Housing association tells unions that reserves are ‘not excess funds’ amid strike action

However, Livv, which owns and manages 13,000 homes across Knowsley and Liverpool, stressed that reserves are “not excess funds” and are “essential for maintaining financial stability and supporting future growth”. 

A spokesperson said the pay award of 5% is “one of the highest across the UK housing sector and is not determined by targets or performance measures”.  

It said that as a social housing provider, its financial decisions “must strike a fine balance” between ”sustaining its charitable purpose, maintaining excellent customer service, supporting communities and fairly compensating colleagues”. 

The unions warned that additional strike dates will be announced if the dispute remains unresolved and said there will be “significant disruption” across Livv’s operations, including to tenant services.

Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “After years of below-inflation pay rises, Livv Housing workers have had enough. 

“They know Livv Housing has more than enough money to address the real-terms pay cuts they have endured.

“Their determination to win a fair pay deal is rock solid and they have Unite’s full backing for as long as it takes.” 

James Robinson, branch secretary at Knowsley Unison, said: “Staff need a decent wage rise after seeing their pay slide for years. They put forward a reasonable and affordable claim.

“Strikes are always a last resort, but workers have been left with no other option. They want to return to their jobs and support residents, but they can’t until Livv Housing’s management holds proper negotiations.”

The housing association maintains that all roles are externally benchmarked against the wider market to ensure fairness and transparency.

It said: “This has seen an increase in some colleague salaries of between 2% and 4% in recent months, in addition to the 5% offered. We have also been a Real Living Wage employer for over a decade.”

Plus, as a social housing provider, it pointed out that its financial decisions “must strike a fine balance”.

“Sustain our charitable purpose, maintain excellent customer service, support communities, and fairly compensate colleagues – which is why we believe our 5% award for 2024-25 is a fair deal, especially when compared to the wider employment market. In the last five years, we have offered a cumulative 21.5% pay award to all colleagues and distributed a universal £1,400 cost of living payment,” the spokesperson added.  

“Discussions have advanced from the initial one-year pay deal, and now include a much wider set of requests. 

“In order to thoroughly consider these, we have engaged Acas and are awaiting a date to meet with all parties so we can reach a mutually acceptable outcome. 

“We have requested a pause to the strike action while this conciliation takes place, which would avoid further financial impact to colleagues and minimise the impact on our services to customers. As yet, the unions have not responded to this request. 

“We cannot stress enough that as a not-for-profit housing association, surplus – or reserves – are not excess funds; they are essential for maintaining financial stability and supporting future growth – and are continuously reinvested to improve services and support our communities. 

“We have 13,000 homes, with customers that have a range of different needs. For those who need us during this time, we want to reassure them that we have plans in place that address any operational gaps, and our customer satisfaction levels remain steady and above target. 

“Winter is always a challenging time of year for housing providers, but we are working hard to meet the needs of our communities. We are here for our customers and colleagues throughout this process and beyond.”