Affordable Homes for Key Workers: TUC Congress 2023 Composite 07

 

This is the speech I made as a UNISON delegate at last months TUC Congress about "Affordable Homes for Key Workers". 

President, Congress, John Gray, from UNISON speaking in support of Composite 7. 

This motion highlights the profound impact of the housing crisis on all key workers across both public and private sectors.  My day job is being a housing worker London for a large Housing Association. I work in a regional team providing housing services to over 23,000 homes and to many vulnerable residents spread across North London.

In my own particular team, why is it Congress, that I am one of the very few who lives in the area we serve, North London?

Hardly any of the others are able to afford to live in the region and they have to undertake expensive and exhausting commutes before and after, a demanding days’ work.

While inadequate pay is one important reason, the main reason that I can live in North London is simply my age. Despite my youthful looks, I was lucky enough to be working in London at a time when a housing worker could afford to buy a one-bedroom flat in the late 1980s, on a multiple of just over 3x their annual wage. 

But due to house inflation vastly outstripping pay, there is no way that my colleagues on current wages could afford to buy the very same flat in 2023 since this same flat would require a multiple of nearly 9x their salary.

As a UNISON NEC member for all Housing Association and Charity workers, I know this is not just a “London” thing. In all our regions and nations, the housing crisis is worsening and blighting the experience of citizens and key workers, especially the low paid.

Congress, this composite recognises the devastating impact of the crisis on the provision of critical services across the board, and how this is having a detrimental effect on recruitment and retention, especially in services such as health and social care.

UNISON evidence shows that rising rents, mortgage rates and transport costs are putting rocket boosters on the cost-of-living crisis. This is pushing people into financial hardship, poverty and homelessness, with many having to cut back on food and essentials.

The churn of our members who are forced to leave high-cost housing areas is putting a strain on key workers, production and on service delivery.

Congress, the housing secretary Michael Gove has admitted that the Government should build more homes of every type, each year, especially social homes, but it is failing to build sufficient numbers of these homes, which is so desperately needed.

That is why we must step up pressure on the Government and political parties to take action to resolve the housing crisis by committing to building more social and more genuinely affordable homes in their manifestos for the next General Election. We have to be honest that this will require money, this will require government subsidy.

This should be at the heart of any strategy to alleviate the housing crisis.

Thank you, Congress, please support this motion".

TUC Congress Day Four

TUC Congress finished on Wednesday. I had to leave early to deal with some urgent work and union case work. Also, on the way home, I stopped off to visit a new "build to rent" housing project in Manchester, part funded by Newham staff pension fund. I will post later on this visit, since it incorporates key worker accommodation at below market rents, which relates to my speech to Congress yesterday. 

There was an excellent presentation by Liverpool dockers who won a major pay rise due to organised strike action. It was good to see Newham union and political activist Zeta Holbourne speak on support for the creative arts. 

See top left of collage, the picture of my fellow delegate, Yvonne Green and myself in front of a large picture, just outside the main conference hall, featuring our London UNISON comrade Eddie Brand. Eddie is the London Ambulance branch branch secretary and is seen delivering a box containing 260,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street demanding to retain the "right to strike". I was wearing a LAS UNISON tee-shirt, which remembers Eric Roberts, its former Branch secretary, a proper scouser, born and bred in Liverpool but who earned the respect of so many of his London members (and elsewhere).  

I love the picture bottom left, of me laughing while in my delegate seat (hat tip picture Yvonne). I cannot remember why but probably due to to a typically funny but wicked remark by my long lost delegate cousin, Malcolm Gray, sitting to my right. 

During conference I enjoyed visits to the Bridewell pub, which is a former Liverpool docks police station and cells. Great beer, reasonable prices and friendly staff. Recommended and if ever reopened as cells, I could think of a few Tory Ministers mentioned at Congress who should be their guests.  

TUC Congress 2023: Day Three

 

Tuesday was a busy day for me. In the morning we had a great speech by guest speaker, the shadow Deputy Prime Minister (I love repeating this), Angela Rayner on Labour's "New Deal for Working People". 

During lunch I took part in a fringe panel debate on "Collective Defined Contribution" (CDC) pensions sponsored by First Actuarial, Hilary Salt as Chair. This was well attended and there was a thoughtful debate with lots of audience participation. I will post further on this, since CDC could be incredibly important to future pension provision in this country. 

There was a sober but at times passionate address by Lynn Sudbury-Riley on behalf of "Covid Bereaved Families" during the debate on the ongoing Covid-19 public enquiry. 

Since my mother died this year after being tested positive with Covid it was important to for me to listen. (but to be clear that the death certificate did not mention it even though she died of a respiratory condition but again, she had been unwell for a long time)

In the afternoon I spoke on behalf of UNISON in the affordable Housing key worker debate. I will post the speech later. People said it went well but I did mess up the timings a little bit. Hat tip the UNISON self confessed "nerd" who was at home working but still listening to the TUC live stream and sent me the picture top left. 

Later on there was a dignified and important debate on a composite calling for solidarity with Ukraine. One affiliated union spoke against this motion since it called for military equipment to be supplied to Ukraine but every other union who spoke was firmly in favour and the motion was carried overwhelmingly. Outgoing PCS General Secretary, Mark Serwotka, gave an amazing and powerful speech in favour. What a swan song Mark. 

TUC Congress 2023: Day Two

Congress started again on Monday at 9.30.  The ACC Liverpool conference centre is in the Kings docks area and it was a pleasant 10 minute walk from the hotel. Outside the conference centre there was a few people canvassing delegates, selling news papers, handing out invites to fringes and leaflets on how to vote on contentious motions. 

The UNISON delegate sits together in the middle of the conference floor near the front. Before business started we welcomed UNISON strikers from Wirral hospital, who spoke to conference about their dispute over pay banding and low pay. Later that morning I had to take part in a teams video call outside the main hall and found right next to me the strikers. I had to go up to them and congratulate them for speaking so well and solidarity for their cause. Sign their petition here. 

During lunchtime I went to the "What would Workers' Rights look like under a future Labour Government" organised by the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group. There was a range of speakers but the main interest was the responses of Justine Madders MP, Shadow Labour Minister on the Future of Work and Employment Rights and Protections. 

The room was packed with standing room only. There was some hostile and suspicious questions and comments about the "Labour New Deal for Working People" but Justine answered all these points very well. He received praise from RMT Mick Lynch about being always prepared to turn up to meetings with the trade unions, listen and engage. 

In the Q&A I explained that myself and around 50 of my unison members have been issued with "fire and rehire" dismissal letters by our employer in an attempt to get rid of our defined benefit pensions. I asked bearing in mind that Labour are committed to ban "hire and refire" what would they replace it with? Justine responded by saying that the vast majority of British people think "hire and refire" is "despicable" and Labour are pledged to make it illegal. He said that Labour are thinking on the lines of the private member bill supported by Lord John Hendy KC.

After conference I attended the Labour Unions fringe. Another packed event. Deputy leader of the Labour Party and Shadow Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Angela Rayner MP, was the keynote speaker. I have known Angela in UNISON since she was a young member and I am so proud of what she has achieved and her pride and acknowledgement over the support and encouragement she had received from her Labour movement family. 

After the fringe I spoke to her about "fire and rehire" and also asked if she would speak again at my UNISON Housing Association Branch Labour Link AGM at the House of Commons and we agreed that I should approach her office to agree a possible date.  

I also had a chat with the other impressive speaker at the fringe, Hannah Blythyn, who is a member of the Welsh Assembly for  Delyn and Deputy Minister for Social Partnership. By coincidence she was brought up only a few miles away from me and we both shared some memories of the "famous" nightclub in Buckley called the "Tivoli", which we think is still open. 

TUC Congress 2023: Day One

This year I am in Liverpool for the 155th annual TUC Congress as a UNISON NEC delegate. I travelled down from London by train with Regional delegate (and London Convenor) Yvonne Green. 

When we arrived in Liverpool we went into a meeting of all UNISON delegates to decide on whether to support or not motions and our speakers. There are 64 delegates from UNISON NEC, Regions, Service Groups, TUC committees, Self Organised Groups and young members.  

Conference opened with Composite 14 "Investing fair funding in public services" moved by our UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea with a powerful speech. This composite was supported by many speakers and was passed unanimously. 

Congress is due to finish at 7pm this evening and will restart 9.30 tomorrow morning. I will try and post/tweet as often as possible. 

You can watch Congress Live and check out agenda, motions etc https://www.tuc.org.uk/Congress2023

I am speaking on Tuesday lunchtime in a panel about (not in UNISON capacity) on improving Collective Pensions and hope to speak on the housing composite. 

https://www.johnslabourblog.org/2023/09/collective-pensions-improving-income.html