Below inflation pay rises have robbed NHS workers of a more than a year's worth of salary says TUC

The TUC said its analysis found that the cumulative impact of a decade of real-terms pay cuts and freezes in public sector pay meant that midwives, nurses and physiotherapists have all lost more than a year’s pay.

Maternity and care assistants have suffered a real-terms pay loss of £30,000 since 2010 while nurses and physiotherapists have suffered a cumulative real-terms pay loss of £37,000, said the TUC. Midwives have lost £48,000 since 2010 – the equivalent of 14 months’ worth of salary, it was estimated.

The union organisation warned of a recruitment and retention crisis across the NHS and other key services because of pay. The TUC repeated its calls for the prime minister and chancellor to open up genuine negotiations on pay for this year, warning that industrial unrest will continue until the Treasury ‘freed’ ministers to make decent offers.

Royal College of Nursing members took part in strike action at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, Portsmouth, on January 18-19 and February 8-9.

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TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: ‘Things can’t carry on like this. After a decade of pay suppression, public servants simply cannot afford another real-terms wage hit. Their living standards have been decimated.

‘Instead of ignoring the problem they created, the government must kickstart genuine pay negotiations with unions.

‘Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt hold the keys to unlocking the current disputes, but so far they have acted as a roadblock to finding fair settlements.’

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: ‘These figures show precisely what’s behind the wave of industrial action in the health service this winter. The link between pay and staffing is obvious to everyone but the government.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We hugely value the work of all NHS staff and have given more than 1m workers, including nurses, midwives and physiotherapists, a pay rise of at least £1,400 this financial year – on top of a 3 per cent increase the previous year when wider public sector pay was frozen. The health and social care secretary has met with unions to discuss pay, conditions and workload.’