UK homeless charity St Mungo’s staff strike over pitiful 2.25% pay rise dispute

Homeless charity St Mungo’s is facing a month-long strike from its staff, beginning today, as workers protest against what they consider an insufficient pay increase. Unite union members will form picket lines outside the charity’s offices in London, Brighton, Bristol, and Oxford. According to the union, the employees are “taking a stand” following a “pitiful” offer of a 2.25% pay rise.

The dispute revolves around pay for the 2021/22 financial year. St Mungo’s claims it has already applied a 1.75% increase to salaries for that year, but Unite is demanding a backdated and consolidated 10% rise. The charity argues that meeting this request for the last and current financial year would cost a total of £9.7 million, rendering it financially unviable. St Mungo’s also notes that eligible staff have received an average 5.5% increase for the 2022/23 financial year, with some also receiving a £700 (30,000 baht) payment to help with living costs.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said…

“Charity workers who should be on the streets helping the homeless have reached a breaking point.”

She added that management’s decision to offer a meagre 2.25% pay rise has “spectacularly backfired.”

The strike is scheduled to last for 28 days, concluding on June 26. St Mungo’s CEO Emma Haddad said that the offers already made amount to “at least 10% for those colleagues on the lowest salaries.” She claimed that Unite had voted against this offer. Haddad described the four-week strike as “unprecedented and disproportionate,” but assured that her door remains open to Unite throughout the strike.