More than 500 staff at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s are being balloted on strike action.
Unite the Union is balloting members after the charity “refused to budge” on a 1.75 per cent pay offer made in 2021/22.
It comes less than two years after some St Mungo’s employees ended a separate three-month strike over how bullying complaints had been handled at the charity.
Unite said that salaries for St Mungo’s best-paid executives had increased sharply in actual terms in the last decade while wages for frontline staff had been static in real terms.
The charity said it was disappointed at Unite’s decision, adding that the majority of its staff had received a one-off, cost-of-living payment of £700 and an average pay increase of 5.5 per cent in 2022/23.
The union did not say what pay increase staff should receive but argued that the charity could “easily afford” to improve its 2021/22 offer, suggesting costs could be covered from St Mungo’s reserves.
Free reserves were worth £13m at the end of March 2022, but the charity said they had fallen in value since then.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: “St Mungo’s frontline workers are on the streets every night helping the homeless but many can’t afford to pay their own rent.
“Now the workers are rebelling. They have no other choice. While charity bosses live the good life, frontline staff are facing the full force of the cost-of-living crisis.
“The charity can easily afford to give workers a fair pay deal and Unite is firmly on their side.”
The ballot will affect employees working for St Mungo’s across the south of England, including in London, Bristol, Brighton, Oxford, Bournemouth and Reading.
A St Mungo’s spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that our efforts to conclude this matter – which include early adoption and implementation of the 2022/23 pay rise of £1,925 (an average increase of 5.5 per cent) and an additional cost-of-living payment of £700 for the majority of our staff – have so far been unsuccessful.
“It is also important to note that figures quoted related to St Mungo’s reserves do not reflect the current situation but that at the end of March 2022.
“These reserves have been impacted by a number of factors, including early payment of the 2022/23 pay rise and the cost-of-living payment.”
They continued: “We will continue to do all we can to avoid a strike, for our colleagues, for our partners and most importantly for our clients.”
The strike ballot opened in February and runs until the end of this month.