A strike by more than 500 Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) staff closed nearly 60 offices across the city on Wednesday of last week. Management claimed that a large number of offices were open — but was unable to provide the names of any when the press asked for them!
The housing association staff, members of the Unison union, were protesting against the axing of rent payment facilities at 14 offices and the loss of 28 jobs.
Glasgow City Council handed more than 80,000 council homes over to GHA, Britain’s biggest “social landlord”, in 2003.
The cuts mean a reduction in service to tenants, who will now have to pay rent and council tax at pay points situated in local shops.
GHA Unison stewards’ convenor John Wright said, “The GHA has ignored the protests of their staff, tenants and pensioners’ organisations and individual tenants, and ridden roughshod over their views to remove another local facility. The strike is all about defending facilities for tenants. We have had a wide range of support from them and other community groups and we hope that will continue.”
Further action is possible unless management changes its position.
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