Act now to stop housing cuts stem tighter government council houses. ROUND HOUSE TENANTS ASÇACIATION
Woman Worker1981 1981-01-01Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 1 →
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Tenants protest at rent rises under the last Tory government. every new attack on public spending by ry new attack on public spending by the Tories, complaining that they have no choice. But by increasing rents and rates, they are refusing to challenge this Tory government's right to slash workers' living standards.
For thousands of council tenants, rents and rates rises are the equivalent of a wage cut-in addition to the wage cuts carried out by holding wage rises below the level of inflation.
Lambeth Labour Group called a conference in November (reported in the last issue of Woman Worker), which adopted a programme to give a lead and co-ordinate opposition to the Tory's cuts.
The recall conference on January 17th reaffirmed this programme and called for:
*No rent and rates rises *Regional Labour movement conferences to organise opposition to rents and rates rises through rent/rates strikes.
*United trade union action to prevent closures and cuts in services.
This is, of course, in opposition to Lambeth Council's policy of not cutting 4 daily feature of life for Polish to oppose housing cuts (see article on to oppose housing cuts see article on hank nade) back page).
Another small example is from a council estate in Oxford, where one tenant, on his own initiative, organised a petition calling for rent strikes in opposition to Heseltine's housing cuts.
He gained 600 signatures within days and found almost unanimous support from every house he visited. A committee has now been formed, and a mass meeting of tenants has been called for the end of January.
A programme of action must be adopted, in tenants' association, which includes calls for rents and rates strikes and carried into the trade unions and local Labour Parties to back this action.
The threats by the Tories to cut off finance from those councils who overspend should be countered by a call for cancelling all debts charges to private companies and banks., While costs of services for workers soar and services deteriorate, these private companies are raking in massive profits. week themselves!
foll TRAND OPPORT YOUP FIGHTING RENT RISES NEVICTION show what can be achieved if the wo king class is united behin
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