NHS workers have been left disappointed at Labour as annual pay rises due today are delayed again, leaving colleagues from overseas facing deportation for earning less than the national minimum wage, health unions have warned.

Unison and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) criticised the government’s decision to stick with the “painfully slow” NHS pay review body process, as it means yet another lengthy delay before health workers in England get their wage rise.

Unison head of health Helga Pile said: “NHS staff have had their hopes of a prompt pay rise dashed once again.

“It looks like the government is simply repeating the mistakes of the past.”

Unions and front-line workers had hoped the change of government would signal a break from the past and ministers would avoid repeating the pay mistakes of their predecessors, said Unison.

But the government has refused union requests to hold direct talks that could have sped up the pay-setting process, preferring instead to wait for the review body to make its recommendation. 

Some overseas workers could now be deported because they’re unable to renew their visas as they will no longer meet the salary threshold for staff on the health and care visa, which due to rise to £25,000 a year next week. 

More than half a million NHS nursing staff due the annual pay rise today are furious over the government failing to pay them fairly and on time, said the RCN.

Charlie, a nurse working in a hospital in south-east England, said: “We hear a lot about how we are the backbone of the NHS, even from the Health Secretary himself.

“Nursing staff and our expertise will be vital to rescue the NHS, but we’re not worthy of a proper pay rise that comes on time. It’s unacceptable and he needs to get a grip.”

Others said Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s failure to deliver a pay rise was further exposing them to cost-of-living pressures.

RCN executive director of legal and member relations Jo Galbraith-Marten added: “There are tens of thousands of empty nursing posts, student recruitment is collapsing and the numbers quitting nursing early is skyrocketing.

“By delaying a pay award, ministers are charting course for the nursing workforce crisis to deepen.”

The Department of Health and Social Care was contacted for comment.