The STUC is to call for a major house
building programme, focussing especially
affordable and council housing, not only
to meet need but also to boost employment
and the economy. It also called for work
with Shelter, other charities, community
groups, and the People’s Assembly,
to build a broad based campaign to support
a living rent.
UNISON Scotland’s Susan Kennedy,
backing the USDAW, UCATT and North Lanarkshire
and Aberdeen trade union councils’
motion, said Scotland has a ‘housing
crisis’.
“We have a crisis with the availability,
the cost and the quality of our housing.
This impacts on the lives of those who
find themselves inadequately housed, or
at the mercy of a system which seems increasingly
designed to make it difficult for people
to sustain themselves in secure accommodation.
It’s a desperate situation –
crying out for investment”, she
said.
The crisis in housing doesn’t
just impact on those who are waiting for
a better house. “It increasingly
impacts on the workforce in social housing
– We surveyed our members who work
in social housing - time and again they
said that their job had moved from delivering
a service to constant fire fighting”,
added Susan.
They described being ground down by
the impossibility of resolving the problems
they were faced with.
Susan pointed out that UNISON Scotland
has, with others, been exploring the idea
of using the pension funds of public services
workers to fund the building of affordable
housing.
Susan explained: “Pension funds
need stable long term investments –
Housing associations need stable long
term funding,” and she urged delegates
to read UNISON Scotland’s publication
‘Funding and building the homes
Scotland needs’ at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/housing/FundingAndBuildingTheHomesScotlandNeeds_Mar2013.pdf
In the survey of housing staff Susan
mentioned, a clear majority believed that
their organisation did have a vision for
the future.
“What was missing all too often
was a belief that this vision could be
delivered”, said Susan. “Congress
this composite shows how that vision can
be delivered. Let’s build the homes
Scotland needs.”
