NEWPORT council must pay more money to social workers or face a recruitment crisis, a boss has warned.

Ellis Williams, director of social services, said his staff are leaving and their positions going unfilled because salaries are too low.

He said that compared to neighbouring councils Newport is offering £2,600 less for social workers, £2,000 less for senior social workers and £3,000 less for team leaders.

Social workers can earn between £18,000 and £26,000.

Torfaen council was once forced to look abroad to recruit social workers and Blaenau Gwent recently introduced a sweetener bonus payment of £2,000 in a bid to attract new staff.

Mr Williams said: "Of all the risks we face this is the one that worries me the most. We are lagging behind neighbouring authorities.

"It's not just about terms and pay. The concern is that workers begin to feel they are less valued."

He said many staff have left to go and work for other councils in Gwent, who offer higher pay and more perks, such as allowances for car usage.

He said there are so few takers for Newport jobs that he often has little or no choice in picking new staff and has to resort to inexperienced candidates.

He added: "The number of applicants we are getting is now minimal. Often there are only one or two for a position. Newport's attractiveness as an employer is a serious issue.

"Newport needs to be competitive in the market place to avert any potential recruitment crisis. We need to act now rather than react later."

Council leader councillor Bob Bright said: "This issue is shared by many authorities throughout Wales and we are looking at it."

Chris Freegard, managing director of the council, said: "This is a key area that we will look at this year. We are benchmarking our salaries with England and Wales. We need to have some more definitive information."

The council has highlighted staff recruitment and retention as an issue to be tackled by a Wales Programme for Improvement project this year.