A proposed walkout by Hackney Lifeline staff has been called off after negotiations between senior management and Unite led to staff being handed a role in decision-making.

Some 96 per cent of union members working at the drug treatment charity had voted for industrial action over cuts to services, with two day-long walkouts planned for Thursday 23 February and Wednesday 29 February. After direct negotiation between Jamie Major, Unite regional officer and Lifeline chief executive Ian Wardle, a standard Unite recognition agreement was signed on Monday 20 February.

Major said: “This agreement will give our members a greater role in fine-tuning services for the future benefit of the Hackney community during a period which both sides recognise is financially fraught. It was not a dispute about our members pay and conditions but it was about the future development of Hackney Lifeline as a premier provider.”

This standard agreement had been offered before by Unite but a counter-offer limiting staff negotiating powers was put on the table by Lifeline senior management prior to the recent threat of industrial action.

The organisation is now in the process of nominating three representatives who will attend senior management meetings and allow all staff to voice their opinions on decisions within the service.

Staff at other Lifeline branches may now consider union intervention to give them collective bargaining on major issues. This could potentially lead to standard Unite agreements with management across the organisation.