Housing repairs strike drags on as Unite rejects Haringey Council offer

The industrial dispute between Haringey Council and Unite union members has been ongoing for over a year, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Haringey’s housing repair workers on the picket line in Wood Green (credit Damian Brennan)

Unite union members from Haringey Council’s housing repairs department have entered their fifth week of a continuous strike.

The housing repair workers have been on strike since 15th October following an ongoing industrial dispute with the council that began in September 2023.

Workers have slammed the local authority for its “chronic mismanagement combined with flatlining pay rates”.

The union added that “no meaningful” negotiations have taken place in the lead-up to the walk-out.

In response, Sarah Williams, the council’s cabinet member for housing and planning, said that during negotiations the council had previously made an offer which guaranteed an “increase to the average pay, London weighting and annual leave entitlement”.

However, Unite rejected the offer.

Damian Brennan, a Unite workplace representative, said: “We’ve had one offer and it was an offer to move to the ‘green book’ [national pay and conditions that cover some local authority employees] and it would have meant a pay cut for many staff, a de-skilling of workers [a change in job title] and change to our terms and conditions.”

Housing maintenance workers, due to having different working patterns, typically follow the ‘red book’ approach to employment with local authorities.

After Haringey’s housing repairs service was brought back in-house in 2022, Damian said workers expected “an improvement in industrial relations”.

He said: “Instead we have had a wasted two years in decline rather than time spent improving the repairs service, increasing efficiency and productivity.

“We have taken this action as a last resort. We know the impact it is having on the service to residents and the cost to the council.”

In response, Cllr Williams said: “We value all our staff and strive to be a fair and welcoming employer. We are very disappointed that our offer has been rejected by the Unite union – a decision that doesn’t serve our residents well.

“This strike action relates to a local pay dispute about terms and conditions. The housing repairs staff who are members of Unite have already accepted enhanced pay as part of a national agreement in 2023.

“We have made an offer to Unite members which guarantees an increase to the average pay, London weighting and annual leave entitlement.

“We are willing and open to negotiation, but we will not compromise on the core principles of fairness or agree to terms that are inconsistent with the rest of the council workforce.

“We want to reassure all our tenants and leaseholders that we are doing all we can to minimise any knock-on effect on our residents during the strike days.

“All repairs can be reported to us in the usual way, and we expect to deal with emergencies within the usual 24 hours to keep our residents safe and comfortable.”

On the national agreement, Damian said it represented a “real terms” pay cut.

He said: “It doesn’t relate to the market, the pay rates for our contractors for instance have gone up by 48% over the last eight or nine years while our rates have stayed the same. If you go out into the market and look for a plumber or electrician you’ll pay a premium because you’re in London.”

Damian said Unite had a mandate to “take the action we need up to March 2025”.

He said: “We hope that a resolution is agreed before then but will renew it again if not.”

Workers will hold a protest outside Haringey’s full council meeting tonight, after protesting outside numerous meeting this month.

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