Care workers braved the cold as they set up picket lines for the first day of strike action.

Unison members at Your Choice Barnet (YCB), which provides social care in Barnet, are taking the action over a continued pay dispute.

Picket lines were set up at Flower Lane Day Centre, in Flower Lane, Mill Hill, and Rosa Morrison Day Centre in Gloucester Road, New Barnet, from 7.30am to 12pm today, and will continue tomorrow morning.

The care workers are facing pay cuts of 9.5 per cent. An offer was made last October to reduce this to 7.9 per cent, but this was rejected by Unison members.

This week’s strike brings the number of days of industrial action to six since the dispute began last year.

Speaking on the picket line outside Flower Lane Day Centre, which looks after 40 people, Tom Andrews, 43, said that the trade unionists were in good spirits.

He said: “There’s a positive feeling down here. We are getting a lot of support from passing motorists and pedestrians, and neighbours are coming out and giving us tea and coffee.

“We would like a better offer. While we don’t want a pay cut at all, we certainly want something better than 7.9 per cent. People are working harder than ever, but it’s taking the wind out of their sails.”

Mr Andrews said the day centres had a lot of new people using them, which was adding to the pressures facing the care workers.

He added: “It’s been a tough year, and there’s a lot of uncertainty. Who knows what the future will hold, but it’s hard to be optimistic in this situation.

“It’s a question of value. The bigger picture and conversation is what kind of care do we want to give to vulnerable people. This is a fantastic service. People are passionate and they care very much about the people they work with, and that’s in danger. The quality is going to be diminished.”

In a statement last week, Julie Riley, director of care and support at Your Choice Barnet, said: “We negotiated exhaustively with Unison last year, involving ACAS, and made a final improved offer to members in October in an attempt to resolve this deadlock and move on. We stated at the time it was the best offer we could make, and our last and final offer.

“Every day of industrial action causes further financial losses to Your Choice. The consequences of further strike action on staff members, our service users and their families and ultimately the future viability of Your Choice are not encouraging.”