St Mungo's: Staff at homeless charity begin indefinite strike over pay

Staff at homeless charity St Mungo's are to begin an indefinite strike from Tuesday in a dispute over pay.

An initial month-long strike ended on Monday, but union members voted to extend it earlier this month.

Trade union Unite said the "momentous" decision had been taken because the charity had refused to improve a "pitiful" offer of a 2.25% rise.

St Mungo's has said it could not meet Unite's demands and remain "financially viable as an organisation".

The dispute relates to pay for the last financial year, 2021/22.

The charity says it has already applied a rise of 1.75% to salaries in that year, but that Unite has asked for a backdated and consolidated rise of 10%.

It says meeting the request for the last and current financial year would cost a total of £9.7m and that its cash reserves have already been depleted over the last 12 months, in part by additional payments already made to staff.

All eligible employees have already received an average rise of 5.5% for the financial year 2022/23 and some have received a £700 one-off payment to help with the cost of living, the charity says.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "St Mungo's workers are taking indefinite strike action because management and the trustees are displaying astonishing callousness.

"This attitude is corporate Britain meets the charity sector. The workers know St Mungo's can afford to improve frontline workers' pay. That's why the blame for this indefinite strike lies with Mungo's management and board."

Figures released last week showed the UK's inflation rate in the 12 months to May was 8.7%, although price rises for some goods that make up a significant portion of household costs - such as food and energy - have been considerably higher.

Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo's, said: "It was unexpected to hear that Unite has extended its period of strike action indefinitely.

"We are in the middle of discussions aimed at finding a solution and had a constructive meeting with Unite representatives on 12 June.

"Bringing an end to this unprecedented period of industrial action remains our key priority, so we can all focus on working together to support people at risk of, or recovering from, homelessness."

The dispute comes after Prince William launched a five-year campaign to end homelessness in the UK, saying the phenomenon should not exist in a "modern and progressive society".