Hi all
As confirmed in the email from Rebecca Sycamore today, the Executive have decided to pay part of this year’s NJC award early. There seems to have been some wavering, with an intention at one point to do this only if the dispute was settled in return. We welcome the decision to pay the money early.
What exactly is this all about?
NJC awards are due from the beginning of the financial year, which falls on 1 April. However, the NJC negotiating process is often long drawn out, so that decisions are reached many months later. The pay award is then paid once the decision has been made, with a backdate to cover the period from 1 April onwards. Families may have gone into debt or suffered hardship in the meantime.
What has the Executive Team decided?
Although we don’t yet know what the NJC agreement for 2022/23 will be, we know that it will not be less than £1,925 per worker, with an additional amount for workers in London, as this is what the employer side has offered. Our Executive Team has agreed to pay the first eight months’ worth of this in November, so that we don’t have to wait until a decision some time next year to get the money. This should mean a payment next month covering the April – November 2022 part of the increase.
What is good about this decision?
Getting part of the 2022/23 settlement sooner, without having to wait for the national agreement to be finalised, will reduce the level of hardship presently facing St Mungo’s workers and for many, will be especially welcome in the approach to Christmas.
What’s not so good?
The inflation which took place in 2021/22 has permanently reduced the value of our pay. Inflation in 2022/23 is on top of that, reducing the value of our wages even further. The pay increase for 2022/23 does something to address the inflation in 2022/23, but does nothing to address the shortfall from 2021/22. That is why Unite is still in dispute.
What happens next?
We will be meeting St Mungo’s senior management and someone from the Board of Trustees on Wednesday to see whether agreement can be reached. There will be a virtual members’ meeting on Thursday at 1pm to discuss next steps. I will circulate a Google Meet link to Unite members closer to the time.
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
Best wishes,
Jacob Sanders
Unite convenor
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