Health workers staged a protest at Stormont over pay. Members of the union, Unison, gathered ahead of a meeting of the Health Committee.

Workers are angry that their 2024/25 pay rise has yet to be factored in, meaning their pay has fallen behind wages in the rest of the UK.

Maura McKenna, co-chair of Unison’s Regional Health Committee, said health workers in Northern Ireland were frustrated with their treatment.

“We are told that the minister would like to pay it, but he has no money to pay it. We have staff here working on 1p above the minimum wage and that is not acceptable.”

Unison represents over 27,000 health service workers in Northern Ireland.