County Durham and Darlington healthcare assistants to strike
Hundreds will walk out in a fair pay dispute
Last updated 28th Aug 2025
UNISON have announced that hundreds of healthcare assistants employed by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust have voted to strike in a fair pay dispute.
The union say staff will walk out in the coming weeks unless there's an improvement in the amount of back pay the trust is prepared to give them, adding the NHS workers have been regraded to a higher band of the NHS Agenda for Change salary scale to reflect increasingly complex tasks.
But UNISON says they deserve adequate back pay to reflect the extra work they've been doing above their pay rate for many years.
The trust awarded just seven months' money but the union says this should be far higher.
The union say despite months of negotiations with the employer to settle the dispute, a fair offer the health workers find acceptable has still not been put forward.
In a ballot that closed yesterday, 99.4% of staff said they will walk out unless the employer comes back with a better deal to compensate them for the extra work they've done.
This is the fifth trust in the North East to be in dispute with staff over wage banding. The other successful campaigns have been at Teesside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, while a dispute in Northumberland is still ongoing.
UNISON Northern regional secretary Clare Williams said: “Healthcare assistants across County Durham and Darlington provide exceptional care to patients. But they feel undervalued and let down by the trust.
“Despite repeated chances to do the right thing, the trust has failed to improve the offer on back pay.
“Being paid for just a matter of months rather than years fails to reflect the complexity of the tasks they've been doing for so long.
“The trust should recognise the vital role healthcare assistants play and ensure staff receive decent compensation for their work, instead of forcing them into a strike no one wants.”
A County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We highly value the hard work, dedication, and contribution of all our healthcare assistants, who play a vital role in patient care across the Trust.
“We are continuing to engage in constructive discussions with UNISON to reach a resolution on this matter.
“Our priority remains ensuring the safe delivery of high-quality care for our patients, and we are working closely with staff and union representatives to avoid any potential disruption.
“We remain committed to treating our staff fairly and in line with national NHS agreements.”