Thousands of Glasgow City Council workers will be balloted for a new wave of industrial actions after overwhelmingly supporting strikes against low pay and pay discrimination.
99 per cent of GMB members across home care, Glasgow Life, education, and social work are prepared to take strike action against the council’s attempts to exclude over a fifth of posts included in the 2019 equal pay settlement from future liabilities.
Meanwhile, three-quarters of members in the city’s cleansing services said the fourteen points recently negotiated with the Council Leader for the future of the service and lowest-paid do not go far enough, with four-fifths saying they would be willing to strike again in response.
A statutory industrial action ballot of cleansing workers will now take place in December, while workers in services impacted by the council’s ongoing pay discrimination will commence a ballot in January.
GMB Scotland Organiser Sean Baillie said: “The lowest-paid workers in Glasgow City Council have been undervalued, exploited and ignored, and their anger is reflected in these overwhelming ballot results.
“It sends a clear message to the council and government that there must be change in Glasgow. Scotland’s biggest city has deep and chronic problems, it is blighted by low-pay and discrimination, and its budget has been hammered by years of cuts. That’s not talking Glasgow down, it’s simply stating facts.
“No political party has clean hands in this Glasgow story and politicians at all levels of representation should listen to the voices of these workers because it will need a response from them all.
“But our members aren’t going to stand on ceremony, they understand it’s only through their industrial strength that they can hope to make work better and ultimately make Glasgow better.”
COSLA says urgent action is needed to address the consequences of real term cuts to the core budgets of Scotland’s 32 Councils in recent years.
The call comes as Finance Secretary Kate Forbes prepares to lay out the government’s spending plans in the Scottish Budget on December 9.
COSLA says Local Government can no longer continue to be the ‘poor relation’ it has been in recent Budgets and that December 9 presents a perfect opportunity to reset Scottish public spending in a way that empowers councils to achieve their ambition for our communities.
Speaking at a virtual news conference in Edinburgh, the COSLA President, Councillor Alison Evison, said: “Enabling people to ‘Live Well Locally’ is a shared ambition across Scottish Government and Local Government, but the resources must be provided to deliver this at a local level in line with local democratic choice.
“Sadly cuts to Councils’ core budgets over recent years have not allowed us to fully realise this shared ambition.”
COSLA’s Vice President, Councillor Graham Houston, said: “The fact is that Scotland’s Councils are key to creating the conditions for people within our communities to ‘Live Well Locally’, whether that’s on a remote farm or in a city centre.
“People’s local environment has become even more important during the pandemic and Local Government must be empowered and funded properly to allow us to create the environment for people to ‘Live Well Locally.’ Recovery needs to start locally to tackle the key issues facing our communities and local leadership is needed for that.”
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Gail Macgregor, added: “Tackling the economic and health challenges created by the pandemic needs a local dimension – all the evidence and research backs this up.
“We fully support Scottish Government’s ambitions around economic transformation but that starts in every community.
“Local Government has been the poor relation of recent Budgets and our local knowledge and links need to be used fully before we are past the point of no return. Our communities are starting to show the neglect of an under-funded Local Government.
“Quite simply, what we need from this Budget is proper funding to provide the everyday services our communities need and deserve.”
Edinburgh’s Christmas is open! Festival goers at East Princes Street Gardens and Santa Land in its new home of West Princes Street Gardens made the most of opening weekend, with 92,446 people getting into the Christmas spirit in a fun, safe environment.
And one of the most spectacular new ice rinks in the UK is all set to open TODAY.
Visitors will be able to put their skates on for the first time since 2018 and make the most of the ice rink, sponsored by Lidl GB and partnered by Essential Edinburgh.
Those that were looking to stay cosy over the weekend, winter warmers such as mulled wine and hot chocolate were on the menu as visitors made the most of the food and drink offerings that you skate up to within the rink.
Edinburgh Christmas 2021, Santa Land, West Princes Street Gardens
Children from across Scotland made their way through the Christmas Tree maze in a bid to find Santa’s Elves Workshop to get their Christmas wishes in early!
Christmas cheer was also in full force across East and West Princes Street where an array of festive craft, food & drink stalls and the Christmas Markets, Santa Land, featuring the magical Santa’s Grotto and family friendly attractions, including the Christmas Tree Maze, were bustling from morning till night.
Edinburgh’s Christmas will run until 4th January.
Tickets for Ice Skating, Santa’s Grotto, The Forth 1 Big Wheel and Christmas Tree Maze are available to purchase through Edinburgh’s Christmas website.
Those with an EH postcode receive 20% off their tickets.
Geometric snowflakes will also illuminate The Mound alongside Edinburgh’s Christmas tree from today.
Edinburgh Christmas 2021, Santa Land, East Princes Street Gardens
Underbelly Co-Directors, Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam said: “Edinburgh’s Christmas is back! Our opening weekend was a huge success and it’s been great to see everyone spreading the Christmas cheer – at long last!
“We’re so excited to unveil our spectacular new ice rink on George Street, it’s set to become an icon for the city and for Scotland of how to celebrate winter.”
A year of celebrations marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion Scotland will culminate in a musical extravaganza on Sunday 28th November. A Centenary Concert will feature performances from the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Legion Scotland Sweetheart Amy Hawthorn, the Edinburgh Academy Chamber Choir and many others.
In June 1921, with the trauma and painful after-effects of the First World War crippling the nation, four ex-service organisations came together at St Cuthbert’s Church in Edinburgh to unite for the greater good of the nation. At that moment the Royal British Legion Scotland was born.
100 years later, St Cuthbert’s will host the charity in celebrating its centenary.
Dr Claire Armstrong, Chief Executive of Legion Scotland, said: “The Centenary Concert will be a fitting culmination to a memorable year for our members. In June, 100 commemorative wreaths were laid at War Memorials across the country exactly 100 years since the formation of the Legion.
“During the summer months members of our Bikers Branch set off on a National Ride to visit our network of branches and clubs throughout the country. We hoped to hold a huge Beating Retreat event in Dundee in September, but the ongoing restrictions meant this has been postponed until April 2022. Nevertheless, branches and clubs across Scotland held their own local celebrations.
“The past few weeks have seen a return to our usual programme of Remembrance events up and down the country, which have been exceptionally well attended. Remembering the fallen and joining together in a spirit of comradeship has always lay at the heart of our ethos. The number of people, both veterans and members of the public, who want to show their support demonstrates that Legion Scotland has a very bright future ahead.”
The Centenary Concert is split into four acts, with each examining a different aspect of the Legion’s history.
The first act will highlight the aftermath of the First World War and the formation of the Legion. Act two will explore the Legion’s early years and the impact of the Second World War. This will be followed by two further acts, looking at the legacy of more recent conflicts and ahead to a positive future for Legion Scotland beyond its centenary. Other performers include Juniper 3, Dunfermline and District Pipe Band and Jedburgh Pipe Band.
The Centenary Concert takes place on Sunday 28th November at The Parish of St Cuthbert’s Church in Edinburgh and begins at 7.00pm.
A number of tickets are still available free of charge and can be booked by emailing events@legionscotland.org.uk.
Charity will increase support for drug users in recovery
Bluevale Community Club in Glasgow has been awarded almost £100,000 to enable them to continue with their recovery and wellbeing services, helping their work in the community and with people in recovery from problematic substance use.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will confirm the funding over the next two years during a visit to their recovery club which opened earlier this year.
The First Minister will also visit the community club’s sports facilities which offer a range of activities for young people and adults including boxing, personal training and strength endurance classes which focus on improving the mental and physical health of members.
She will be joined on the visit by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross.
The First Minister said: “The work being done by Bluevale Community Club in their local area helping people to live healthier lifestyles through their activity classes and recovery drop-ins is fantastic. It is an excellent example of how sustained, meaningful activities and supportive social networks are key to building stronger communities.
“The funding of almost £100,000 will help them focus on expanding these services further and give employment to young people who have given their time free until now.
“The rights of individuals to access effective treatment and support underpins our national drugs strategy. But we know there is more to do to make these rights a reality which is why we launched the National Mission backed by an additional £250m over the next five years to improve and increase access to services for people affected by drug addiction – including an investment of £100m on residential rehabilitation.
“We are determined that every penny of that will make a difference to all those affected by this public health emergency.”
Bluevale Founder and Project Manager Kenny Trainer said: “We welcome the visit by the First Minister and Douglas Ross to see first-hand not only what we are trying to achieve here at Bluevale Community Club but also meet the people who remind us daily why we do it.
“We have run our club on a voluntary basis and welcome the investment from the Scottish Government that will allow us to employ two part time members of staff, allowing us to focus more on developing a whole community response to recovery. Prior to this funding we were unsure if we would last beyond Christmas. We will continue to look at further alternatives to meet the additional shortfall in meeting our charity’s mission and ambition.
“We now ask that all parties, and both governments, put their political differences aside and agree on how we can tackle Scotland’s problems not just at a national level, but locally – ensuring that any investment reaches the heart of our communities where it will make the biggest impact.
“We have seen too many friends and family members die while seeking access to the help they needed and that’s why we back any rights-based approach when it comes to drug treatment – one based on holding decision makers to account where necessary.”
Financial support for families of children with a disability now available nationwide
Child Disability Payment opens for new applications across the country from today. For the first time anywhere in the UK, disability benefit applicants can apply online, as well as by phone, post or face-to-face.
This is the first of three complex disability benefits to be introduced nationwide by the Scottish Government. This new payment replaces the UK Government’s Disability Living Allowance for children.
Those already receiving Disability Living Allowance for children do not need to apply. These approximately 52,000 current cases are being automatically transferred in phases from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland. This will be completed by spring 2023.
Child Disability Payment, which will be administered by Social Security Scotland, provides families with support for extra costs that a disabled child might have.
The national roll out to all local authority areas follows successful pilots in Dundee City, Perth & Kinross and the Western Isles.
Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “I’m really pleased that Child Disability Payment is now available to eligible families all over Scotland.
“This is a significant milestone in the introduction of our new social security system. Families who find themselves in need of support will be able to access this help in a way that suits them best.
“Those who currently receive Disability Living Allowance for children from the DWP will also be transferred to Social Security Scotland. They will be told when this is happening and will find their payments transferred safely and securely within the next 18 months. Payments will be made at the same rate and there will be no break in entitlement.
“In the months and years ahead thousands of families will benefit from our simplified and much less stressful system, which will treat everyone with dignity, fairness and respect.
“Social security is a shared investment in building a fairer Scotland and we encourage those who are eligible for support to apply.”
Calling all doughnut fans: Morrisons are launching three new doughnuts as part of their Christmas bakery range. These festive treats are available in stores now and are made from scratch in store every day by our expert bakers.
The festive selection includes:
Morrisons Gingerbread Doughnut – with caramelised biscuit filling, chocolate glaze and topped with a mini gingerbread man.
Morrisons Snowman Doughnut – with strawberry filling, coated with a sticky white glaze, chocolate chips for eyes and mouth and topped off with a glacé cherry nose.
Morrisons Festive Sprinkle – a classic ring doughnut – a customer favourite – with a chocolate glaze and red and green sprinkles.
Morrisons doughnuts are a cult favourite among customers. Our festive trio will be sold as a mixed pack of three, costing £2 – less than 70p per doughnut.
Jacob Cox, Chief Doughnut Developer at Morrisons, said: “We love coming up with new additions to our doughnut range. They’re a really popular item in-store and our customers always let us know which ones are their favourites. We hope they enjoy these three new flavours as much as we’ve enjoyed creating them.”
This Christmas we’ve also launched Christmas Pudding flavour Soft Bake Cookies and Mince Pie Popcorn – perfect for sharing with family and friends this festive season to spread some Christmas cheer.
Or, if customers fancy rolling up their sleeves in the kitchen, our The Best Gingerbread Frosting is a quick and easy way to create a showstopper at home.
Our Christmas Doughnuts are available in 450 stores nationwide. The Mince Pie Popcorn, Christmas Pudding Cookies and Gingerbread Frosting are available in all stores.
Building on the success of COP26, the Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum has announced it will be holding a dedicated eco homes festival in 2022, delivering practical assistance and advice to help Scotland become a net zero nation.
Running from 8-12 August, the Green Home Festival will engage the public and businesses in the global challenge, offering demonstrations and hands-on guidance to help everyone reduce their carbon footprint and become more energy efficient.
The week-long experience will be part of the official Edinburgh Festival Fringe and will be organised by members of the CICV Forum, who are aiming to build it into an annual event.
One of the event’s organisers, John McKinney, Secretary of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, said: “The event will show and highlight the important role that construction will play for Scotland to achieve its net zero target in the years ahead.
“Delivered via collaboration across the Scottish construction industry through the CICV Forum, we are aiming to make this inaugural event an annual occasion that will help to build a long-term legacy and demonstrate our commitment to greener, low-carbon solutions.”
The Green Home Festival will host around 15 shows across five days, targeting homeowners, professionals, local authorities, housing associations and local authorities.
The sessions will be delivered via a hybrid of in-person and virtual shows, with in-person presentations hosted in Edinburgh and also live streamed to a global online audience.
On offer will be practical advice on how to carry out effective retrofit work on older homes as well as the latest technology for new homes. The sessions will also show how the construction industry can work together to make green home living a reality for everyone.
Co-organiser Gordon Nelson, Scotland Director of the Federation of Master Builders, said: “Through its practical demonstrations, the Green Home Festival will also show what we can all do to save energy and become a more efficient, low-carbon society.
“For homeowners, the demonstrations will include step-by-step examples of how to get your building ready and energy efficient.
“It will also give us the opportunity to share good examples of larger projects and the exciting new developments already demonstrated across Scotland, such as the Resource Efficient House in Ravenscraig.”
Fellow organiser David Logue, Partner at Gardiner & Theobald LLP, said: “Just like the Forum itself, the Green Home Festival will demonstrate collaboration and cooperation. There will be expert input from a range of designers, consultants and contractors, who will share their journey towards carbon reduction to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
“We are particularly looking forward to discussing the technology of heat sources, how they work, where they’re appropriate and how solar and wind power could be used to power them, including use of batteries.”
Further details about the festival are available by emailing:
and a more detailed schedule will be revealed next year.
The event is the latest in a string of practical and constructive initiatives launched by the Forum since its creation at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Made up of 29 trade associations, professional services bodies and companies, it has maintained a steady supply of information and practical advice to the sector as well as carrying out surveys, producing animations and posters, hosting webinars and maintaining close dialogue with Scottish Government ministers.
Digital artist has reworked masterpieces by Monet, Van Gogh, Constable and Pissarro to inspire a conversation about the engineering innovations that could help to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
· Technology such as agricultural robots, smart thermochromic windows, vertical farms and flying taxis have been woven into the reimagined impressionist masterpieces to depict what a more sustainable world may look like in the future.
· The artworks have been commissioned by the Royal Academy of Engineering as part of the This is Engineering Day campaign, which aims to encourage more young people to choose engineering careers to help achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
· Sympathetic reimaginings show how innovative agriculture, aviation, transport and buildings could help to transform everyday life and landscapes.
Painters such as Constable, Monet, Pissarro, and Van Gogh first made their marks in the art world during the industrial revolution. While this era drove economic benefits and improvements in living standards for many, we now know that it triggered the start of rising carbon emissions leading to global warming.
Masterpieces by these iconic artists have been reimagined to inspire conversations about the kinds of engineering advances that could help to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Electric planes and flying taxis, vertical orchards and rooftop farms are just some of the innovations that feature in the reworked masterpieces, commissioned by the Royal Academy of Engineering as part of its This Is Engineering campaign to promote engineering careers in response to a significant skills and diversity shortfall in the profession.
Van Gogh’s Factories at Clichy, Constable’s The Wheat Field, Pissarro’s La Rue Saint- Honoré and Monet’s The Seashore at Sainte-Adresse have been digitally remastered by a contemporary artist, Ashly Lovett, to show how engineering innovations could help to transform everyday life and landscapes in the future.
The Engineer the Future collection can be viewed at Strathclyde University in Glasgow and online via Google Arts & Culture. The aim of the exhibition is to start a conversation about what we want a net zero future to look like, and the role of future engineers in that, with viewers invited to contribute their own ideas via social media following This is Engineering Day on Wednesday 3 November 2021.
Were Van Gogh to paint Factories at Clichy in 2050, his masterpiece might feature autonomous ‘agbots’ – agricultural robots – tending the crops using precision farming; a development that could help to slash agricultural carbon emissions.
In the skies above, Sophie Harker, Assistant Chief Engineer of Electric Products at BAE Systems, thinks the painter would capture a variety of electrically powered ways to transport ourselves and our goods in 2050.
She says: “In the future, we may be using a pod system for public transport, for example on a Hyperloop. These pods could look like the Maglev trains and could travel within a vacuum to reduce drag and increase speed.
“People would likely use this system for travelling long distances cross-country or city to city, then shorter journeys could be taken by vertical taxis that carry up to four people. Heavy lift flying drones could also be used for transportation of goods or for emergency response.”
Constable’s The Wheat Field, reimagined for 2050, includes solar powered pruning robots, autonomous grass cutting machines and crop-monitoring drones. Meanwhile, environmentally friendly hydrogen planes can be seen in the sky, with futuristic shapes that maximise fuel-efficiency and range of travel.
Kit Franklin, Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Engineering at Harper Adams University, says: “The artistic reinterpretation of Constable has removed the hard physical labour and repetitive tasks of agricultural farmhands as autonomous robots take on the work humans would have traditionally done.
“Agbots make farming more precise to conserve vital resources like water and energy and we’ll see smaller machines in future to help preserve soil quality and health. A healthy soil is not only vital for growing food, it can also sequester carbon more effectively than one that has been compacted by large machinery.
“If Constable were to walk in the British countryside in 2050, he’d see smaller fields with strips of different coloured crops, and less productive fields rewilded with trees, wildflowers and shrubs to boost biodiversity and pollination.”
Professor Susan Gourvenec, RAEng Chair in Emerging Technologies for Intelligent & Resilient Ocean Engineering at the University of Southampton, whose ideas have been incorporated into a reimagined Monet, commented: “If Monet was to paint The Seashore at Sainte-Adresse in 2050, his famous seascape might feature offshore energy farms generating renewable energy through wind turbines or tidal power, which could be used to power homes or produce green hydrogen, and to refuel ocean-going cargo vessels offshore.
“Closer to the shore, seagrass plantations might be visible, which would not only capture carbon but also provide coastal protection and improve the coastal ecosystem and habitat for wildlife.”
The artist has also imagined a residential building on the coast that uses thermochromic windows to help to cool the house and generate solar power, reducing its carbon footprint and maximising efficiency.
Pissarro’s La Rue Saint-Honoré has been reworked to reflect a vision of the future in which a central hub links several public transport systems including an electrically powered monorail, vertical taxi station and underground stations.
Professor Chris Wise RDI FREng, Founder Partner of Expedition, says: “If Pissarro were to travel to Paris in 2050, he might find buildings that have been designed to take full advantage of their environment.
“No side of a building would look the same: the south facing side is shaded and both east and west facades have screens to capture the morning and evening sun. The artist might also find chameleon buildings with a ‘skin’ that is responsive to sunlight and shade for temperature regulation.
“Pissarro, who suffered from an eye-infection and eventually went blind, would find getting round the city easier with colour coded areas and rumble strips, as well as a monorail system that dispenses with the need for a car.
“He’d also find less hard landscaping. As we see increased rainfall and flooding in the future, cities will have replaced concrete pavements with more permeable materials and greenery.”
Dr Rhys Morgan, Director of Engineering and Education at the Royal Academy of Engineering says: “The UK’s goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a massive undertaking. Decarbonisation on this timescale and magnitude will bring widespread and rapid change to every aspect of daily life and meeting our goal of a net zero future will not be achieved without engineering expertise.
“From the ways we heat, cool and light our homes, to how we produce our food, how we build our houses and how we travel around, our future daily lives will be shaped by today’s engineers and engineering.
“These famous masterpieces originally captured a snapshot of daily life at a time when the consequences of carbon emissions were not known. By reimagining them for 2050 we hope to start a conversation about how engineers can help shape our net zero future and inspire the next generation to join the profession.
“To realise the emission-saving technologies imagined in these artworks, the UK needs more engineers – for example, National Grid estimates that the UK energy sector alone will need to fill 400,000 roles between now and 2050 to reach net zero.”
In a bid to boost recruitment and challenge the narrow stereotypes of what engineers look like and do, This is Engineering Day is an annual reminder of the importance of engineering to our daily lives.
Created by The Royal Academy of Engineering in 2018, the day celebrates the varied and vital roles that engineers play, from developing medical technologies like brain scanners and clean energy solutions, to powering the social media platforms and smartphones we rely on to keep in touch every day.
