts made to ensure NHS workers will receive their pay increase when it is due, in April.

“The first time this will have happened in years.

“But this award is just not enough to make up for more than a decade of pay cuts under the Tories. NHS workers deserve more and GMB will fight for that at the long overdue Agenda for Change structural talks we have now been promised.

“GMB reps will now meet to discuss the pay award and determine next steps.”

Years of pressure

Health unions argue that although pay has risen in cash terms, inflation and years of below-inflation settlements have left many National Health Service workers worse off than they were a decade ago.

Since 2010, a combination of pay freezes, capped rises and soaring living costs has eroded real-terms earnings, with some estimates suggesting experienced staff are thousands of pounds a year worse off compared to pre-austerity levels.

Recruitment and retention remain major concerns across Welsh hospitals and ambulance services, with health boards continuing to rely on agency staff to plug gaps.

Union representatives say pay remains one of the biggest factors pushing experienced workers to leave the profession.

Impact in Wales

For NHS staff in west Wales, including Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, the award will be felt from April payslips, covering a wide range of roles from healthcare assistants and cleaners to nurses, paramedics and administrative teams.

While some will welcome the certainty of an on-time rise, local staff have previously told The Herald that rising energy bills, fuel costs and housing pressures mean even modest increases are quickly swallowed up.

GMB said it will now consult workplace representatives on whether further action is needed and will push for wider reforms during upcoming structural talks on pay bands and career progression.

The union added that “timely” must not be confused with “sufficient”.

For many on the frontline, the question is no longer just when pay rises arrive – but whether they are enough to keep the health service staffed at all.

Teenagers rescued from rocks as late-night tide trap sparks call-out

ANGLE lifeboat crew have responded to two emergency shouts this week, including a late-night rescue of three teenagers cut off by the tide.

Volunteers from RNLI Angle Lifeboat Station were first tasked at 6:23pm on Tuesday (Feb 10) to assist in the search for a missing surfer at Broughton Bay, on the Gower.

With Burry Port Lifeboat Station inshore lifeboats also responding and other all-weather lifeboats in the area unavailable, Angle’s crew began mustering for immediate launch.

However, the shout was cancelled before the lifeboat launched after the surfer was located safe and well.

Just two days earlier, at 11:24pm on Monday (Feb 8), the crew had launched to reports of three teenagers stranded between Hakin Point and Conduit Beach after becoming cut off by the incoming tide.

The lifeboat quickly located the group on rocks made slippery and hazardous by heavy rain. Unable to climb to safety, the teenagers were stranded as the tide rose around them.

The crew deployed the station’s inflatable Y-boat, allowing rescuers to reach the casualties and transfer them safely back to the all-weather lifeboat.

They were then brought a short distance into the marina and handed into the care of family members, alongside HM Coastguard Dale Coastguard Rescue Team and police.

With no further assistance required, the crew stood down and the lifeboat was refuelled and made ready for service again by 1:00am.

RNLI volunteers are reminding the public to check tide times and sea conditions before heading onto the coast, particularly during the winter months when weather and visibility can deteriorate quickly.

A SPECIAL afternoon celebrating Wales’ rich tradition of hymn singing and sacred music will take place at Canolfan Bethlehem on Sunday (Feb 15) at 3:00pm.

Organisers say the event, titled Caniadaeth y Cysegr, will honour a musical heritage that has shaped Welsh life for generations. Hymn singing has long echoed beyond chapels and churches, heard on rugby terraces, at community gatherings and in village halls – a living tradition woven into the fabric of Welsh identity.

Central to that tradition is the Cymanfa Ganu, the much-loved hymn festival which has played a vital role across Wales, particularly in north Pembrokeshire. While attendance has declined in recent decades, supporters say the spirit of congregational singing remains strong and deserves renewed celebration.

The afternoon will feature a talk by broadcaster and academic Ceri Wyn Richards, who will explore the poets, composers and musicians from Pembrokeshire whose work has made a lasting contribution to Welsh hymnody and sacred song.

During her distinguished career in television and radio, Richards produced Caniadaeth y Cysegr, the BBC’s longest-running religious programme, first aired in 1942 and widely regarded as the forerunner to Songs of Praise. Before retiring, she undertook an ambitious nationwide project to record every hymn in the Welsh hymn book with chapels, choirs and musicians throughout the country.

The event will also explore the strong links between hymn writing and places such as St Davids and Blaenwern, while reflecting on the legacy of influential figures including W. Rhys Nicholas, Waldo Williams and Eirwyn George. Organisers will also highlight the surprising connections between traditional hymn tunes and modern popular music.

A simultaneous translation service will be available, and the event is open to all.

Organisers added: “Everyone is welcome to join us for an afternoon of song, history and community as we celebrate one of Wales’ most treasured cultural traditions.”