A major housing association has come under fire from a construction union after announcing proposed redundancies, despite an alleged ‘pay rise’ to its Chief Executive.

The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) slammed Newcastle-based Aspire Housing for proposing job redundancies due to cutbacks and charged it with hypocrisy in regard to its Chief Executive Sinead Butters’ supposed 4.9% pay rise.

Shaun Lee, Regional Secretary at UCATT, said: “While UCATT has sympathies with providers of social housing in the face of swingeing Tory cuts to revenue, the hypocrisy of Aspire management is breath taking.”

“Ms Butters claims the redundancies are being made because of cutbacks – but cutbacks for whom? Certainly not Ms Butters.”

However, Aspire told Development Finance Today that the Chief Executive had actually received a non-consolidated bonus due to a previous contractual incentive plan agreed in 2011, saying it was not a pay rise.

It added that the Chief Executive and the whole executive team will be subject to a pay freeze in the 2015/16 year.
Aspire claimed that the proposed redundancies were the result of the changes set out in the government’s summer budget, which will cut tenants’ rents and result in the association losing £14.8m of income over the next four years.

Sinead told Development Finance Today: “This is a difficult time for our sector, these new financial pressures are forcing all housing associations to make difficult choices, and Aspire is not immune to this.

“We have entered a period of consultation and we are inviting applications for voluntary redundancy from those impacted by the proposals, but we cannot rule out compulsory redundancies in the future.

“We are acting swiftly to ensure we are in a stronger financial position, and making these savings means we will sustain the impact we have in the local community.”

The announcement is part of a two-part restructuring that Aspire hopes to have completed by March 2016.

Aspire is not the only housing association forced to make changes following the budget.

Last week, Gentoo announced that it needed to save £18.25m by March 2018 and has proposed it would need to make 330 employees redundant.

John Craggs, Acting Chief Executive at Gentoo, said:  “It is never easy to make announcements like this, especially when you have such a passionate and dedicated workforce like we have here at Gentoo.

“The unfortunate reality is that our sector is facing a huge period of change and a range of financial pressures, and we have to act now to ensure the group remains fit for the future.”