Hundreds of Oxfam workers are to go on strike from Friday for the first time in the charity’s 81-year history.
Members of the union Unite, who rejected the charity’s latest pay offer, will take action on 17 days throughout December, including the last few shopping days before Christmas. The union said the strike of almost 500 workers would affect offices and 200 Oxfam shops.
Unite said average wages for workers had been cut by 21% in real terms – when adjusted for inflation – since 2018.
“Oxfam wants to end poverty and says it is on the side of unions,” said Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite. “Yet its own workers report having to use food banks, it refuses to engage with the only union representing its workforce and it is considering using unpaid labour to break a strike. Oxfam is an extremely wealthy organisation and can afford to put forward an acceptable offer without impacting its charity work in the slightest.”
Oxfam said it was “normal practice” for volunteers to keep shops running in the absence of managers where “practical”.
The charity said: “Where volunteers are comfortable to do so, we will follow our usual procedure during strike action. We will not ask any volunteers to take on work they are not comfortable with.”
Oxfam said its level of reserves had fallen and it needed to keep enough funds aside to weather financial downturns. Oxfam’s reserves stood at £44.6m in 2022.
The charity said that the reserves were currently at the “lower end of what is necessary to allow Oxfam to weather future financial shocks”.
The workers voted by 83% in favour of strike action in a ballot with an 82% turnout after they rejected a pay offer of £1,750 or 6%, whichever is higher, plus a one-off payment of £1,000 for the lowest earners.
“While we are disappointed that tomorrow’s strike is going ahead, we do understand the frustration of colleagues who are facing a steeply rising cost of living,” a spokesperson for Oxfam said. “We are proud to be a real living wage employer and are doing what we can to address colleagues’ concerns within the limits of the resources we have available.”
The workers will strike at Oxfam offices and shops on 8-9 December, 14-17 December, 20-24 December and 26-31 December.
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Unite has warned that the industrial action will intensify if the pay dispute is not resolved.
Oxfam has a collective bargaining agreement in place with two unions, Unite and the Independent Oxfam Union. Oxfam said it had managed to reach an agreement with IOU.
“Our resources are stretched but we are committed to finding a solution,” the Oxfam spokesperson said. “We hope that discussions with Unite taking place at Acas tomorrow will help us move forward. We are doing everything we can to minimise disruption and to support all colleagues – those on strike and those who are working – through this period.”
