Leeds care groups’ staff face pay cut ‘injustice’

WORKERS at voluntary organisations in Leeds are facing pay cuts that a union fears will “devastate service” provided to some of the city’s most vulnerable people.

Public service union Unison claims that some groups have plans to slash annual wages by up to £3,000.

Its members have been balloted over possible industrial action and it has pledged to campaign against what it has described as “grossly unjust” pay cuts.

Unison regional organiser Tony Pearson said the management in some organisations in Leeds, which provided housing advice, day care and support for vulnerable people, were engaged in a “race to the bottom” to create low wages.

He said: “They intend to grow their businesses by forcing their staff on to poverty wages. Trained staff will not be able to survive on poverty pay and will be driven away.

“This means services to vulnerable people will automatically suffer and many could be destroyed altogether.”

Mr Pearson said his union was urging the city council to ensure that when it awarded contracts to organisations to provide services, wages for frontline staff were protected.

Many organisations rely on council contracts and other public funding to carry out their services and are facing cutbacks as public spending is reduced.

One of the organisations cutting salaries is Touchstone, which provides a wide range of services for people with mental health problems.

Alison Lowe, Touchstone chief executive, said the average annual loss was about £1,500.

She said: “We had two years consultation with our staff and provided 15 months pay protections before the changes were made.”

She said no managers at the organisation were paid over £50,000-a-year and the number of management posts had been cut.

Ms Lowe, a Labour councillor for Armley, said despite the organisation’s budget being reduced by £220,000, it had not made any compulsory redundancies.

A Touchstone statement said: “The current financial climate poses a serious risk to Touchstone and its long-term viability, especially as our two main funders, NHS Leeds and Leeds City Council, are facing huge cuts to their own funding which they are already passing on voluntary sector providers.

“Touchstone has worked hard with staff and Unison to try to get the best and fairest deal for all, taking account of the financial environment and the changing health and social care priorities.”