The 48-hour strike was due to begin at 7.30am at Alnwick Infirmary and Berwick Infirmary, along with Hexham General, North Tyneside General, Wansbeck General and Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care hospitals.

The workers had been carrying out tasks – such as taking blood, performing electrocardiogram tests and inserting cannulas – that Unison says should have been paid at a higher hourly rate.

In 2024, the trust accepted the workers were performing duties above their role and they were regraded. However, senior managers have refused to compensate them fully for the extra work they did, Unison says.

The union says the trust's refusal to settle up fairly is out of step with what is happening elsewhere in the region and around the country. Since 2021, over 60 NHS trusts in England and Wales have agreed deals on regrading and back pay for more than 40,000 healthcare workers.

Clare Williams, Unison's northern regional secretary, said: ‘This dispute is about fairness. None of the healthcare assistants want to go on strike. They just want to be paid the money they're owed for work they've done.

'Trusts up and down the country are doing the right thing and compensating their staff properly. It's time senior managers at Northumbria stopped dithering and resolved this dispute.'

In response, a spokesperson from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust worked in partnership with our local Staff Side last year and reached an agreement in principle to re-band the role of nursing assistant from Band 2 to Band 3 with effect from 1 April 2024, with pay backdated to 1 April 2022. We acted quickly to make the banding changes and pay backpay to those who were entitled to it.

'As always, we are committed to working in partnership with our staff side colleagues on local matters, and we will do what is required to ensure the safe care of our patients.'