Workers at the leading homelessness charity are being balloted for industrial action amid a growing dispute over pay and working conditions.
Around 550 staff, members of Unite, have been offered what the union describes as a ‘below-inflation’ 1.5% pay rise. Unite said Shelter’s management has refused to enter negotiations over pay, prompting the ballot, which closes on 19th November.
If members vote in favour, strikes could commence in early December, which is one of the busiest periods for the charity.
Shelter, which was founded in 1966 and campaigns against poverty and homelessness, reported an income of £81.33m in 2023/24, a 10% increase on the previous year. The rise, according to the charity’s annual report, was largely driven by a significant boost in donations.
Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, criticised Shelter’s leadership, describing the offer as ‘completely unacceptable’.
‘It is completely unacceptable for an anti-poverty charity such as Shelter to impose such an unfair deal on its staff, especially the lowest-paid, when it is in a very healthy financial position,’ she said. ‘Unite will not stand by and allow our members to be forced into taking a substantial real-terms pay cut. They will have our full backing throughout this dispute.’
Alongside pay problems, members have cited issues with working conditions. Unite said that for three years it had been in talks with Shelter about piloting a four-day working week and that the charity had previously proposed running a trial in partnership with consultants. However, Shelter has now withdrawn from the talks altogether.
The union claims it offered to scale back its proposal to a nine-day fortnight and delay any trial until current contracts were completed to avoid disruption, but that management still refused to engage.
Peter Storey, regional officer at Unite, said: ‘Shelter is guilty of attempting to impose such a miserable pay deal on staff and shutting down conversations around the four-day week. Any strike action will be very disruptive, but this is of Shelter’s own making. Management must come back to negotiations with an improved offer to avoid this.’
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