by Matt Trinder

Industrial reporter

CARE staff at a Sage nursing home in north London will stage a second wave of strike action from Thursday over the living wage and union recognition.

Care workers and cleaners, represented by the United Voices of the World (UVW), are calling for a £12-per-hour living wage.

They are also seeking parity in sick pay and annual leave with NHS rates.

UVW said that the industrial action at the home, a registered charity run by volunteer trustees, is not only about pay and conditions but also the refusal of bosses to recognise the union and address staff concerns.

The action comes just three weeks after their first strike, which saw 400 trade union members, care workers and MPs, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, express their solidarity in a virtual meeting before a socially distanced picket outside the care home in Golders Green.

UVW organiser Molly de Dios Fisher said: “The majority of care workers earn below the real living wage, and London along with the north of England is the worst place for underpayment.

“Care workers and their unions know that a win [here] could be the catalyst needed for a sea change across the sector.”

As industrial action escalates, Sage’s trustees have now agreed to meet workers for the first time and hear their concerns which also include discrimination and worries over health and safety.

Bile, a Sage care worker, said: “We now have a chance to bring all the problems we and the residents have been facing [to bosses].

“It will be up to the trustees if they want to be accountable to them.”

Sage did not reply to requests for comment but have previously called workers’ demands “unrealistic.”