The domestics and their supervisors will join pickets outside their workplaces in Blackburn, Rossendale and Burnley on 19, 20 and 23 June.

They are walking out after being underpaid consistently, Unison says.

In addition, the workers are also still awaiting a £1,655 covid recovery payment awarded to other health workers in 2023.

Unison North West regional organiser Sam Doherty said the underpayment issues began when the cleaning contract was previously with OCS and continued when the cleaners were transferred to Mitie.

He said: ‘Mitie was warned the strike action would escalate if the company continued to get its sums wrong, but it has done nothing to resolve these issues.

‘Staff are out of pocket by a considerable sum and regularly struggle to cover essential costs like food and bills while their employer profits at their expense.'

In response, a Mitie spokesperson, said: ‘We have made every effort to find a resolution where possible, including correcting pay errors and securing a pay uplift for supervisors, so are disappointed that Unison members have decided to take industrial action. 

 ‘The dispute over the Covid bonus pay was a historic grievance which Mitie inherited when it took over the contract. As the application process closed in March 2024 before Mitie took over the contract, it was not possible to apply for the funding. 

‘As always, our priority is to ensure that our services continue to be delivered, and we have strong contingency arrangements in place to avoid any disruption.'