Unison members at social work charity Choice Support have voted to strike over cuts to their pay, with the union saying the cuts are unjustified as nine directors at the charity earn "astronomical salaries".

Members of trade union Unison voted to strike following the cuts, claiming that it will leave members working at Choice Support facing severe hardship, with real term cuts of thousands of pounds annually.

Choice Support has provided social workers for Wakefield Council for the last several years and was recently successful in its bid to run the contract for at least a further three years.

Unison claims that Choice Support is not a charity in financial difficulty and therefore a pay cut is unjustified.

Gary Cleaver, regional organiser at Unison, said: “The official financial statement for the “charity” for 2013 shows that there are nine directors earning between £60,000 and £120,000 a year.

“These are astronomical salaries and they have increased significantly over the last year.

Choice Support 'disappointed' with strike

Unison claim that Choice Support has informed their members that if they do not agree to the pay cuts they will be served with a notice of dismissal to take place before the end of March 2014. Workers could then be offered re-engagement on worse terms and conditions.

However, a spokesperson for Choice Support has said that only 80 of a total of 343 staff actually took part in the ballot, with 68 voting in favour of the strike. There are 258 staff affected by the proposals in Wakefield.

The charity said it was disappointed that a minority of its workforce has chosen to strike, adding that significant changes to original proposals were made as a result of consultations with staff and recognised trade unions.

Rates of pay will increase for some of the lower paid staff at the charity as a result of the recent changes in pay. Staff that will be negatively effected by the changes have been offered a lump sum payment equivalent to 9 months of any salary reduction.

The charity spokeswoman added: “We will make every effort to ensure the high quality of care we provide for our residents in Wakefield and beyond does not suffer as a consequence of this action.  The changes we are negotiating are necessary so we can continue providing long term, sustainable and high quality care for the people we support.

“Currently, it costs more to provide that care in Wakefield than is available from the public purse. We are not a profit-making organisation, but we have to protect the long term viability of the services we provide so we can continue supporting people in the future and protect people’s jobs.”

CEO salary raises by £10k

However, union representative Cleaver, said: “The chief executive’s salary has risen by at least £10,000 in the last year. It is outrageous that they are paying themselves these huge sums yet slashing the pay of the front-line staff who care for these vulnerable people every working day of their lives.

“How can the board possibly justify forcing our members into poverty while they are paid many times more than the national wage?”

He continued: “Our members will lose their homes if these pay cuts are forced on them. They will be forced to make desperate choices between eating and heating. Many will be forced to leave a job they love and are dedicated to doing because they will not be able to survive.

“They care deeply about the services they provide, but have no choice but to take strike action in defence of their rightful pay and conditions”.