Staff at St Mungo’s homelessness charity have voted in favour of strike action over a pay dispute, after Unite the Union balloted members.
St Mungo’s has confirmed that following the ballot last month, it received official notification from the union about the strike.
Unite said it will be a four-week strike starting on Monday 24 April 2023 and ending on 21 May 2023.
The charity said 382 staff members voted yes to strike action, out of the 578 members who were balloted.
The charity, which employs approximately 1,700 people across London and the south of England, said that if it met Unite’s requests for a pay increase, “it would not remain financially viable as an organisation”.
Unite regional officer Steve O’Donnell said: “St Mungo’s workers’ pay has plummeted but in the last 10 years the pay of senior management has increased by an astonishing 350%. It’s time the charity did the right thing and paid frontline workers properly. Our members are ready for the long haul - it’s time St Mungo’s bosses woke up to that fact.”
Charity reserves ‘depleted’
The pay dispute goes back to 2021, when a 1.75% increase was offered to staff at the charity. Locally, Unite has asked for a 10% backdated pay increase, St Mungo’s has said.
St Mungo’s said it “cannot afford” the pay rise being asked for by Unite, adding it “has been working with its convenors from Unite for many months in order to try to resolve the union's dispute”.
The charity had implemented a 2022-23 pay rise of £1,925 and an additional cost-of-living payment of £700 for the majority of staff.
“St Mungo’s cash reserves have already been depleted in the past 12 months, due in significant part to the one-off payment of £700 to all eligible staff, which cost approximately £1.2m,” a statement on its website reads.
The charity said it “has made a number of offers in an effort to support its staff and to end the dispute, but these offers have been rejected by Unite”.
The postal ballot opened on 24 February 2023 and ran until 31 March 2023, with its results valid for six months.
A statement on the charity’s website reads: “Should any strike action take place, disruption to St Mungo’s services will be inevitable but contingency plans are in place.”
The charity appointed chief executive, Emma Haddad, in November 2022, and has seen striking from staff in the past.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, previously said: “St Mungo’s frontline workers are on the streets every night helping the homeless but many can’t afford to pay their own rent”, adding “frontline staff are facing the full force of the cost-of-living crisis”.
'We are disappointed by the result of the ballot'
A St Mungo’s spokesperson said: “We are disappointed by the result of the ballot but we do, of course, respect the decision of Unite members to take industrial action over the nationally agreed pay settlement for 2021/22.
“St Mungo’s remains committed to continuing to work with Unite and doing all we can to avoid strike action.
“A strike would naturally cause disruption to our services but we have detailed contingency plans in place which will be implemented as needed.
“Our focus is on ensuring that we will be able to continue to run our vital services as safely as possible, and on the wellbeing of our clients and colleagues during this unsettling time.”
Editor's Note: This article was updated on 06/04/23 with details of the strike dates.
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