The Welsh government has announced above inflation pay rises for public sector workers.

Nurses, other NHS staff and teachers will get a 5.5% award, while doctors and dentists will receive 6%, backdated to April, all in line with England.

Officials are confident they will get extra cash from the UK government to pay for the rises, but said it was not possible at this stage to say how much was needed.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, said: “People across Wales have told us over the summer that public sector workers are the backbone of the services we all rely on… They want them to be fairly rewarded for the vital work they do.”

She added: “These pay awards reflect how we value them and respect their hard work.

“But the public has also been clear they want to see improvements in public services – especially in the NHS and education. We will work with these services to deliver on what people have told us over the summer listening exercise.”

The Welsh government said it was accepting the recommendations of independent pay bodies in full for 2024-25 – the current financial year.

Junior doctors will also get an additional £1,000, and there will be an average pay award of 5% at a number of other public bodies, including Natural Resources Wales and the Development Bank of Wales.

Officials said the teachers award was higher than the 4.3% recommended by the Welsh pay body and is in line with the English award, on the basis that there should be no detriment to Welsh teachers from decisions made by the UK government.

The awards will need to be approved by the trade unions. A four-week consultation will now start on teacher’s pay.

The current rate of consumer price inflation stands at 2.2%.

It comes after the UK government approved the recommendations of public sector pay bodies in the summer.

The Welsh government gets most of its money from the UK government. Officials are confident they will get cash off the back of extra funding for pay in England, helping to avoid cuts to funding elsewhere as a result.

Journalists were told on Tuesday that enough is known about what the Treasury might have to give UK government departments to make an estimate of what Wales was going to get.

This will be to fund the difference between what pay was initially expected to rise by – 3.5% – and the now planned increases.

But officials were unable to provide a figure for how much the Welsh government expects it to cost from its £20bn budget – instead saying this would be confirmed later in the year.

Final numbers on the consequential funding for Wales from the English pay increases were not available either.