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Pensioners win victory in charges dispute |
George Galloway yesterday congratulated the 175 residents in sheltered housing for the victory over their landlords, Bethnal Green & Victoria Park Housing Association (BGVPHA). BGVPHA this afternoon announced that they were withdrawing the surcharge of over £7 per week they had intended to levy on residents for deficits that had built up over the previous two years.
George Galloway took up the residents' cause after three of them attended his surgery. He wrote two very strong letters to the chief executives of BGVPHA and the council. He demanded that the burden of these deficits should be wholly absorbed by the council and BGVPHA, whose joint bungling had given rise to them.
And at a meeting of residents with George Galloway, residents decided to call a protest and to refuse to pay the additional charges.
"I am extreemely happy for the residents," commented Galloway. "These charges were self-evidently unfair and iniquitous. And these residents, who are elderly, vulnerable and on very limited fixed incomes, should never have been made to suffer as they have been over the last three weeks."
Galloway went on, "Although this is a great victory, there remain important outstanding issues which must be properly dealt with. The residents are still to be asked to pay an 80% increase in their basic utility charges.
"This is way above the inflation rate and again means that many will be struggling to pay. Confidence has been completely lost in BGVPHA's management. There must now be a properly transparent process of identifying the real cost of heating, etc and of ensuring that the charges are affordable for these residents. I will be meeting residents again soon and raising these issues with BGVPHA." |
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