Staff at an anti-poverty charity have voted to call off an upcoming strike after management agreed to scrap a proposed pay rise for directors.
Workers at the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2K) took initial industrial action between 27 May and 6 June after the charity offered larger wage increases to two senior managers than to other members of staff.
The employees planned to walk out again between 7 and 18 July but have now cancelled the strike because Z2K management agreed to give its directors the same pay rise as other staff, according to trade union Unite.
Z2K chair Emeka Forbes told Civil Society he was pleased the Unite members had called off further industrial action, following “a constructive ACAS-facilitated meeting”.
“Separately from our engagement with union representatives, our financial position has shifted, and we’ve therefore decided not to proceed with the proposal,” he added.
“We remain firmly committed to fair and equitable pay across the organisation.”
Union: ‘Major step in the right direction’
Z2K employs 18 people, including four who are part of the senior management team, according to its accounts for the 2023 financial year, in which it recorded an income of £891,000 and expenditure of £921,000.
Unite has claimed that Z2K had planned to increase its directors’ salaries by 25% after lower-paid staff had received a 3% increase, which Forbes disputes.
The union’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The decision by Z2K management to give such a big pay rise to their best-paid workers and leave those on lower incomes out in the cold was a disgrace – and bitterly ironic for an anti-poverty charity.
“Using its resources to uplift the pay of some of the highest earners was the wrong choice and Unite is glad our action has shone a light on how unfair it was.”
Regional officer Will Searby said: “This is a major step in the right direction and we look forward to working with management for fairer pay for all workers at Z2K.
“This result wouldn’t have been possible without the work of our reps and members who came together and showed solidarity on the picket line throughout this dispute.”
Forbes has repeatedly disputed Unite’s 25% director pay increase claim and said: “We’re disappointed that Unite continues to promote this misleading narrative.
“We’d proposed a change to pay banding that would have resulted in a modest 5% uplift for directors, aimed at correcting a long-standing organisational pay disparity.
“In previous years, we’ve consistently prioritised increases for roles below director level, which now average 10% above sector benchmarks.”
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