Merseyside MP calls out housing firm for 'stonewalling' workers and overseeing '30% pay cut'

Livv Housing workers are involved in an ongoing pay dispute with housing firm
-Credit:Unison


A Merseyside MP has publicly called out a local housing firm over claims it has given workers a pay cut and is letting residents down.

Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley's intervention comes just a week after Knowsley Council passed a motion urging Livv Housing to engage constructively with striking workers and their trade unions to bring about a resolution.

Hundreds of Livv Housing (LH) workers have been locked in a dispute since last year after Unite and Unison unions announced staff had voted in favour of strike action after being balloted in August on a proposed pay offer.

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According to union officials, the dispute is a result of "below inflation pay rises". Workers have rejected the 5% pay increase proposed by Livv Housing's leadership team and have walked out on strike on numerous days over the last few months.

The issue was raised in parliament by Knowsley MP Ms Midgley during a debate titled: ''Unionised Workers in the Housing Sector: Pay Discrimination'. Ms Midgley said: "In March 2024, Livv reported reserves of £110.6 million. Over the past five years, it has recorded annual surpluses ranging from £14 million to £25 million, yet the workers who keep Livv running have faced years of real-terms pay cuts. Pay has fallen by over 30% in real terms since 2011.

"It is no wonder that Unite and Unison members have been taking industrial action since October last year. Livv has refused to engage in meaningful discussions with the unions, but it has also declared the negotiations exhausted.

"The stonewalling has prolonged the dispute, and it is evident from my inbox that it is having an impact on my constituents who depend on Livv’s services.

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"The casework load involving Livv is mounting up, and it is having a bad effect on people’s lives. Nothing is getting fixed, because its management will not sit down and settle the dispute."

Livv housing is one of the leading providers of social housing in Knowsley and manages and maintains more than 13,000 properties across the Liverpool City Region and the North West - primarily in the Knowsley area. Livv Housing maintains it respects the right of workers to go on strike and has plans in place to address any potential "operational gaps".

Furthermore, Livv Housing said their pay offer is one of the highest across the housing sector and has instituted a culmutive 21.5% pay increase over the last five years. Responding to the issue of annual surpluses, Livv Housing said all these are reinvested into their housing and support services.

The dispute boiled over in December 2024 when Livv Housing bosses sent an email indicating they would be willing to pay the 5% increase offer to all non trade union members - whilst trade union officials were still calling for further negotiations. This was also picked up during the debate by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets) Justin Madders MP, who said: "It is also worth putting it on record that this Government expect employers to work in partnership with unions to resolve disputes through negotiation.

"We certainly do not believe that pay offers should be framed in a way that requires an individual to confirm that they are not a member of a trade union. At the very least, as my hon. Friend said, that goes against the spirit of good industrial relations."

A spokesperson for Livv Housing said: "“The majority of our people remain in work, and we faced a great deal of frustration at the delay to the pay increase. We were guided by law when implementing the 5% for non-union members in December and at the conclusion of the dispute, any agreed offer will be backdated and implemented fairly across the board.