Further Strike Action at One Housing Group in Support of Sacked Steward Bryan Kennedy

Strike action calling for the reinstatement of sacked steward, Bryan Kennedy, will take place from Friday the 8th of August to Monday 11th August.

There will be a Picket line (Friday 8th and Monday 11th) at the One Housing Headquarters, 100 Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8EH (next to the Round House in Camden) 8am to 3pm. Nearest tube Chalk Farm. 

Bryan was sacked by One Housing Group for organising Strike action to try and protect care and support workers facing pay cuts. 

"Care & Support workers deserve a Fair Deal, says UNISON"

Check out our branch protest this Friday 11th April 2014, 9-10am at Outward, Newlon House, 4 Daneland Walk, Hale Village, London, N17 9FE. This has been picked up by Inside Housing. 

Press release "Low paid workers who care for some of north and east London’s most vulnerable people will be demonstrating to demand a fair deal over pay.

Over 400 workers are employed by Outward to provide care and support to people with severe learning disabilities and Autism Spectrum conditions. Most earn below the London Living Wage. Their employer is proposing to cut pay, extend the working week and implement a restructure which staff say will make services less viable.

UNISON members are lobbying their management to protest against the proposed cuts and to demand a Living Wage* for all staff.

UNISON Housing Associations Branch Caseworker Nazan Sen said: “Staff at Outward are being paid below the Living Wage and took a pay cut in the last restructure less than three years ago. They do a hard job, which is a lifeline for those they support.”

“If people are not paid enough to live on they will get a job elsewhere. This will have a direct effect on quality of care for very vulnerable people.”

“The London Living Wage is not an extravagance, it is simply the minimum necessary for a dignified life and the increasing numbers of employers who pay it recognise the benefits it offers in improving staff morale and retention.”

Support worker Donna Shannon said: “My job means a lot to me, I can see the difference I make every day, but I can’t afford to work for less.”

The lobby will take place on Friday 11th April, 9-10am, at Outward’s management offices in Tottenham Hale.

For more information contact Josephine Grahl, UNISON Housing Associations Branch Outreach worker, on 020 7697 4030/4033 or info@unisonhablondon.org

One Housing Group Strike Picket line

During lunch time today I went to show solidarity with other members from my employer at the Unite picket line outside One Housing Group headquarters in Chalk Farm, North London.

It was rather damp from the rain but a very lively and colourful picket line with even its own PA music system.

One Housing Group (click on the label below for the various posts I have made over the years about this organisation) have a surplus (aka "profit" in the housing association world) of £35.8 million this year. Their CEO has taken a £31,000 pay increase while at the same time they are making their front line care and support workers take pay cuts of up to £8,000. One Housing claim that they are being forced to slash wages due to government cuts. I get this - but the pay and privileges of the Senior Management Team remains the same or even increases? Why can't vulnerable low paid staff have decent protections?

They have now had 9 days of strike action and the last day (so far) of strike action will be on Monday 9 September. The picket line is less than 3 minutes walk from Chalk Farm underground station (Northern Line).

Picture of Unite Executive Council member, Kingsley Abrams, speaking to the picket line.  

One Housing Group...Shaping Local Communities by cutting pay?

Inside Housing magazine report here on an attack by Unite on One Housing Group for planning pay cuts to its care and support workers.

I note that One Housing claims to be "building affordable homes and shaping local communities". I wonder where they think their own workers will be able to afford to live when they cut their wages? What do they mean by "shaping local communities"? Into minimum wage zones?

The Chief Executive of One Housing Group in 2010/11 got at least £134,000 in pay (One Housing apparently refused  to disclose his bonus or how much his lease car cost).

In a response by a reporter about the prospect of industrial action I made this comment on the Inside Housing website. "I think that it is almost inevitable that there will be serious and sustained industrial action and further conflict. A small number of rogue employers are leading a race to the bottom and actively under cutting good employers. Workers in our sector are being to realise that they cannot depend on TUPE or employment law and that as a last resort they will have no alternative but to take action to defend not only their own pay and conditions but also to protect our clients and retain quality services".

photo Left Futures