Inflation-busting deal agreed for St Mungo's workers
Staff at the homelessness charity started their walkout back in May
Last updated 25th Aug 2023
Hundreds of workers at the homelessness charity St Mungo's - which has bases across the south of England - have ended their long-running strike over pay and conditions.
It's after staff have agreed to a pay increase, which, according to the Unite Union, works out at 10.74%, on average.
This means, for those on a median wage, workers will receive a boost of £3125 a year, with the total financial gain including a one-off payment of £700 for most workers.
The cash-based deal also means the lower paid workers will get a bigger share of the pot, too, and the charity have agreed with the union to freeze the pay of executive directors for the 2023/24 financial year.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “This was a hard-fought battle resulting in victory for St. Mungo’s workers who are dedicated to helping the homeless.”
“The workers took action because they were under huge financial and mental pressure and they weren’t being listened to by management.”
“Unite will continue to defend workers when employers refuse to do so, in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions for our members.”
St Mungo’s workers’ pay is normally pegged to local authority pay rates under the NJC agreement.
However, for the first time, a result of the strike action has delivered a pay increase above the NJC rate.
Unite national lead officer, Onay Kasab said: “The reps and activists have delivered a fantastic result plus hundreds of new Unite members. The pay deal isn’t just inflation beating it goes above and beyond previous pay deals at St Mungo’s which always matched local authority agreements.
“The workers are to be congratulated for their resilience and determination.”
The strike began on 30 May.
The dispute involved Unite members across southern England including in London, Bristol, Brighton, Oxford, Bournemouth and Reading.
The news follows a change in the law, which meant the charity couldn't bring in agency workers to replace those who were striking.
You can read more about that here: St Mungo's 'should hang its head in shame', claim Unite