The action includes a five-day strike from Monday, 10 June to Saturday, 15 June, followed by a further 48-hour strike beginning on Monday, 17 June.

Unison Northern regional secretary Clare Williams, said: ‘Healthcare assistants have done unpaid clinical work for years and it's time for the employers to talk with the union to find a fair level of back pay. This dispute needs to be settled once and for all.'

Union members says they need to be moved to a NHS Agenda for Change wage band that more accurately reflects their work and have called for a fair back pay settlement.

Unison said it had withdrawn from talks with the with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service after the trusts refused to enter negotiations.

The Government laid out guidance on the rebanding of healthcare assistants from the band 2 to band 3 pay range in July 2021.

University Hospitals Tees (North Tees and Hartlepool and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts) said they were committed to moving all eligible staff to the higher pay grade if eligible.

Healthcare assistants at five hospitals run by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group, also launched a three-day strike this week as part of a long running dispute over pay.