Liv Dunphy, Unite steward
A 3% pay ‘rise’ from Shelter isn’t enough to protect its staff from the rising cost of living. We’ve got colleagues who are getting into debt, who are using food banks, and who are sofa-surfing because they can’t afford to privately rent.
As a housing charity full of debt and benefits advisors, we all know how to budget when things get tight. But this year’s pay offer just doesn’t allow for many members to make ends meet.
We’re not expecting or asking for the world here, we just want to be able to do the jobs we love, while also affording to live. Nobody works in the charity sector for money alone, we do it because we are genuinely passionate and dedicated to our cause. But we can’t pay the bills with goodwill.
We have been inspired and humbled by the supportive messages on social media, in local union meetings, and on the roadside at our picket lines. The public really see that we are in a shared struggle at the moment, when it comes to stagnant wages and the rising cost of living.
I hope that our struggle inspires others in the sector to see that we do have power to demand what we deserve, and what we need to keep ourselves and our families safe and secure.
