ancillary worker.
Mick introduced us to Mis Mary Brown, who lives at 122 Ferndale Court — a grimy block of flats more terniniscent of a Victorian relic than Labour's 'new Britain'.
Mrs Brown showed us the three bedroomed flat. 'It is not really three bedrooms — one of the rooms is so damop we just cannot use it. That means our five girls, who are aged 16,11, 10, five and four, and our boy, who is eight years old all have to share a bedroom. Overcrowding means four children have to sleep nead to toe in one bed.
"All the rougs are very small. Damp is causing the paint to flake off the tiny bathroom's ceiling.
*We have never had running het water. Every time we need hot water we have to boil some. The children are always having colds. The boy of eight has bronchitis and has had to go into hospital twice for treatment. The eldest BITE because of these conditions - is having treatment for depression. "FEW MONTHS We asked Mrs Brown how long they had been at Ferndale Court. "Well, we came here live years and two months ugo. The Council told us it would just be for a few months and we are still waiting for a move.
"They have only offered is one other place. That was in Railton Road, It had no running hot water, there was an outside toilet, and it was in a filthy condition *We pay t6.79 a week rent for this. The rent of the place at Railron Road was LI0.58 plus £4 rates. IL was so had and so expensive we just had to turn it down.
*We have tried everything wo can to get a decent place, Not only have we kept writing to the Council, but 100 1M 14 080001 101000 1T0 behalf, Still nothing happens." £20 A WEEK Mrs Brown explained: "1 get a pross wage of 20 a week for 37% hours. Aller stoppages that leaves me with about E17, If I work overtime I might take home about £19 or C20.
Mr Brown works on a building site on the concrete mixer, where he gets paid 61p an hour, He has to travel 23 miles there and back to work each day, and to earn anything like a living wape has to put in a 12-hour day.
Even with their joint incomes there is no chance that the Browns could buy a house. Nor could they possibly afford to rent a flat which could properly accommodate a family of eight at the reats charged hy London's property dealers.
Mrs Brown is not an isolated caser Two other King's ancillary workers. shop steward Joyce Bernard and Hetti Edwards and their families Labour leader James Callaghan recently said that Britain cannot afford to improve working class living standards, and will have to be content with trying to maintain them, But Callaghan does not live in Ferndale Court in the London Borough of Lambeth, nor does he have to do the job of a hospital Mick O'Shea, a Transport and General Workers" shop steward at nearby King's College Hospital, asked us to visit Ferndale Court. He explained: "A number of members of our union live in these flats. You hear all this stuff about safeguarding the nation's health, yet here are hospital workers being forced to live in the most unhealthy conditions.
hehalf of Mrs Brown BAD RECORD for its bad record thousand each year.
apart by local gangs some sleepless nights.
have been living in Ferndale Court for several years, Both were also assured by the Council that their stay at Ferndale Court would only be for a month or two".
Mick O'Shea went on to explain Jists.
to us that the shop steward:" comm ittee at the hospital lad written to the welfare officer at the Council on *We intend to start a campaign for our members and orber people in these flats. The union must be responsible not just for the wages and conditions of its members at work, hut must fight for them on all these other issues too."
The Labour controlled Borough Council in Lambeth is notorious some would say indifference - on the matter of housing. There is a waiting list of 15,000 in the Borough - a waiting list that swells by a further one Despite this appalling waiting list, 800 houses, owned by the Council, stand empty. Unless many of these are occupied by squatters they are due to be pulled The most dramatie move on the housing front made by the Counci was its unsuccessful recent attempt to evict squatters from property in Vil's and Wileshire Roads.
This has obviously upset Colin Blan, Chairman of the Housing Committee He bas called on the Labow Government to act without delay to bring about a change in legislation so that illegal squatters in perrancot council accommodatJon can be immediately evicted?
Having failed to get one lot of squatters out. Mr Blan bopes the Lahour Government will make sure that be succeeds next time The presence of squatters in 108 of the Council's permanent houses and flats obviously gives Mr Blan Aller a lot of head-scratching, the normally lethargie councilions have come up with some solutions Their "brainwave' is to offer a house or flat., that will be wind and rain tight but not necessarily up to the standard the Counci would offer to permaneot tenants. It will be offered under licence on the understanding that when it i required by the Council, the occupants will have to move to other similar short life property which the Council will make available."
The Council's new proposal is simply nicant to skate over the problem at the expense of the low paid workers. People stuck into these properties will be over crowded, pay high rents for inferior conditions, and have no chance of being housed from the housing In fact the experiences of Mrs Brown, Mrs Bernard, Mrs Fawards and the other tenants of Ferndale Court show exactly what happens to people who accept the Council's "temporary solutions.
As the Council goes running around seeking solutions'. over 4000 houses owned by private lundiords stand empty. But profit remains sacred to the Labour councillors in Lambeth, and nothing has been done to municipalise this property.
DIRECT ACTION It is clear that the housing conditions of people at Ferndale Court and the other so-called "sbort-stay blocks' in Black Prince Road and Edward Henry House will not be resolved by the policies of the Labour Couneil. In fact the crisis of capitalisen which Labour intends to solve by dishing out gigantic subsidies to private firms -means that there will be even less inney for housing.
The move by the King's shop stewards committee to take up the fight on hehalf of their member is therefore very important, Other stewards committees, union branches and tenants committees, should join the King's shop stewards in that fight.
The past years have shown that the Lambeth Council do not intend to take any serious action to solvo the housing problem. Such action must now come from the local A campaign to occupy all empty property in the Lambeth area should be started. Occupations should be defended by working class actions such as mass pickets and strikes.
Direct action should be used to force the local Chuncil to municip alise rented property in the Borough. and carry through a penuine progr some of rebuilding and repair