Peabody: Unite members victory follows strike vote
Unanimous agreement
Last week we reported that Peabody Direct staff had voted for strike action in protest at redundancy terms for staff unable to relocate when service is moved from Waterloo to Pitsea in Essex.
This week we can report that staff have unanimously agreed to accept a much improved offer from management.
The dispute began last June 2018 with the announcement of relocation of the Peabody Direct call centre at Westminster Bridge Road, to a former FM location at Pitsea in Essex. During the campaign members were shocked by the apparent lack of understanding of their role by the Chief Executive Brenden Sarsfield who referred to the staff as merely “message takers.”
New offer
The new offer includes:
* Peabody redundancy terms - already enhanced over and above statutory terms
* Pay in lieu of notice - effectively a cash bonus for staff who opt to take redundancy.
* Retention bonuses of 8% for November and 5% for March 2019 for all PD staff.
* Full travel costs to and from Pitsea for those who opt to transfer working location
* Flexible working from home arrangements for staff who wish to remain.
This constitutes a major advance on the original terms, which were presented as ‘take it or leave it’ and all are a direct result of high team union membership, organisation and a strong postal ballot in favour of strike action. If the strikes had proceeded, they would have been the first such action in many years at Peabody.
This result follows ‘wins’ for Unite members in recent weeks at Peter Bedford Housing Association and Shelter following votes for strike action. In each case Unite membership has grown significantly.
13 December 2018