More than 600 workers at the housing and homeless charity Shelter begin a fortnight of strike action today.
They are taking part in strike action as they say they're worried they could become homeless themselves, due to not being able to afford rent. The dispute over pay started when Shelter's management imposed a 3% pay increase.
Workers say that the pay deal in real terms leaves them with a 11% pay cut, compared to the true inflation rate which is now standing at 14%.
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "It is unforgivable that workers at Shelter find themselves actually being haunted by the prospect of being made homeless. Shelter has sufficient reserves to pay its hardworking and dedicated staff a decent pay rise
but it has chosen not to.
"Our members at Shelter will receive Unite’s complete and unyielding support in their fight for a better deal." The strike action begins today on Monday, December 5, and will end on Friday , December 16.
Shelter’s offices affected by the strike action include its head office in Old Street, London, and offices in Liverpool, Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Blackburn, Norwich, Manchester, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Leeds, and Sheffield.
Pay negotiations allegedly collapsed at the conciliation service Acas last week. At the talks, management refused to increase the pay offer for 2022, instead proposing a pay increase of 4% for 2023/24 with no further pay increase for staff until April 2024, which amounted to a further substantial pay cut of at least 10% for its staff.
One member of Shelter’s staff said: "At the very base level, absolute bare minimum, those working for a housing charity shouldn't be experiencing housing insecurity as a result of being unable to pay rent."
Another added: "I'm a single parent. I'm now in overdraft every month. I go around switching my lights off. I have turned my boiler down. I get stressed when the kids’ school wants me to pay for another school trip. The best acknowledgement my employer can give me for all my hard work is decent pay."
Tim Gutteridge, director of finance and strategy enablement, said: "Regrettably the cost-of-living crisis is impacting both our colleagues and operational costs, and we are doing everything we can to navigate these challenging economic times. Industrial action is not the outcome we wanted after months of talks with the union, but we fully respect people’s right to strike.
"Some of our services and shops will be temporarily impacted during the strike, but we are making every effort to continue to serve those in need of our help. Anyone who needs urgent housing advice should visit www.shelter.org.uk/get_help to access our digital advice, and services information.
"Our ambition remains trying to support colleagues through this difficult period, while being able to deliver our frontline services and campaign work. This year we gave all staff a pay rise – which for non-management staff means an increase of between 8% and 12.3% - consisting of a 3% consolidated increase and a one-off payment of £1,500.
"As a Real Living Wage employer, Shelter is also implementing the Real Living Wage Foundation’s increase of 10.1% from December 2022, much earlier than required, benefiting the colleagues who receive this at the earliest opportunity."
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