Westminster St Mungo’s workers on the picket line during the strike

CHARITY workers say they are going back to work “more united than ever” after an “indefinite” strike came to an end.

Dozens of Unite members at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s had been locked in a dispute over pay for 13 weeks.

The union said it had won the battle after accepting an offer of around £1,200 – an agreement some case workers said amounted to a hollow victory.

But they are refusing to give up on the struggle for reform, with a march planned this weekend from “Cardboard City” to the Home Office.

Zak Cochrane, who works with the homeless in Westminster, said: “I am going back, my head held high. The members have been fantastic. We had been isolated as a group of workers. So I’m proud of what we have achieved. But I have a feeling we could have got more and we deserve more. What we got, that’s not what we came out on strike for. So it is tinged with sadness.

“We had three colleagues that have lost their accommodation. Others are using food banks. The amount we have got isn’t going to address the scale of the cost of living crisis. The struggle on those fronts must continue. But we have a bigger shop… and are more confident and united than ever before.”

More than £50,000 was raised through hardship funds during the strike action, Mr Cochrane said. There was a bigger picture about the “disconnect” between big money directors and corporate operating style of charities and the people who work on the front line, he said.

“It’s a tough job but it’s all right because you get along with the people you work with, and the clients. The problem is the people in the boardroom making the decisions.

“But I feel like we have an engaged membership now and we are going to continue to fight for the future of the sector.

“We are going ahead with a march on Saturday. It’s about the future of the homelessness sector, we need to organise together.”

The agreement Unite has reached was billed as a 10 per cent pay rise of around £3,000. But workers said that around two-thirds of that hike was already set to happen at the time of the walkout.

The Extra has reported in recent weeks on serious concerns from staff at the hostels run by St Mungo’s about living conditions, damp and infestations. There has also been a sense that the workforce is stretched unbearably thin, and that homeless people are suffering as a result.

Gareth Davies, a St Mungo’s support worker based at the charity’s Covent Garden hostel, said of the strike coming to an end: “It feels really strange. It’s been my entire life for the last three months. A lot of people are really frustrated with the pay offer. The specific £1,200 is an extra £100 a month pre tax.

“If you were looking at how much breathing room you’ll get in central London, I work in Covent Garden, I can’t think about renting anywhere close to where I work. An extra £100 is not going to materially support me to move closer, or support my travel costs.

“I’m very emotionally invested. It means a huge amount that we’ve won anything at all, but if you’re looking at someone’s budget, this is not going to relieve the pressure on them.

“I will continue working here. I really care about my clients and the work done by front-line workers is so important.

“It can be lifesaving.”

Last Friday Unite members accepted what has been described as a “10.74 per cent pay increase”, which some workers have found misleading. The increase includes an annual £1,200 pay rise from St Mungo’s but also a £1,925 increase from the National Joint Council, which employees “would have received anyway” irrespective of the strike. The NJC sets pay for local authority workers and is separate from the dispute.

However the official line from Unite is that the strike was a victory. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This was a hard-fought battle resulting in victory for St Mungo’s workers who are dedicated to helping the homeless.

“The workers took action because they were under huge financial and mental pressure and they weren’t being listened to by management.”

St Mungo’s chief executive Emma Haddad said: “We are relieved with the outcome, as we know this has been a difficult time for everyone involved. We look forward to working together with our colleagues and our partners as we continue to support people recovering from, or at risk of, homelessness.”