Airedale staff met Streeting at the TUC congress in Brighton this week to tell him about the two-tier system at the trust, which they say has left them feeling like ‘second-class citizens'.

Porters, domestics, catering and security staff at the hospital are employed by AGH Solutions (AGHS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, which GMB claims 'does not honour' NHS terms and conditions.

More than 150 Airedale Hospital workers are due to go on strike from 12-15 September as part of the same dispute.

Streeting listened to the workers' concerns and promised to contact the trust to discuss a way forward, the union said.

Sandra Harrison, Airedale hospital worker, said: ‘I've never taken strike action before in my life, but my friends and colleagues at Airedale are desperate.

‘I told the health secretary what it's like for us, being treated like second-class citizens. In fairness, he listened to everything I had to say and promised to contact the trust to try and find a way forward.'

Dennis Kentrop, managing director at AGHS, has previously told Healthcare Management: 'Although some of our staff are on different terms and conditions as a result of their protection under TUPE regulations, we value every member of the team equally. We offer very competitive AGHS pay, terms and conditions which continue to attract talented individuals to the company and provide valuable opportunities for local employment.

'We remain committed to continually improving AGH Solutions Limited as a place to work and, following recent negotiations with GMB, we further improved upon our proposal.

'I hope that we can continue to work with the GMB to resolve this before 12 September. However, should industrial action take place, we have contingency plans in place to maintain the services that we provide to Airedale NHS Foundation Trust.'