Hospital attendants at Waikato Hospital are going on strike for 24 hours on Thursday.

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The 100 attendants, members of Unite Union, want to be paid the living wage.

Attendants do tasks such as transporting rubbish and laundry; sorting mail; and moving specialised medical equipment and patients.

Unite national secretary Gerard Hehir said $20 an hour was absolutely justified as a base rate for the work.

He said Waikato District Health Board was claiming that because some attendants get paid night or weekend rates they were already getting a living wage.

They have been negotiating with the DHB since November last year.