A month-long strike by Unite members at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s has been extended indefinitely, Third Sector can reveal.
It is understood that volunteers have been told that they will no longer be able to return to their roles on 27 June as had been planned.
Meanwhile, some striking workers have been using the phrase “indefinite strike action” when tweeting about the dispute from picket lines.
Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said: “It was unexpected to hear that Unite the Union 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 between Unite members and St Mungo’s has been rumbling on for many months.
In May, union members rejected what Unite called a “pitiful” pay increase offer.
About 500 St Mungo’s employees walked out from 30 May, with a planned 27 June return.
The charity has about 1,700 staff including locums.
It followed an offer from the charity’s bosses to raise the original salary increase from 1.75 per cent to what Unite said amounted to an average of 2.25 per cent per front-line worker, as part of a bid to end the long-running dispute.
The charity said the 1.75 per cent increase was the pay rise for 2021/22 and the latest amount was on top of the 2023/24 pay rise, which was still being negotiated with the National Joint Council.
It said its additional offer was capped to focus on staff on lower salaries and would mean the lowest-paid employees would have benefitted the most because both offers were fixed sum increases.
It said staff earning up to £25,000 a year were expected to gain at least a 10 per cent increase.
St Mungo’s employees announced plans for a month-long strike in April, but subsequently suspended it after the charity pledged to present workers with the latest pay offer.
Unite has been contacted for comment.