Nurses could threaten mass walkouts if Labour rejects NHS unions’ demands for larger pay rises. An independent pay review body recommended an increase of about 3% for 1.38million workers.

Labour is set to approve the recommendation, but health unions are pushing for a higher settlement. A government source said it was hoped a combination of non-pay demands, such as changes to rotas, along with a willingness from staff to avoid industrial action, would help resolve disputes.

The source added: “We came in and we ended the last strike action, that has built up a lot of goodwill. People get very tired of striking for long periods with little pay.”

Last year, the Government accepted the pay review body's recommendations of increases of between 4.75% and 6% in an effort to end long-running strikes across the public sector.

But the prospect of either a lower award this year or departments having to take money from elsewhere to fund pay rises has raised the possibility of further strikes.

Teachers are in line for a 4% pay rise and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has already put the Government on notice of industrial action.

Jo Galbraith-Marten, of the RCN, said the proposed pay rise would “do little to turn things around” as the profession sees “fewer people joining and the numbers quitting skyrocketing”.

She said: “Any pay must be fully funded. Taking resources away from frontline services is unfair on staff and bad for patients.

“We have a live survey of members open on what they think about the Government’s 2.8% proposal and what action, including industrial action, they might be prepared to take.”

Health minister Stephen Kinnock urged unions not to resort to strikes, saying the Government had to work “within fiscal constraints”.

He said: “We will give these recommendations careful consideration. But I would, of course, also urge our colleagues in the trade union movement to engage constructively with us and recognise the reality of the financial position.”

Speaking to broadcasters on Monday, the Prime Minister said he did not want to see strike action, adding that “the last thing” NHS staff wanted to do was to get “into dispute again”.

He said: “If you work with the NHS staff, you get better results than the last government, which just went into battle with them.

“So we have got our doctors and nurses on the front line, not the picket line, and I think everybody appreciates that’s a much better way of doing business.”