Nurses across the Midlands stage protests demanding pay rise

Protesters have gathered across the Midlands demanding better pay for NHS workers.

Hundreds of people in Nottingham and Birmingham came together as part of demonstrations across the country.

Unions claim many NHS staff were excluded from a recent pay rise awarded to doctors, teachers and police.

The Government says pay negotiations are due take place in April 2021.

Health service staff were excluded from the wage increase for around 900,000 public sector workers announced a couple of weeks ago because they are in the final year of a three-year pay deal.

However many health workers say the coronavirus crisis means they have been working harder than ever before and should be rewarded for it.

At protests today, many held placards that read "clapping doesn't pay the bills", referring to the weekly round of applause for NHS workers that took place during lockdown.

The Government insists that it values the work of all NHS workers including nurses.

It says it has delivered year-on-year salary increases for nurses as well as increasing the starting salary for a newly-qualified nurse by more than 12%.