Incremental pay rises for nurses working in Wales will not be affected by a pay freeze, ministers have said.

Carwyn Jones, first minister for Wales, made a statement to the Welsh Assembly which follows the deal recently proposed by NHS Employers in England - but, crucially, was rejected - that Agenda for Change increment increases should be frozen, in return for no compulsory redundancies.

This deal, as reported in NursingTimes.net, is in addition to the two year freeze on the cost of living pay rises for UK public sector workers announced in June.

Jones, who took a question from assembly member Helen Mary Jones on the issue, stated: "Incremental pay progression is unaffected by the pay freeze."

The deal will be come as a relief for those worried about the pay of nurse manager jobs and general employment in the nursing industry.

Tina Donnelly, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, has called on other UK governments to follow suit after "warmly" welcoming the statement.

"Pay increments reward the skills, experience and competence that staff gain each additional year they spend doing a job. Increments also help recruit and retain the highly skilled nurses the NHS and patients depend on to provide high quality healthcare."