Dame Tessa Jowell told striking care workers they were being paid at an “unforgivably" low level when she joined them on the picket line.

Unison members working for social care provider Your Choice Barnet went on strike at Flower Lane Day Centre in Mill Hill and Rosa Morrison Day Centre in New Barnet this morning.

The dispute is about a 9.5 per cent pay cut which came into force last April.

Trade union Unison is calling for the cut to be reversed.

The Labour MP told the crowd: “Barnet Council are refusing to negotiate. They are behaving in an indecent way and you are being paid at a level which is unforgivably low.”

Speaking afterwards, Dame Tessa said a Labour government would push for the London living wage to be paid.

She added: “The people who use this centre deserve a service from care staff who have high morale, and where people don’t feel they are being wilfully exploited and humiliated.

“They (care staff) cannot afford to pay rents. This is a problem right across the care sector.”

Care worker Nicholas Periclis, 44, said he worries about the “decline” that will take place in the service if the cut is not reversed.

Mr Periclis, who lives in Harrow, said: “It’s getting worse and it’s affecting staff morale, because they are pressured to do more and more work. We are not getting enough time with the clients. Things will deteriorate more and that’s why we are taking a stand and not accepting it.

“It’s basically cut cut cut. I have a family of five, and I am finding it very hard to pay the bills and put food on the table.”

Mr Periclis said that nothing had changed since they went on strike last month.

He added: “Nobody wants to listen. It’s a case of take it or leave it."

London Assembly Member and Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hendon, Andrew Dismore, slammed Your Choice Barnet for failing to negotiate further with Unison, and for using expensive agency staff.

“They are just trying to wash their hands of it. It’s insulting”, he said.

In a statement last week, Julie Riley, director of care and support at Your Choice Barnet, said: “We are extremely disappointed with YCB Unison members’ decision to strike again next Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 February. Every day of industrial action causes further financial losses to Your Choice.

"We negotiated exhaustively with Unison last year, involving ACAS, and the final improved offer made in October 2014 of a reduction in the pay cut to 7.9 per cent was in response to Unison requesting we find a cut below 8 per cent. This offer, backdated to April 2014, was made alongside a letter of assurance requested by Unison in order to resolve the dispute.

“We stated at the time it was the best offer we could make, and our last and final offer. The consequences of further strike action on staff members, our customers and their families are not good. We should be focusing all our energies on continuing to provide high-quality services to the people we support.”

Further action is due to take place tomorrow, bringing the number of days of strike action to eight since the dispute began.