Teesside healthcare assistants to go on strike for seven days

Hundreds of healthcare assistants on Teesside are going on strike for a further seven days, a union has said.

Unison has said the workers, who are employed by North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, will walk out for a fourth time next week in their dispute over wage rates and back pay.

The latest action will begin with an initial five-day strike from Monday 10 June to Saturday 15 June.

This will be followed by a further 48-hour period beginning the following Monday 17 June.

Staff say they want to move to wage band which more accurately reflects the work they have been doing and secure a back pay settlement.

Unison Northern regional secretary Clare Williams said: “The trusts’ behaviour is extremely disappointing. They should do the decent thing and get round the negotiating table to talk about back pay and the other outstanding issues.

“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.

“The trusts have been given every opportunity to discuss the situation with the union and Acas but they’ve refused.​

“Unison will continue to support staff in their fight against this pay injustice until the trusts see sense, value their workers and resolve this dispute.”

A spokesperson for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are committed to moving all eligible staff from band 2 to band 3 (if appropriate for the individual.

"We will back pay staff from July 2021 (if they have been employed since that time). We are committed to no detriment, no colleagues will lose out."

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…