CARE sector workers in Wales have called on the Welsh government to honour its election pledge — made 194 days ago — to raise their pay to the “real living wage.”

Welsh Labour’s manifesto for elections to the Senedd in May promised to increase the workers’ hourly rate to that set by the Living Wage Foundation, known as the real living wage, which was recently increased to £9.80 an hour.

Public service union Unison Cymru says that most care sector workers in Wales are paid the government’s statutory minimum wage of £8.91 an hour.

As in the rest of the UK, most care services in Wales are provided by profit-driven private firms or charities.

Unison Cymru says the increase is desperately needed if tens of thousands of vacancies in the care sector are to be filled and it has called on the Welsh government to fulfil its pledge immediately.

Pat Jones, a care worker in Bridgend, said: “In the six months since the election, our debts have increased, bills have rocketed and corners are cut from the family budget.

“That needn’t have happened if the Foundation Living Wage had been introduced as promised.”

Mark Turner, Unison lead officer for social care, said: “The Welsh government could now transform the lives of thousands of mostly female care workers and their families by making sure all are paid the Foundation Living Wage as a minimum.

“Boosting pay would help tackle the recruitment crisis in care. In turn, that would alleviate pressures on the overstretched NHS by ensuring vulnerable people who don’t need emergency care are kept out of hospital.”

A Welsh government spokesperson said: “Delivering the real living wage for social care workers is a priority for this government” and said it would be meeting unions next week.