Northern Ireland

Unions oppose Housing Executive restructure plan

A group of trade unions have voiced opposition to plans to restructure the Housing Executive
A group of trade unions have voiced opposition to plans to restructure the Housing Executive A group of trade unions have voiced opposition to plans to restructure the Housing Executive

A group of trade unions have voiced opposition to plans to restructure the Housing Executive.

In December, interim communities minister Carál Ní Chuilín announced plans to split the public housing authority in two, with its landlord arm becoming an independent mutual organisation.

The proposal, the biggest shake-up in the Housing Executive's 50-year history, received a broad welcome.

But the Trade Union Councils, a regional group of trade unions, have said the body should "remain publicly accountable by remaining in public ownership".

A spokesperson said the trade union movement and many public housing campaigners have long believed the Housing Executive has been underfunded and "that this has created a public housing crisis".

"However, privatisation is not the answer.

"This will result in the NIHE becoming a private body, governed by an unaccountable board, with no scrutiny on behalf of tenants, little or no accountability to or scrutiny by the assembly or the minister."