Election 2021: Welsh care workers should get £10 an hour, Senedd told

Social care workers should be paid at least £10 an hour, Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives have said.

Plaid Cymru called for "equality of treatment for health and social care staff".

In a Senedd debate the Welsh Conservatives called for a reformed pay settlement for the sector.

It comes after a minister said workers could get the "Real Living Wage" rate if Labour formed the next Welsh government after May's Senedd election.

Social care is funded by local councils, through the cash they get from the Welsh Government and council tax.

Care workers are not subject to the same overarching pay deals agreed with staff working in the NHS.

The Real Living Wage is currently rated at £9.50 an hour - Plaid said while all health workers earn at least the real living wage, that is not the case in the care sector.

It is higher than the National Living Wage, which is £8.72 for over 25s. The Living Wage foundation says the Real Living Wage is the only rate based on what people need to live.

Plaid Cymru's Senedd motion calling for a minimum of £10 an hour for social care workers and criticising the UK government's recommendation on health care pay failed to pass - with nine votes for, and 38 against.

It comes as Health Minister Vaughan Gething announced a new bonus payment for health and social care staff.

Ahead of the debate called by Plaid on Wednesday, Mr ap Iorwerth said: "If the other political parties in Wales are serious about this, they will have the chance to back Plaid Cymru's motion in the Senedd today, and commit to delivering a reformed pay and retention settlement for health and social care staff, including a guaranteed minimum of £10 an hour for care workers."

Conservative health spokeswoman Angela Burns said the Welsh Conservatives would implement the "full recommendations" of the NHS pay review body "as an absolute minimum".

She added: "That would be in tandem with our commitment to introduce a reformed pay and retention settlement for health and social care staff, including on a recruit, retain and retrain policy, and a minimum salary of £10 an hour for care staff."

Welsh Labour's Health Minister Vaughan Gething said his government do not want "improved pay to be introduced that is then offset by poorer terms and conditions".

"The majority of care and support is commissioned, and the current arrangements tend to result in low, minimum wages for our front-line workforce."

On Tuesday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething ruled out tax rises to improve social care "in the near future".

Ministers had started looking at proposals to fund social care, including tax rises, prior to the pandemic.

Instead, he said an incoming government could "work towards" introducing the real living wage at an estimated cost of £19m in the first year.