Livv Housing Group staff from Unite and UNISON go on strike over pay

The Livv Housing Group staff, who belong to the UNISON and Unite unions, begin 48 hours of strike action after rejecting an offer of a five per cent pay increase.

This follows a one-day strike which took place on Wednesday last week, October 16.

The unions claim the offer made by Prescot-based Livv Housing Group to staff "falls well short of what the workers deserve after 10 years of real-terms pay cuts" and "successive multi-million pound surpluses recorded by the housing association".

UNISON members are among the Livv Housing Group workers on strike (Image: .)

UNISON Knowsley branch secretary James Robinson said: “We’re disappointed that Livv housing are still refusing to compensate the workers who have contributed to their record turnover.

“Senior management’s pay goes up and up while the pay of the people who deliver the service deteriorates.  Livv Housing CEO Léann Hearne earns more than the prime minister, earning more than £250,000 each year. Rents for tenants have increased by 7.7 per cent.

“Livv need to make a serious offer and bring an end to this dispute. These workers won’t be giving up any time soon.”

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Unite regional officer John Sheppard added: “Our members have sent out a clear message to Livv, that after years of erosion to their terms and conditions enough is enough.

“Unfortunately to date Livv have not engaged in any meaningful discussions to find a resolution.

“As we enter into the winter months I would urge the company to sit down with the trade unions to have those meaningful talks, before further action and escalation takes place.”

Livv Housing Group workers go on strike today (Image: Stock)

After unions announced workers had balloted to go on strike in September, a spokesperson for Livv Housing said: “We are aware that circa 20 per cent of our colleagues have voted in favour of industrial action in relation to a pay negotiation in which we are offering five per cent pay increase across our business.

“We benchmark all salaries regularly and our offer is in line with sector and regional norm. As a social housing provider and in line with our regulatory requirements our operational surplus is invested into improving and maintain our homes and supporting our customers.

“We have plans in place to address any operational gaps and our service delivery will not be impacted.

"We respect the rights of our colleagues to strike and will support our colleagues across the business throughout this process.”