Rehab workers prepare to resume strike action in long-running pay dispute

The workers at the Coops Building in Wigan town centre and Kennedy House in Leigh have walked out on several occasions but the strikes were paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, however, 29 employees of the council-commissioned drug and alcohol rehabilitation service are being asked about potential strike action in September.

Trade union Unison says London-based charity We Are With You, formerly known as Addaction, has failed to ensure the staff who were transferred from the NHS continue to receive the same rates of pay they would have got had the rehab work remained within the health service.

In total 16 days of strikes have been held already without the matter being fully resolved.

Paddy Cleary, Unison regional organiser, said: “Drug and alcohol workers provide a key public service.

"It is not right that workers employed in the NHS can be outsourced and then have their pay rates held down.

"They have stuck together and their 16 days of strike action has now forced We Are With You to offer NHS back pay for the past three years.

"But as things stand, these workers would be back to square one in April and they stand to lose £800 to £1,900 a year."

Paul Almond, a Unison rep and one of the drug and alcohol support workers involved, said: "We started out as NHS employees and we are still providing the same key service.

"We believe that we should not be out-of-pocket just because the council chose to give the contract to a non-NHS organisation.

"When the coronavirus public health emergency began, we decided to pause our industrial dispute for the benefit of our service users. We had hoped that this action would have been recognised by We Are With You and that we would not have to take strike action again.

"But key workers deserve a pay rise, whether or not we work for the NHS. We are determined to see this through."

The ballot result is due at the end of August.

A spokesperson for We Are With You said: “As a charity, we’re committed to providing the best possible support for people who use our treatment services, whilst also providing our staff with a fair wage and good working conditions.

"This is true for all our services, from Cornwall to Wigan, to the north of Scotland. Cuts to local authority budgets have significantly reduced funding for drug and alcohol services in recent years, meaning this can be a tough balance to achieve.

"We are proud of our service in Wigan. Throughout the recent pandemic we have found innovative ways to continue supporting anyone in the area experiencing issues with drugs or alcohol, including virtual group sessions and virtual prescribing.

“However, we understand and empathise with the concerns expressed by our colleagues in Wigan and we're doing our best to find a way forward together. We’re committed to trying to work through the issues in a way that is fair and sustainable for our staff, the people who use our services and the local community.”