Cuts to conditions and salary are being contested

Trade union officials are asking RSPCA staff if they want to take industrial action over pay and new contracts.

The dispute centres on proposals to introduce performance-related pay, abandoning the previous incremental pay system.

Unite, the biggest union representing its staff, said the move would exacerbate plummeting morale in an organisation with “endemic bullying”.

Unite regional officer Jesika Parmer said: “Negotiations between Unite and the management over the new pay framework proposals have broken down. These plans will have serious financial implications for our members.

“The new contracts will mean that it will be easier to sack our members which is totally unacceptable - and this move is coming against a background of a culture of bullying at the RSPCA”.

Staff will be balloted on industrial action with voting closing on 5 December.

A spokeperson for the RSPCA said: “We have listened closely to feedback from the union and staff, the majority of whom are not represented by the union, and have made a number of changes based on this.

“The Society has consistently stressed that it has no intention of making any changes to employee policies such as sick pay going forward.”

However Parmer added: “The management makes a great deal of the organisation’s financial difficulties and there are currently a number of major infrastructure projects which are millions of pounds over budget.

“However, it is simply not acceptable that front line staff bear the financial pain for catastrophic mistakes made by senior project managers. According to the society’s own data, the number of senior managers has doubled since 2014 to a total of 37.”