Homeless Charity Strikers Win!

Workers at a homeless charity have ended long running industrial action after securing a 10.7% pay increase, reports BBC News.

St Mungo’s employees have been on strike for three months to demand an above inflation pay rise. Based on the median salary within the charity, the increase equates to £3,125 in cash terms – this total includes a one-off payment of £700. Workers are set to return to work on 4 September, the charity said. Unite said the deal also means charity executives will agree to a pay freeze for 2023/24.

Worker’s Liberty reported that all of these gains are real and significant. However, the figures Unite is trumpeting to support its claims of a straightforward victory don’t tell the whole story. Of the £3,125, only £1,200 is “new money” from St. Mungo’s, the remainder based on the £1,925 pay award from the National Joint Council, which covers local government workers and some third-sector and privatised employers working with and for local government. The settlement also includes a £700 one-off payment that is not a consolidated pay increase.

The vote on whether to accept the deal was fairly narrow, with a 42% minority voting to reject and continue strikes (377-246). With consistently well-supported, lively picket lines, effective direct actions targeting prominent donors and trustees, and a demonstration planned for 2 September linking the strikers’ demands to wider issues around homelessness and the housing crisis, there was little indication the strike was losing momentum. That surely suggests more could have been won.

Nevertheless, the outcome is a significant improvement on the charity’s initial offer of a 3.7% increase. It shows that sustained or indefinite action invariably produces better results than stop-start action for 24 or 48 hours, with weeks or months in between strikes.

Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said: “This was a hard-fought battle resulting in victory for St. Mungo’s workers who are dedicated to helping the homeless.” She added that workers took part in the action due to “huge financial and mental pressure”.

Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said: “We are relieved with the outcome as we know this has been a difficult time for everyone involved.”