Shelter staff begin strike over fears of becoming homeless

Workers at housing and homelessness charity Shelter have begun two weeks of strike action in a dispute over pay – coinciding with one of its busiest times of the year.

Unite said a three per cent pay increase has left some Shelter staff unable to pay their rent and facing the possibility of becoming homeless themselves. The union also accused the charity’s management of refusing to enter into meaningful negotiations.

Picketing by Brunswick Square, St Paul’s, one Shelter staff member told Bristol24/7: “This is a really difficult decision for us to take. This is the time of year we know people need us the most and we’ve had to walk out, but its the only way we feel we could get heard and listened to.”

Shelter director of strategy enablement Tim Gutteridge said: “Regrettably the cost of living crisis is impacting both our colleagues and operational costs, and we are doing everything we can to navigate these challenging economic times. Industrial action is not the outcome we wanted after months of talks with the union, but we fully respect people’s right to strike.”

The charity said some of its services would be “temporarily impacted” during the strike.

Set to last two weeks from Monday, workers at the charity’s Bristol branch are among 600 staff members across the country taking part in the strike action.

The charity said that it gave all staff a one-off payment of £1,500, but Unite has said this would “leave pay rates at unacceptably low levels, and fail to take into account rampant inflation”.

It added that the imposed three per cent pay increase is “a huge real terms pay cut with the true inflation rate” and management “has refused to return to the negotiating table and has instead begun to impose one off payments”.

Shelter staff members took to the picket line outside its offices in Brunswick Court – photo: Betty Woolerton

Another member of staff on the picket line said some staff members are fighting to make ends meet as the cost of living spirals.

They said: “People are worried that they will receive a letter from the landlord for rent increase or for an eviction. We represent people who are threatened with eviction or homelessness and we feel that we may be at this stage very soon which is very worrying.”

“This is a really sad time for us. We are normally sorting extra activities and Christmas presents and we haven’t been able to do that this year,” another added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmUcAM0sLhg

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Shelter has sufficient reserves to pay its hardworking and dedicated staff a decent par rise but it has chosen not to.”

Gutteridge continued: “Some of our services and shops will be temporarily impacted during the strike, but we are making every effort to continue to serve those in need of our help. Anyone who needs urgent housing advice should visit www.shelter.org.uk to access our digital advice, and services information

“Our ambition remains trying to support colleagues through this difficult period, while being able to deliver our frontline services and campaign work.

The two weeks of strike action will see its staff join postal and rail employees and workers across a number of other sectors who are taking part in industrial action over pay.

Main photo: Vicki Burn

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