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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Shelter staff to be balloted over fresh pay deal as strike suspended

This news post is over 1 year old
 

Unite members at the charity had been taking part in a fortnight-long strike.

Workers at one of the UK’s most high-profile charities have suspended strike action after a fresh pay offer was made to staff. 

Members of Unite the Union at Shelter are being balloted on a new pay deal following talks between the parties. 

The 600 workers were taking part in a fortnight long strike over pay, which began on December 5.

Talks at the conciliation service Acas resulted in an improved pay offer being made, with the new deal being put to members. 

Unite regional officer Peter Storey said: “Unite has been crystal clear from the outset that we believed that this dispute could and should be resolved through negotiations.

“Following the talks at Acas an improved offer was made and therefore Unite has suspended action to allow its members to be balloted on the proposed deal.”

The walkout came after the organisation’s management attempted to impose a real terms pay cut on its staff.

Management at Shelter has sought to impose a three per cent pay increase on staff, which is a huge real terms pay cut with the true inflation rate (RPI) currently standing at 12.6 per cent.

Unite believes that Shelter is fully able to make a fair pay offer. The charity’s reserves last year stood at around £14.5million, substantially higher than its target reserves of £8.9m.

Following the talks, senior management at Shelter welcomed the move forward. 

Tim Gutteridge, director of finance and strategy enablement at Shelter, said: “We are pleased the strike has been called off, and that through talks we have been able to reach an agreement with the union.

“Our ambition remains the same: to support our colleagues as best we can through these challenging economic times, while being able to deliver our frontline services and campaign work.

“What unites everyone at Shelter is our shared passion and steadfast commitment to defending the right to a safe home. We believe that home means everything, and our fight for home will never stop.”