A new pay offer has been rejected by staff at St Mungo’s, meaning a month-long strike is set to take place.
The strike will begin on 30 May and end on 26 June, after strike action at the homelessness charity had been paused.
Members of workers’ union Unite had been due to take part in a four-week strike starting on 24 April and ending on 21 May, but it was suspended after the homelessness charity made a revised offer to staff.
The union said the charity increased its 1.75% pay rise offer to 2.25%, but has now been rejected by 91% of 500 staff balloted across southern England.
A St Mungo’s spokesperson said: “We are naturally very disappointed our new offer has been rejected by Unite the Union’s members and that an unprecedented 28 days of strike is due to commence from 30 May to 26 June 2023.
“We have compromised and tried everything possible to reach a reasonable negotiation and avoid strike action, and we believe our new offer was fair and appropriate. Our lines of communication with Unite will remain open as we continue to try to resolve the dispute.
“Our priority is to continue supporting our clients and people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. We have contingency plans in place to minimise the risks to our clients; however, are concerned about the impact prolonged strike action will have on our service users, who are some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.”
They added: “The 1.75% was the pay rise in 2021-22. The latest amount we offered Unite the Union was on top of the 2023-24 pay rise, which is still being negotiated with the National Joint Council (NJC).
“Our additional offer was capped to focus on staff on lower salaries. On top of the fixed sum offer already made by the NJC, this meant the lowest paid would have benefitted the most as both offers were fixed sum increases. Therefore, staff earning up to £25k were expected to gain at least a 10% increase.”
‘The pitiful pay offer has just made everyone in the union angrier’
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Charity workers who are on the streets helping the homeless are now prepared to go on strike for a month for a decent wage. This shows what they think of the way they’ve been treated by St Mungo’s management.”
Graham dubbed the pay offer “pitiful” and said it has “just made everyone in the union angrier”.
“So if the management at St Mungo’s want to avoid a month-long strike they have the answer in their own hands. Make Unite members a decent pay offer. Their indifference to the financial pressures facing their own staff is quite frankly astonishing,” she added.
Unite regional officer Steve O’Donnell said “new members are joining in droves” and the end result will be a stronger month-long strike.
He said: “The workers are at the end of their tether, they don’t want to be on strike but they can’t pay the bills. The bosses need to wake up to this reality so the charity can focus on the invaluable work it does for the homeless.”
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include additional comment from St Mungo's.
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