Star date: 8th April 2013

SALFORD GEARS UP TO FIGHT THE BEDROOM TAX AS SALIX MESSES UP

Salix Homes, Salford Council's arms length housing company, has admitted sticking around 160 single people in two bedroom flats last year, despite knowing that the Bedroom Tax was coming.

Now Salford is getting organised to fight against the Bedroom Tax, with two meetings. Tonight, 8th April there is a meeting of Broughton Against The Bedroom Tax at 6pm, and it's followed on the 16th by a Little Hulton Against The Bedroom Tax meeting.

Full details here…

Salix Homes, in an Freedom of Information response, has revealed that last year it let around 161 two bedroom flats to single people, of whom 69% were getting housing benefits and will be hammered by the Bedroom Tax.

Knowing that the Tax was coming in, surely it's now up to Salix to sort out the mess?

Salix reckons that 1,700 of its properties are `under occupied' but only around 300 one bed homes will be available to re-home those who want to downsize. And for those who do, and are lucky enough to get a smaller property, it has no budget at present to help them move, "though we have put in a budget reinvestment for £10,000".

The whole system is crazy, but the only people getting stuffed are those who can least afford it.

There's two meetings organised, as Salford prepares to campaign against the injustice of the Bedroom Tax…

BROUGHTON AGAINST THE BEDROOM TAX
With speakers Richard Bundy from Salford Council's Welfare Rights service and Lower Broughton community worker Dave Fraser.
6pm Monday 8th April
Broughton Trust
Humphrey Booth Learning Centre, Heath Avenue, Lower Broughton M7 1NY

LITTLE HULTON AGAINST THE BEDROOM TAX
Tuesday 16th April, 7.30 pm
The Albion, Manchester Road, Little Hulton

For further details of these meetings and more to follow see Salford Against The Cuts Blogspot – click here

Also, this Saturday…

Unite the Resistance North West Regional Conference
Saturday 13th April, 10.30am til 5pm (Registration from 10am)
Mechanics Institute, Princess St, Manchester M1 6DD

Speakers include: Kevin Courtney, NUT Deputy General Secretary, Jane Aitchison, Chair, PCS Yorkshire & Unite the Resistance Joint Secretary, Ronnie Draper, BFAWU General Secretary, Karen Reissmann, Unison NEC, Pura Ariza, UCU NW Regional Secretary, Alan Gibbons, Children's author and library campaigner, Alfie Meadows, Acquitted student protester & Defend the Right to Protest, Sheila Coleman, Hillsborough campaigner and Community Coordinator for Unite North West (all speakers in a personal capacity)

Workshops:

Organising at work to stop the cuts; A strategy to defend the NHS; Our vision for education; In defence of the welfare state; Public transport – the case for nationalisation; Fighting cuts in the community (hosted by Manchester Coalition Against Cuts); A million climate jobs now! (hosted by Campaign Against Climate Change)

Supported by:
Manchester NUT; Liverpool University UCU; Oldham NUT; UNITE Fujitsu North-West branch; BFAWU (Bakers' Union); UNITE IT & Comms Regional Industrial Sector Committee; Blackburn and District TUC; Unison Salford City ; Manchester Metropolitan University UCU; Rochdale NUT; Manchester Coalition Against Cuts; Liverpool Against the Cuts; United Service User Committee, Salford; Tameside NUT; Wigan TUC; Social Work Action Network (SWAN); Unite Manchester Airport; BFAWU 450 Branch, Lancaster & Morecambe District NUT .

Register at: http://uniteresist.org/2013/03/unite-the-resistance-nw-regional-conference/