The Scottish Government Budget for the year ahead cleared its final hurdle on Tuesday night but Labour accused SNP ministers of selling social care workers short.
The spending plan put forward by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes was passed with support from Green and Lib Dem MSPs after she reached agreements with both parties on Monday.
It will deliver a pay rise for public sector workers, an expansion of the free school meals programme for primary pupils, and free bus travel for those aged 21 and under.
But Scottish Labour opposed the Budget after its call for social care workers to receive a pay uplift to £12 an hour was rejected as being too costly.
The party had backed a call from the GMB union to boost pay for care workers who had served on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie told MSPs: "These are the people who look after some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
"These are the people who during the pandemic faced death on a daily basis - putting themselves and their families at risk.
"These are the people who coped with a lack of appropriate PPE, a lack of guidance and the routine of discharge of covid-positive patients from hospital to care homes.
"It is therefore unacceptable that we are asking people to do those jobs on poverty pay. This is a low-paid, predominantly female workforce.
"Many of them work second jobs to make ends meet. If we cannot recognise them now, when will we recognise them, and recognise the value of what they do for all of us and society."
Setting out his party's opposition to the budget, Labour finance spokesman Daniel Johnson told MSPs: "The median pay for social care workers is around £10 per hour across the UK. The critical work they do has been undervalued and underpaid for far too long.
"The pandemic has simply underlined and magnified this.
"That's why Labour has made the call for social care workers to gain an immediate increase of £12 per hour, with a plan to implement £15 per hour, to recognise their work and build a care system that is skilled, effective and resilient."
He continued: "Make no mistake, increasing pay for social care workers would have been a financial challenge.
"But the cabinet secretary has the financial headroom to deliver it."
Forbes said the government had been clear that social care workers should receive fair levels of pay - but added she could "only promise what can be afforded."
She said: "With limited and non-recurring funding that has flowed from the UK Budget, I've not been able to accede to Labour's position of an initial £12 per hour, leading to £15 per hour.
"An immediate increase to £12 per hour would provide a 26% uplift in the payment from the Real Living Wage of £9.50 per hour, at an estimated cost of £430 million. Moving to £15 per an hour equates to an increase of 58%.
"However, I do believe in recognising the efforts of our social care workers. We have recognised those efforts already with a £500 thankyou and promise to pay the Real Living Wage."
Forbes added the government would consider the final report from the Fair Work in Social Care group due to be published in May.
