Social care workers in Wales have provided key evidence to determine the future of the national minimum wage, Unison has said.

The union is campaigning for a national care service and says care workers should earn at least £15 per hour.

Care staff met with independent advisers to the UK government, known as low pay commissioners, on the national minimum wage on 15 May at Unison’s Cardiff office to give first-hand accounts of their struggles to make ends meet.

Unison Cymru/Wales regional secretary Jess Turner said: “Private care companies are squeezing wages to maximise profits.

“Creating a national care service is the best way to overhaul a system on its knees that is failing the most vulnerable people in society.”