Social housing staff latest in a series of public employees to announce strike action over pay and conditions

Hundreds of Unite members, the UK's leading union, employed at the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) are expected to hold a week-long strike from Monday 19 June in a dispute over pay.

The Housing Ombudsman is responsible for investigating complaints and resolving disputes in social housing, while the Regulator of Social Housing is responsible for the economic and government regulations relating to social housing landlords. The Housing Ombudsman would normally refer a complaint to the Regulator only where it suspects a case of systemic failure.

The union represents equal numbers of workers at each of the two public bodies. Although a formal pay offer has not yet been made, both employers have said that they will not go above the Treasury's figure of a 4.5 per cent pay increase for the year.

Unite claims that this offer represents a real terms pay cut, with the UK Retail Price Index (RPI) or the inflation rate, at 11.4 per cent as per the latest available figures, which are for April 2023.

The union further contends that last year's pay rise of two per cent also represented a real terms pay cut.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Our members play a critical role in resolving disputes and ensuring the highest standards in social housing. It is unforgivable that they are facing yet another real terms pay cut, when the employers here clearly can afford to commit to a fair pay rise.

"Unite is now entirely focussed on the jobs, pay and conditions of its members. The workers at the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing will receive the union's complete and unstinting support."

In addition to compensation, the workers also claim that they are undertaking a greatly increased workload both as a result of new regulations coming in and the need to onboard new joiners.

Union members were balloted over pay and working conditions in March, with the strike action coming as a result.

An RSH spokesperson responded by saying: "Unite is one of the unions representing RSH staff, and we are aware of the planned industrial action by its members in relation to RSH's 2022 pay award. We are putting plans in place to ensure our key regulatory services continue to operate during this period.

"As a government arm's-length body, we must set our pay within the civil service limits, and our 2022 average pay award of 3 per cent is in line with those limits and consistent with other arm's-length bodies and government departments.

"The government recently announced that organisations covered by those limits could make an additional one-off £1,500 payment to most staff and we expect to pay this shortly. We are aware of the pressures facing all our staff and we continue to offer support where we are able to during this challenging time."

A Housing Ombudsman spokesperson said: "The amount we can increase salaries by each year is dictated by the annual Cabinet Office Civil Service Pay Guidance. We are obliged to follow this guidance and, to date, have always paid the maximum amount possible."

Unite has said that both organisations have substantial reserves but are declining to use them on increasing wages, claiming to do so would result in them being required to submit "a qualified audit".

This comes as workers in many other industries across the UK have also taken part in industrial action this year or plan to do so.

Whilst many workers in the NHS have reached a pay deal, workers in other public sectors such as junior doctors, bus drivers and DVLA staff are still involved in disputes over pay and working conditions.

Staff at Heathrow Airport have also announced 31 days of strikes from mid-June to the end of August.