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Lengthy strike action kicks off at North West landlord over asbestos safety fears
Around 100 staff at Magenta Living have today started a series of week-long strikes over the housing association’s new policy on how it expects workers to deal with asbestos.
Unite the Union said more than 100 of its members who work in repairs and maintenance for the Wirral-based landlord have walked out after talks broke down.
Magenta, which manages around 13,000 homes, said it is “deeply saddened” by the strike and that all tenants’ emergency and urgent repair requests will be dealt with.
It added that it has been in consultation with the union over the policy for more than two years and said its guidance is in line with “industry best practice”.
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According to the union, Magenta has introduced a new policy on dealing with asbestos in its properties. Under the previous policy, staff were trained to stop work when they found asbestos, with a view to bringing in specialist contractors.
However, Unite said the new policy means workers are “expected to work” with asbestos.
Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said: “The actions of Magenta Living are deplorable. It is trying to force our members to undertake work they are not properly trained for, which risks their lives and that of tenants.”
Unite has claimed the strike will lead to delays in repairs.
Strike action is planned every other week for the next two-and-a-half months, with the last week of action starting on 17 April. In total, 30 days of strike action are planned, Unite said.
In response, Magenta said it had been consulting with Unite for two years on the issue.
“Customer and colleague safety is our priority and we have developed robust procedures with an independent industry expert who has confirmed this is the safest way of working around low-risk asbestos materials,” the landlord said.
Magenta said the procedures follow the Health and Safety Executive’s ‘asbestos essentials’ guidance and “mirror industry best practice widely adopted across the housing sector and amongst the construction industry nationwide”.
Staff members who “still feel uncomfortable about working with low-risk asbestos materials” have been offered extra training, the group said.
It added: “We are deeply saddened that this strike action is being taken despite us continuing to hold discussions throughout last week, with the offer of additional remuneration, further training, help and support.
“We want to assure our customers that all emergency and urgent repair requests will be dealt with in the usual way when they phone our 24/7 contact centre. There may be some disruption to routine repairs which will need to be moved to a later date.”
Magenta currently has a G1/V1 rating with the Regulator of Social Housing. In 2019, it was found to have breached the regulator’s Home Standard for failing to address electrical safety issues.
The landlord has a relatively new chief executive, as former Places for People executive Debi Marriott-Lavery took the reins in November. She replaced Brian Simpson, who had been in charge of Magenta for 17 years.
The strike action at Magenta follows Unite announcing it was planning action against Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing over the G15 landlord’s move to end its recognition of the union.
