Employees at One Housing Group will be balloted for industrial action following the housing association’s proposal to cut pay for 250 frontline staff.
The pay cuts would come into effect from February 2014.
One Housing Group has also divided its employees into two zones, those based in inner and outer London, with outer London staff to be paid £1,000 less per year than those based in inner London.
Kevin Beirne, group director of housing, care and support at One Housing Group, said: “During an extended consultation period we amended our initial proposal significantly and have agreed to meet the requests expressed by representatives of our unions.
“We have achieved our aim of offering top-quartile pay and job security for our valued staff. If we are to protect jobs and services in a period of public spending austerity we have no choice but to review salaries to bring pay into line with the market rates allowed by local government for care and support.”
Nicky Marcus, regional officer at Unite, said: “We have contacted the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) in the hope that it will be able to facilitate and mediate further negotiation, but […] management has flatly refused to even attend talks.
“Instead of working with us, management is stubbornly sticking to the position that there is no mileage in further negotiation because it has fulfilled its obligation to consult. This intransigence leaves us with no option but to ballot our members for industrial action.”