Shelter strike ends early following improved pay offer

Members will be balloted a second time on the revised pay offer, which Shelter said was a 7% award from 1 December 2022, including 3% paid from 1 April 2022 and an additional 4% paid from 1 December.

Employees will also receive a one-off payment of £1,250. However, £750 of this figure has already been received, with the other £500 to be paid in early 2023.

Unite had been seeking a flat-rate £2,100 consolidated increase for all staff for 2022, arguing that Shelter’s previous offer of 3% plus a one-off £1,500 amounted to a real-terms pay cut in the face of soaring inflation.

The union had maintained that Shelter was capable of increasing its pay offer. The charity’s reserves last year stood at around £14.5m, significantly higher than its target level of £8.9m.

Peter Storey, regional officer at Unite, 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.”

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

He added: “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.”