Vic nurses happy, but opposition unhappy

The state's nurses and midwives are happy, and so is the Victorian government, but the opposition says their new pay deal is bad news.

The Australian Nursery and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch and the state government have agreed to a new deal with pay rises between three and 20 per cent, depending on a nurse's grade, which brings them into line with their NSW counterparts.

The new eight-year agreement includes a base increase of 2.5 per cent a year in accordance with the government's fair pay guide, as well as changes to sick leave entitlements and a new career structure.

But even though the deal struck on Thursday averts industrial action, the coalition does not think the government should have agreed to the wage increases.

Opposition health spokesman Mary Wooldridge says the new deal is "generous and expensive".

Nurses have "gotten everything they wanted out of this government", she said in a statement on Thursday.