Unite press release

For immediate release: Monday 6 March 2023

Rebellion at St Mungo’s homeless charity by underpaid and fed-up workers

CEO paid more than £189,000 according to published accounts while workers can’t afford their rents.

Workers now voting in strike ballot.

Dedicated charity workers who are fed up with greed at the top of their homeless charity while they struggle to make ends meet are now being balloted for strike action.

Unite is balloting over 500 workers across southern England including; London, Bristol, Brighton, Oxford, Bournemouth, Reading.

Since 2013 St Mungo’s Chief Executives have seen their pay at the charity spiral by 77% from £107,000 to more than £189,000 (according to the latest published accounts). The newly appointed CEO is Emma Haddad.

In stark contrast, the real value of the wages of St Mungo’s workers, many of whom work on the streets helping the homeless, has plummeted by 25% over a similar time frame. A front line worker earns around £26,000. In the last ten years the pay of senior management in St Mungo’s has increased by 350%.

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “St Mungo’s frontline workers are on the streets every night helping the homeless but many can’t afford to pay their own rent.

“Now the workers are rebelling - they have no other choice.  While charity bosses live the good life, frontline staff are facing the full force of the cost of living crisis.

“The charity can easily afford to give workers a fair pay deal and Unite is firmly on their side.”

The current row goes back to the refusal of the charity to resolve pay for 2021 when bosses imposed a disgraceful 1.75% increase. Despite over a year of patient negotiations by staff, bosses at St Mungo’s have refused to budge except for an unconsolidated £700 payment. But the charity’s total reserves as of 31 March 2022 were almost £15 million. The charity’s latest year-end cash balance was £22.5 million. 

ENDS

Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315  

Twitter: @unitetheunion Facebook: unitetheunion1 Instagram: unitetheunion

Web: unitetheunion.org

Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.