Copeland Housing Worries
Wednesday 26th January
2011
GMB DENOUNCE CONTRACTING OUT
OF 150 MAINTENANCE WORKERS JOBS AT HOME GROUP
NORTH WEST
GMB will be approaching
Copeland Borough Council make sure GMB members jobs are protected
jobs and the standards of service are maintained
Home Group North West, the
organisation that manages public housing stock in Copeland in
Cumbria, announced plans to transfer 150 of its direct workforce in
its maintenance services department to a contractor in October
2011. The tender process has already started and will be completed
during July. The intention is to transfer all its maintenance
service employees to the successful contractor. GMB is the
recognised union for these workers.
Home Group North West inherited
Copeland Borough Council's housing stock in 2003 when Copeland
Homes was formed. Two years ago Copeland Homes was assimilated into
the Homes Group parent business.
GMB Regional Organiser Kevin Young
said, "GMB will be approaching Copeland Borough Council
make sure GMB members jobs are protected jobs and the standards of
service are maintained. GMB has major concerns about this whole
tendering process. Service standards could deteriorate under a new
contractor from the current level provided by Homes Group's Repairs
and Maintenance Teams."
GMB will tell the councils
that it has major concerns with housing policy direction over many
years. There has been a steady erosion of local democratic
engagement and accountability. Successive governments have looked
to home ownership, private and social rent as a panacea for
the UK's housing problems. This
ignores another key part of the housing market, the council housing
sector and said that this policy has led to many problems in urban
and rural communities, with local people not being able to afford
housing rents or mortgages.
GMB view this transfer as a
further move in the wrong direction. Local Councillors know that it
is local people who live and work in Copeland who will suffer for
this crazy shift in policy by the Home Group in externalising 150
jobs. If this goes ahead, most probably it will be Directors and
Shareholders outside of the Borough with little affinity for
Copeland that will benefit".
Ends
Contact: Kevin Young,
GMB Organiser 07870 176733 or GMB Press Office: Steve Pryle on
07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974 251823.