All care workers in Wales will receive a £500 payment in recognition of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford has announced.

Peter Hughes, of trade union Unite, called it a 'tremendous initiative'.

He said: 'This payment goes a small way towards showing the appreciation in Wales for care workers, many of whom are on the minimum wage, who have continued to care for their clients and keep them safe in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances.'

But Paddy McNaught, also of Unite, added: ‘This announcement cannot offset the UK-wide injustice that, after a decade of austerity and pay cuts, council workers have been offered just a 2.75% pay increase, which works out at only £1.83 a day for the lowest paid.