Valiant Care UK strikers in Yorkshire have ended their dispute by accepting a deal that includes a 6 per cent pay rise over three years plus a cash bonus of £500.

The workers’ jobs were privatised when Care UK won a Doncaster Council NHS contract to run the service that provides support for people with learning difficulties.

After winning the contract Care UK slashed wages by 35 per cent and axed holidays.

Over 12 months the members of public service union Unison staged 90 days of strike action — the longest in the history of health and social care in Britain.

Unison regional organiser Jim Bell said: “We have been able, by our action, to win 12 months’ pay protection tax free, we have restored the principle of premium rates for unsocial hours and we have won a 2 per cent or consumer price index pay award, whichever is the greater, for the next three years, as well as a £500 unconsolidated payment this year.”