Staff want NHS rates
Unison has hit out at Addaction’s costly rebrand after staff went on strike over pay.
The drug and alcohol charity changed its name to We Are With You in an exercise that cost around £140,000.
The name change comes into force this week amidst a five-day strike by staff in Wigan in protest over the failure to keep an alleged promise from the charity to increase former NHS workers’ pay in line with other health service workers.
More than 1,600 staff are employed by the organisation in England and Scotland.
NHS workers received a 3% increase this year, having had lower pay rises imposed by the government in recent years.
According to Unison said the increased pay rise would cost the charity £123,000, £17,000 less than was spent on the rebrand.
Paddy Cleary, north-west regional organiser at Unison, said: “The organisation may be changing its name to We Are With You, but for employees a more appropriate name is ‘We Won’t Pay You’.
“Staff are so demoralised by management’s refusal to pay them the NHS rate that they have no option but to take industrial action.
“To discover bosses are splashing out on a costly rebrand rather than paying them fairly is incredibly galling.
“Addaction can’t hide behind fancy rebranding. This issue isn’t going away. A change of name doesn’t change the fact that it must honour the promises made to staff.”
A spokesperson for Addaction told TFN: "We are proud of our service in Wigan. It is a warm, non-judgemental space which helps people to make healthier choices. Anyone can walk in and will be seen by a member of staff on the same day, with the latest Care Quality Commission report giving the service a rating of ‘Good’.
“We know only a minority of people who need support for drug, alcohol and mental health issues in the UK are actively engaging in treatment. We need to do everything in our power to change this. So, for the past 18 months we have been talking to our staff and the people who use our services across the UK. This research has shown that building a warmer, more personal brand will enable us to help more people overcome the barriers to accessing support. When tested, three times as many people surveyed said they would choose We Are With You compared to Addaction. We hope this will help more people to start a new chapter in their lives.
“The cost of the rebrand is a very small portion of our overall budget, with no local service being impacted by it.”
“We have listened to and understood our staff’s concerns and made a new financial offer which we think is fair and sustainable. We are clearly disappointed the majority of staff have rejected this and further action is going ahead. Separately, we are awarding all staff across the whole charity a 2% salary increase in the next financial year. This is true for all our services, from Cornwall to Wigan, to the north of Scotland.
“We are committed to finding a solution that is fair and sustainable for our staff, clients and the whole community and will continue to work with our staff in Wigan and Leigh to achieve this.”
