Dear colleagues
I’m pleased to tell you that our colleagues at Shelter have won! You may remember that Shelter workers went on strike in December for an improved pay offer. Their bosses thought that a one-off payment of £750 would be enough to deal with the cost of living crisis (similar to St Mungo’s offer of a one-off £700 payment).
Unite members at Shelter have now agreed to end their dispute, having won everything they demanded. They asked for an increase in the one-off payment to £1250, and they got it. They asked for a 7% consolidated pay increase, and they got that too. When we stand together and don’t get distracted by bluster, we win.
Like the bosses at Shelter, our own bosses don’t worry too much about skyrocketing prices because they have six-figure salaries. Like the bosses at Shelter, Mungo’s bosses like to say the organisation doesn’t have the money to pay front-line workers a living wage, even while the published accounts say otherwise.
Let’s be clear about the problem: the real terms pay cut we suffered in 2021/22 will continue to cause suffering until it’s put right. And the solution: we need a change to pay scales that puts that right indefinitely.
A consolidated pay increase means a permanent increase, not just a one-off payment. This is important, because price rises for the things we have to pay for (rent, food, clothes etc.) are generally permanent. Even if the rate of inflation comes down again (and it hasn’t yet) we still suffer the effects of the inflation that has already happened. That is why this year’s pay rise – though it goes some way to keep up with this year’s inflation – cannot make up for the appalling failure to keep up with inflation last year. And it’s why a one-off payment just isn’t enough.
Our next members’ meeting will be at noon on 31 January – I’ll post the online link nearer the time. I look forward to seeing you there.
Best wishes
Jacob
Jacob Sanders
Unite Convenor, St Mungo’s
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