Lessons of hostel strike

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Martin Thomas spoke to Jim Cronin, TGWU convenor at Arlington House hostel, and to other strikers, about their nine month struggle.

They came out on strike last September for an increase on their wages, which ranged from £26 for 40 hours. Since then they have fought sacking and eviction from their rooms in the hostel. Now moves are underway for the local Labour Council (Camden) to buy the hostel.

First Jim Cronin explained the present situation.

"The independent valuer is still doing his work. We hope his report will be ready by May 25.

Then it goes to the three councils involved /Camden, and Tower Hamlets and Lambeth, the two other London boroughs with hostels for single men belonging to Kowtons, the owners of Arlington House].

There is already agreement from the three councils and the GLC, and I think Rowtons, that they will respect the report. Whether Rowtons goes through with it is another kettle of fish.

We're part way through negotiating on wages and conditions with the UK Housing Trust [who will take over running the hostel when Camden Council buys it. The negotiations are going well.

They've undertaken to renovate the place. There'll also be a survey done of the residents to find out what exactly they want.

There's a lot of guesswork by different organisations as to what they want, but no-one has asked them yet. We don't want a bunch of do-gooders telling them what they want"

Another striker added:

"They'll be respected. Before, if you mentioned you lived in Arlington House, employers would not employ you, you couldn't even get on doctors' lists. We want the residents of Arlington House to be respected citizens...

... Give them self-respect, and then they can get respect from the community. It'll be a good place to work"

What enabled you to win?

"It's just a small group that has stuck together. We got backfrom the labour movem nt in general - not Party. Peop le h that the si ngle problem."

Just the Labour ve come to see homeless are a What have the union officials been like?

"We did have a problem at the beginning, but after that they've been good. We have a very good district official - not just as a union official, but a man who cares about the single homeless"

How did you get support?

"We went to every meeting possible in the labour movement to ask for help. Fortunately for us about half of us are members of the Labour Party.

The Labour Party has been very good - supported us all the way through, especially the Ariington Action Group, in which Labour Party members from Chalk Farm are active. They were mainly behind the union being formed in Arlington House.

Eventually what happened was that one of the staff got badly beaten up by a senior member of Rowtons staff. The idea of the union was there before, but that made everyone's mind up. We had a stoppage that evening. Then we had 95% union membership from the start"

What do you think a new Labour government should do about places like Arlington House, and about the problem of low wages and unionisation in hotels and catering?

"I'think they should purchase all these places and put them under socially responsible ownership - the Salvation Army, the lot. There are a lot of hostels as badly sooner Jim Marshall's Bill gets Members Bill by Labour MP im Marshall seeks to establish checks by local authorities over 'Houses in Multiple Occupation'!.

I think there should be a minimum wage. The GLC has a policy of £100 minimum wage. It should be a law, not just policy.

At the moment the unions are not strong enough. There are too many right wing top officials in all the unions, not just the T&G.

The unions need a good victory. They have never won a big dispute yet in hotels and catering - only some small ones"

Isn't the reason that widespread blacking is necessary to win these disputes, and the unions have not been willing to organise that?

"Yes. That's right. When a restaurant goes on strike, there should be the full power of the union behind that one little strike - we should blow it up out of all proportion, if you like.

İ think the unions would get a lot more members that way. You have to show by example before people will join".

We discussed the problem of employers in hotels and catering using immigrant labour to undercut the unions. Australians and New Zealanders were particularly mentioned, and some of the strikers suggested that the answer was to keep them out.

Jim Cronin's view was: "It's not going to help the unions keeping them out. We should bring them all into the union. People say that immigrants take jobs away from the British - but they sometimes do what the British wouldn't do".:

Then the discussion came back to the union leaderships again. The view was put that "the catering industry has not got a man in a top position in the union to look after it. The men at the top ake from other trades. They don't know about catering. They know about engineering, or the motor industry".

sometimes, I said, the union leaderships did not do very well in the motor industry. either. What about election of officials?

Jim Cronin replied: "Yes. If they were elected every so often, instead of being stuck there until they retire, it would be better. Then if they're no good you can dump them."

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