Care provider Your Choice Barnet says it is “delighted” with the service provided during strike action this week.

Unison members working for YCB went on strike on Tuesday and Wednesday at Flower Lane Day Centre, in Mill Hill, and Rosa Morrison Day Centre in New Barnet over an ongoing dispute about a 9.5 per cent pay cut which came into force last April.

Labour MP Dame Tessa Jowell joined care workers on the picket line in Mill Hill on Tuesday, and told them they were being paid at an "unforgivably" low level.

Julie Riley, director of care and support at Your Choice Barnet, said: “I am delighted that we have seen more employees deliver services than at any time since industrial action began last year, which demonstrates that delivering the best possible service to our customers is always our priority.

“We have negotiated exhaustively with Unison over the past year, involving ACAS, and have made a number of alternative proposals which were all rejected. We pay all of our employees London Living Wage or above and all YCB staff are paid at least 40 per cent above the national minimum wage despite the allegations otherwise.

“We continue to explore realistic options to end this ‘no-win’ dispute. Every day of industrial action causes further financial losses to YCB and uncertainty and distress to our customers and their families who rely so heavily on our quality services.”

In a statement last week, Barnet Unison general secretary John Burgess said: “The driving motivation for our members in this dispute is their fears about what is happening to the quality of services.

“Low pay in the care sector does not deliver high quality services. It does not appear to work for Capita. We are at a loss as to understand why this would work for care workers in YCB.”