Tag: Centrica

Local charities left homeless as 1 Waterfront Avenue closes due to water damage

LOCAL organisations, charities and social enterprises have been left homeless due to water damage to the former Centrica building at 1 Waterfront Avenue.

The organisations lease space at Waterfront through Edinburgh Pallette, occupying floors 2 and three of the building.

Karen Black, founder and CEO of SHE Scotland, explained: “We were notified on 3rd January and it is unlikely to be fixed until next month at earliest! We have only today (Wednesday 10 January) been told we can only have limited access to small items and still no full access to our resources. 

“You can understand this had impacted negatively on local services, delivery of services, moral of staff and volunteers. At this time when the pressure on funding, staff retention, cost of living impact and now the issue with space is causing a real strain to all of us.”

Among the organisations affected are:

  • SHE Scotland
  • Scran Academy
  • Edinburgh Uniform Bank
  • North West Carers
  • Who Cares
  • Project Esperanza
  • Passion for Fusion
  • Social Print
  • Veterans Society 
  • Baby Bank
  • Sharp Stuff

The affected organisations have written to Centrica:

We are writing on behalf of a number of Edinburgh charities and small voluntary sector companies who lease space in one of your sites – 1 Waterfront Avenue, Edinburgh. You may be aware that this site has had to close due to flooding in the basement of the building. 

Fortunately, Centrica employees have been very quickly relocated to offices in another part of Edinburgh with little or no business interruption. 

Unfortunately, the other businesses who lease the space who form the signatories of this letter – all low-income charities and community interest companies – have not been supported in the same way and many face business-critical disruption. We were advised on Friday 5th January that the building would be closed until the 31st January. No priority was given to ensure access to files or materials essential for continued business operation. In fact, it was not until one week later that we were finally advised that we could enter the building accompanied to collect small items.

This closure will cause all of these voluntary sector organisations considerable business interruption and possible loss of contracts. This will directly impact the support our organisations provide for local communities, as well as risking loss of income and reputation. Not only are there business delivery consequences to this but there is a substantial human cost. The stress on our staff and volunteers of finding out that their place of work has lost its’ operating base literally overnight is considerable. 

Every tenant is now scrambling around trying to find alternative premises instead of focusing on core delivery. Delivery which is essential to the well-being of our local communities. The knock-on impacts of this are unmeasurable – businesses have been told they can have accompanied access to the building to collect ‘small items’. Where does that leave the Edinburgh School Uniform Bank, who store hundreds of uniforms to distribute to under-privileged school children or SHE Scotland who run workshops for young girls?

All these organisations have limited resources and rely on funding to survive so it is not a simple task to find alternative premises at short notice. We would like to advise you that we will be seeking compensation for business interruption and breach of lease obligations.

We feel we need to escalate this issue to a speedy resolution, and wish for Centrica to help our organisations, and the children, families and communities we support, to return to our space as quickly as possible. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Tenants of 1 Waterfront Avenue 

Waterfront Avenue office accommodation and facilities are advertised on Edinburgh Palette’s website:

Waterfront Avenue provides flexible, open-plan office accommodation in the heart of North Edinburgh’s evolving Waterfront area. The building is located adjacent to the iconic Granton Gasworks, which is due to undergo renovation to be transformed into a tree-lined amphitheatre for cultural events.

Currently occupying floors two and three. Opening hours for the building are between 8:30am and 6pm Monday to Friday and closed on Saturday and Sunday. The building will also be closed on all public holidays.

Facilities include:

  • Security access, in addition to security desk, and full intruder alarm
  • Climate controlled heating and cooling
  • Good quality toilet facilities
  • Fully accessible with two passenger lifts and accessible toilets
  • Access to One Waterfront Café on the ground floor, serving a selection of hot and cold food and drinks
  • Numerous breakout areas, strategically located within the spacious open plan space
  • Secure cycle parking
  • On major bus routes: 24, 38, 47, 113, X37 & X47.
    Buses 8, 14, 16, X29, N16 & Skylink 200 all stop on West Granton Road which is a short 6-minute walk

Equinor banks on £3.75 BILLION tax break while posting ‘outrageous’ profits

“The world is burning and the UK Government is helping the arsonists pay for the fuel”

Climate campaigners have reacted with outrage at the news that Norwegian oil giant Equinor has today announced pre-tax profits of £5.8 billion (US$7.5 billion) in JST THE LAST THREE MONTHS.

Campaigners said that with climate-induced fires sweeping Greece “the UK Government is helping the arsonists pay for the fuel” with a massive tax break for Equinor to develop a new oil field.

Equinor’s flagship project in the UK, the controversial Rosebank oil field, is in line to pocket a tax break of £3.75 billion from the UK Government to incentivise its development. This deliberate loophole in the Windfall Tax means that 91% of the cost of developing the 500 million barrel field will be covered by the public purse, despite Equinor’s massive profits and the fact that 80% of Rosebank’s oil will be exported.

Campaigners in Aberdeen yesterday delivered a giant ‘cheque’ to the Equinor offices to highlight the injustice of the tax break.

Last year, Equinor broke records with pre-tax yearly profits of £62 billion (US$74.9billion), benefiting from increased prices for oil and gas due to the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, energy bills for consumers skyrocketed and millions were pushed into fuel poverty.

There has been widespread opposition to the Rosebank field, with public protests across the UK, politicians including SNP MPs Tommy Sheppard and Mhairi Black and the head of the UK Government’s own climate advisory committee, Lord Deben, speaking out against the project.

A decision on Rosebank is rumoured to be scheduled for after the summer recess, following delays due to concerns that the project would not meet net zero commitments under the North Sea Transition Deal.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “These outrageous profits every quarter serve as a stark reminder that companies like Equinor have no intention of changing their ways.

“Fossil fuel giants are simply making too much money from upholding the climate-destroying status quo. Adding insult to injury is the massive tax break Equinor will receive should they go ahead with Rosebank, showing how the UK Government would rather hand out public money than say no to big polluters.

“Grant Shapps and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are blatantly ignoring the devastating impacts of climate breakdown, exemplified most recently in the terrifying wildfires in Greece.

“By cheerfully inviting oil companies to drill for yet more polluting fossil fuels, they are effectively denying the reality of the climate crisis. The world is burning and the UK Government is helping the arsonists pay for the fuel.

“The Scottish Government can no longer sit on the fence on this climate denial and must speak out against Rosebank and all other new fossil fuel projects. We need a just transition to clean, affordable energy now.”

BREAKING NEWS: British Gas parent company Centrica has just posted it’s highest ever profits – £969 million in first six months of this year. Shell, too, has just posted eye-watering profits.

No cost of living crisis for these companies …

Prepayment meter outrage: Shapps acts to address forced installations

  • Business Secretary gives energy suppliers deadline to urgently report back on remedial action for customers who faced wrongful installations
  • This follows damning reports earlier this week highlighting what appear to be breaches of rules and regulations to protect vulnerable households
  • Energy regulator Ofgem also asked to toughen up their investigations after they failed to find serious failings by British Gas

Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has today given energy bosses a deadline of Tuesday to report back to him on what remedial action – such as providing compensation – they plan to take should they have wrongfully installed prepayment meters in the homes of vulnerable customers.

It comes in the wake of British Gas admitting fault as a result of the Times investigation which showed even those with small children or medical conditions have not been shown forbearance, with reports of debt collectors breaking into homes to install the equipment.

But these findings by The Times newspaper follow several reviews by Ofgem of the services provided by energy suppliers, which have not identified this unacceptable behaviour – or other significant shortcomings – and have in some cases even given companies a clean bill of health.

Therefore the Business Secretary has today told Ofgem to toughen up on energy suppliers and investigate the customers’ experience of how their supplier is performing.

He called on the regulator to set up a new customer reporting system for households to pass on their own stories of how they are being treated – especially those who are vulnerable – and not just rely on energy firm bosses to share information with their regulator.

Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said: “ I am appalled that vulnerable customers struggling with their energy bills have had their homes invaded and prepayment meters installed when there is a clear duty on suppliers to provide them with support. They need to refocus their efforts on their consumers, the British public, who are at the receiving end of this abhorrent behaviour.

“ I’m also concerned the regulator is too easily having the wool pulled over their eyes by taking at face value what energy companies are telling them. They need to also listen to customers to make sure this treatment of vulnerable consumers doesn’t happen again.”

News reports across the country have highlighted examples of the forced installation of prepayment meters in the homes of those who are struggling to pay their bills.

The regulator has also been asked to toughen up their reviews, going beyond the company headquarters to find out what is really happening in people’s homes by hearing from them directly and engaging more with charities and other groups that represent consumers.

Currently, energy suppliers are required to provide Ofgem with information to demonstrate how they comply with the rules on supporting vulnerable consumers, on customers struggling to pay and on the fitting of prepayment meters.

The Business Secretary wants to see the voices of consumers and those who champion their needs heard when deciding which energy companies are meeting expectations  – with a customer reporting hotline being just one example we would want the regulator to consider.

On Thursday night a number of suppliers announced they would suspend forced installations after being pushed by Ofgem to pause the practice while they reassure the regulator they’re complying with the rules.

However, just over a week ago the Business Secretary launched a crackdown on the mistreatment of energy users by suppliers, already asking them to voluntarily commit to stopping this practice. He also demanded they share the number of warrants they’ve applied for in recent months and plans to publish the findings.

Earlier this week the Energy and Climate Minister also met British Gas CEO Chris O’Shea and expressed his horror at recent reports. He made it clear this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, especially from such a key and longstanding British company.

He urged Mr O’Shea to take urgent steps to repair the damage done to British Gas’ reputation and urgently come back to him outlining the role he will personally take to fix these cultural issues.

The British Gas boss was also told by the Minister that vulnerable, mistreated customers need to be identified and redress provided. He will be monitoring matters extremely closely to make sure this happens.

Last month the Business Secretary and Energy and Climate Minister called energy suppliers to voluntarily stop force fitting prepayment meters: 

https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1617055839788929024

Energy regulator launches urgent investigation into British Gas forced prepayment meter installations

An Ofgem spokesperson said: “These are extremely serious allegations from The Times. We are launching an urgent investigation into British Gas and we won’t hesitate to take firm enforcement action.

“It is unacceptable for any supplier to impose forced installations on vulnerable customers struggling to pay their bills before all other options have been exhausted and without carrying out thorough checks to ensure it is safe and practicable to do so.

“We have launched a major market-wide review investigating the rapid growth in prepayment meter installations and potential breaches of licences driving it.

“We are clear that suppliers must work hard to look after their customers at this time, especially those who are vulnerable. The energy crisis is no excuse for unacceptable behaviour towards any customer, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances.”

FORCE-FITTING payment meters in the home of vulnerable people is “shocking” and unnecessary, according to a leading energy expert.

Energy UK’s former CEO Angela Knight was commenting on the results of an investigation by the Times newspaper which found that British Gas was forcing people to have pre-payment meters.

It found that debt collectors working for the firm were breaking into people’s homes to fit the meters.

Ms Knight told GB News: “I do think it’s a shocking story and I think it’s a wake up call not just to [British Gas owner] Centrica, but to all the energy companies.

“Firstly, there are people who say, I’m not going to pay, they can afford to pay, but they won’t pay…

“That’s what this process is supposed to be for, the process being that the energy company applies to the court for a court order in order to put in a pre-paid meter.

“So the individuals who say they won’t pay, but as I say, they can afford to, they are getting a pre-paid meter, so they’re not cut off.”

In a discussion with Bev Turner, she said: “But then, you’ve got a lot of people who fit into that vulnerable category and that’s people like the elderly, or people who are disabled, it’s those with very young children.

“And if they have hit a difficulty with being able to pay for their energy, and a lot of people are finding it difficult at the moment, then a pre-paid meter is not the answer. 

“They need to have an arrangement with their energy company and importantly, the energy company has a responsibility to find out first if somebody who isn’t paying falls into one of those special categories, and vulnerable categories.

“And if they do, then they shouldn’t be applying to the courts, what they should be doing is making another arrangement.”

Ms Knight added: “Now what Centrica said is they’ve stopped all of their applications right now and good on them.

“Clearly, they’re going to have to sort out the vulnerable from the not vulnerable, but they have not got a few months to do it, and then they can refresh how they approach this problem.

“And I think that what The Times’ sting has done, and what the Centrica announcement means, is that all other energy companies pay exactly the same amount of attention first, before applying for that court order.”

Commenting on the decision by Ofgem, which has ordered British Gas to stop force-fitting prepayment meters, the National Association of Property Buyers said:  “The sorry story of utility providers that was uncovered by The Times newspaper investigation highlights the potential injustices faced by many people in financial difficulty. 

“The NAPB welcomes the  fact that the company concerned has held their hands up and that Ofgem will be taking action to address the issue.

Spokesman Jonathan Rolande continued: “There is still a question to answer though. How, as a society do we deal with a situation where a householder has missed numerous payments and received letters and calls offering help, all to no avail?

“With heat, light and water being such basic human essentials, at what point are the companies allowed to disconnect? If allowed to continue unchallenged the lost revenue would inevitably be passed on to other paying customers – would that be fair? The providers are companies, should they carry the cost of unpaid bills alone?

“But the case in favour of the utility providers is seriously undermined by the huge profits made and massive salaries paid to executives – their pay is often counted in millions and there is no public sympathy for their cause.

“For now it is a relief that the intrusive practises of forced or tricked entry will be gone, but there are business and moral dilemmas for the companies, government and the public that will need to be addressed to ensure that the burden of unpaid bills doesn’t fall on those who are struggling but paying.”

Fuel poverty charity reveals 45 people per day die from cold homes

  • Last month, ONS releases figures showing 13,400 more deaths occurred in the winter period (December 2021 to March 2022) compared with the average of the non-winter months. 
  • Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action says that based on modelling by the World Health Organisation, cold homes caused 4,020 excess winter deaths last year in England and Wales. That’s 45 people per day in winter months. 
  • Despite the new figures being the second lowest for decades, the charity warns they only cover last winter, when energy bills were half the amount that they are now. 
  • The report coincides with the full publication of National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Monitor, which finds that households that have a low income and have a medical condition or use powered medical equipment at home are most at risk of the worst impacts of living in a cold home. 
  • They say these households have not been provided with adequate support during the Energy Crisis and are fearful next year’s winter mortality figures will be much worse.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released figures showing there were 13,400 more deaths in England and Wales in the winter period (December 2021 to March 2022) compared with the average of the non-winter months.

Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action has said that up to 4,020 of these deaths were preventable and were caused by the impact of cold homes. That’s 45 people dying per day in the winter months last year – 42 in England and three in Wales. However, because of the time lag of the data, the true picture for this winter is likely to be much worse.

Last October 4.5 million UK homes were in fuel poverty, according to the charity’s figures, now – even with Government support, it’s 6.7 million UK households. The average annual bill has almost doubled in a year – from £1,271 to £2,500. The charity warns this means next year’s ONS figures are likely to be much worse.

Adam Scorer, chief executive of National Energy Action (NEA), said: “Every year we see the consequences of failing to keep the most vulnerable people safe and warm during the coldest, winter months.

“Today’s figures show a significant drop in premature winter deaths, partly because of a higher number of deaths outside winter months, but it’s still 45 people per day in the winter months. The truth is that we should not accept any death directly caused by a cold, unsafe home.

“Next year, these statistics will expose the full impact of today’s energy crisis. The toxic combination of extraordinary heating costs, stagnant or falling incomes, and our notoriously poor, unhealthy housing stock will take a heavier toll with lives blighted by debt, ill health, and worse.  

“Milder weather may not save us, or thousands of vulnerable households this winter. We must do all we can now to prevent a public health emergency and further needless deaths. Fuel poverty needs long term solutions, but this winter we need the UK Government to give more support and stop millions falling through the cracks with the most awful consequences.”

The ONS figures cover the same period as National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Monitor, which is released in full on Thursday 19 January. The Executive Summary was released on Tuesday 17 January.

The Fuel Poverty Monitor shows that households falling into multiple intersecting categories of vulnerability are being disproportionately affected by the Energy Crisis.

While all low-income households are feeling a significant strain during the crisis, impacts go beyond those receiving means-tested benefits, and are felt most acutely by those households that have intersecting categories of vulnerability. These households are not caught by traditional identification measures and new ways of finding vulnerable households are required.

In particular, those households that have both a low income and have a medical condition or in need of powered medical equipment at home are most at risk of the worst impacts of living in a cold home. They have not been provided with adequate support.

Previous research has consistently demonstrated the links between cold homes and health conditions, especially musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and respiratory conditions, as well as conditions related to mental ill health.

And, a recent systematic review of evidence from across the globe concluded that fuel poverty is associated with “poorer general health, poorer mental health, poorer respiratory health, more and worse controlled chronic conditions, higher mortality, higher use of health services and higher exposure to health risks, with worse results for vulnerable groups across dimensions of inequality.”

Moreover, cold homes are linked to the development and/or exacerbation of cold-related illnesses, especially in winter, and contribute directly to excess winter deaths, hospitalisations, and wider pressure on health and social care services.

British Gas doesn’t give a toss for customers or staff, says GMB

200 workers sacked in national ‘Fire and Rehire’ dispute

British Gas doesn’t give a toss for either customers or staff – and that is shown by the mass sackings of engineers who are badly needed by customers to clear huge backlog, says the GMB trade union.

British Gas went ahead with yesterday’s mass sacking of striking gas engineers who refused to submit to corporate bullying to accept a 15% cut in pay rates and other imposed changes in terms and conditions.

This coincides with British Gas suspending the sale of boiler insurance cover amid scenes of ‘van graveyards’ from the vans returned by the sacked gas engineers.

This mass sackings  were enacted as gas engineers took part on the 43rd day of strike action in the long-running, deadlocked and increasingly bitter dispute.

British Gas announced in July last year that staff in the Field staff bargaining group who refused to accept imposed 15% cuts in pay rates and other changes would be sacked.

GMB says the company bullied the rest of the staff in the Field staff bargaining group to sign terms they had overwhelmingly rejected and still don’t accept.

These GMB members at British Gas have already taken 42 days of strike action against the imposition of the 15% cuts in pay rates and other changes via “fire and rehire” notices.

In addition, a national official “lockout” dispute between British Gas and GMB will become effective from 14 April and will include further strike action and action short of a strike.

The strikes have led to a backlog of millions of customers waiting for planned service visits and hundreds of thousands having to wait for emergency repairs.

British Gas has suspended sale of the standard boiler service insurance.

Justin Bowden, GMB Regional Secretary said: “That British Gas doesn’t give a toss for either customers or staff is shown by the mass sackings of engineers it needs so badly for customer services that it has suspended the sale of boiler insurance cover.

“The ‘graveyards of vans’ returned by the sacked gas engineers shows this.

“These sacked gas engineers are badly needed by customers to clear the huge backlog of missed planned annual service visits and repairs.

“There is sadly nothing in law to stop corporate bullying by companies of their own staff to sign terms they don’t accept and sacking those who don’t submit to this bullying.

“But GMB members won’t accept the outcome of the bullying. This is why we are staging the 43rd day of strike action today. 

“I have news for Mr O’Shea. This is not the end of the dispute. As well as being in dispute with his own staff he is now in dispute with the national union GMB.

“This is why this dispute will continue and become an official national lockout dispute. There will be more strikes and action short of strikes.

“The British Gas leadership disaster reaches its low point today (April 14) with mass sackings of British Gas Engineers – in the only consistently profitable part of the company – by a management team too stupid to see the true value of a uniquely skilled and loyal workforce.

“With hundreds of thousands waiting in the backlog for service, customers have been treated as collateral and so, it seems, too will staff – as Mr O’Shea prepares to go down in history as the first major CEO to mass sack his highly skilled and qualified engineers.

“They are his most valuable asset. He will be universally condemned by politicians and public alike for doing so.

“The arrogant gamble has been lost. Any fool can start a war and, it seems, ruin a good business.

“History will not be kind to Mr O’Shea or the Centrica Board who failed to rein in him and his out-of-control leadership team.” 

A statement posted on the British Gas website yesterday said: “Unfortunately, due to strike action by some engineers on Wednesday the 14th of April, we’re only able to offer a very limited emergency service.

“During this time we’ll be prioritising our most vulnerable customers, but we’ll do our best to help everyone as quickly as we can. Thanks for understanding – we’re so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.”

A Centrica spokesperson said: “There is a job for everyone at the end of this process. We are changing the way we work to give our customers the service they want and protect the future of our company and 20,000 UK jobs. Today marks the end of the period for our employees to sign new contracts.

“These are highly competitive, and our changes are reasonable. Around 98% of the entire company has accepted and we hope the remaining, also sign and choose to stay. We have not cut base pay or changed our generous final salary pensions. Our gas service engineers remain some of the best paid in the sector, earning £40,000 a year minimum.

“While change is difficult, reversing our decline which has seen us lose over three million customers, cut over 15,000 jobs and seen profits halved over the last 10 years is necessary. The changes will also unlock our ability to grow jobs and hire 1000 green apprentices over the next two years.’’

Gas Workers Launch Fresh Strikes As British Gas Refuse To Drop ‘Fire And Rehire’

More than 1,000 British Gas workers across Scotland will launch twelve more days of strike action from tomorrow (Friday 12 March), in response to Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea’s refusal to drop his controversial ‘fire and rehire’ policy.

Engineers will walk out from 00.01 hours on Friday 12 March until 21.59 hours on Monday 15 March, again on Friday 19 March to Monday 22 March, and finally on Friday 26 March to Monday 29 March, taking the total number of strike days in the dispute to forty-two.

The latest wave of strikes was confirmed after workers across the UK voted by a resounding majority of four-to-one against proposals tabled through ACAS over the future of their terms and conditions, with Centrica refusing to lift the ‘fire and rehire’ imposition.

After thirty days of previous strikes, more than 250,000 homes across the UK are in a backlog for repairs and 350,000 planned annual service visits have been axed.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Hazel Nolan said: “This dispute can end now if Chris O’Shea finally does the right thing by dropping his controversial ‘fire and rehire’ policy.

“It’s shameful that in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, Centrica are using this public health crisis to threatened workers with the sack if they don’t accept imposed changes to their livelihoods.

“This is the kind of behaviour you would expect from a cowboy contractor and not the CEO of a great British institution. It’s not modern, it’s Dickensian and there should be no place for this in our country.

“The message is loud and clear: Stop the fire and rehire in British Gas, and let’s return to proper negotiations over the future of this business and its workers.”

Strike action set for British Gas over ‘Fire and Rehire’ plan

Over 1,000 British Gas workers in Scotland will begin five days of strikes from 00.01 hours this morning (Thursday 7 January) as part of the biggest dispute seen in the sector for over forty years.

In a direct response to the ‘fire and rehire’ plan for British Gas operations laid-out by Centrica Plc Group’s Chief Executive Officer Chris O’Shea, over 10,000 GMB members across the UK four nations will take part in the action.

O’Shea has refused to accept efforts by GMB to negotiate a way forward for the business. Instead, after months of talks, workers have been told to accept the slashing of wages and conditions, or face being sacked.

All British Gas divisions and services, including Service & Repair, Electrical Services, Smart Metering, Installations, and Customer Services will be impacted.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Commercial Services Hazel Nolan, blasted Centrica’s executives for their role in creating their own company crisis and exploiting workers during the COVID-19 pandemic:

“Today is CEO pay day, Chris O’Shea will take home a pre-bonus wage of £775,000, and Centrica have recorded a £901million operating profit for 2019.

“While GMB members in British Gas acted as emergency workers during the COVID19 pandemic, Chris O’Shea & the Senior Millionaires Team of British Gas were busy plotting how to slash workers terms & conditions.

“In the grip of a global pandemic, Chris O’Shea’s anti-worker, ‘fire and rehire’ agenda would set a dangerous precedent for major UK employers, opening the floodgates for widespread attacks on workers’ jobs, pay and conditions. This is not how a country builds back better.

“GMB members are being told they’ll be sacked and then forced to accept new terms and conditions – across the board cuts in wages pensions and leave. Take it or leave it. Centrica are turning a once great British industrial institution into a cowboy contractor.

“We have no choice but to fight-back.”

Centrica says contingency measures are in place.

Pledge to protect workers

FAIR WORKS PRACTICES HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR COLLABORATION

Business groups, trades unions and leaders from local government and the third sector have committed to putting fair work at the heart of Scotland’s economic recovery.

As Scotland continues to ease lockdown restrictions, organisations including the Institute of Directors (IoD), SCDI, STUC, COSLA and SCVO have signed a statement underlining the collaborative approach needed between employers, unions and workers to ensure workplaces can operate safely.

Fair Work Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “There is no doubt that Scotland’s economy faces an enormous challenge as we emerge from the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. However, I firmly believe that with employers across all sectors of the economy working in partnership with unions and workers we can use the crisis as an opportunity build fairer and more inclusive workplaces.

“In March we published a statement of Fair Work Principles, setting out our high expectation for keeping fair work at the heart of our national response to COVID-19 during lockdown. Now, as these restrictions continue to ease, we must maintain the momentum we have started to build, ensuring collaboration between workers, employers, representative groups and trades unions.

“This new statement will help employers and employees make decisions that are in everyone’s interest as we carefully reopen the economy. I have been deeply impressed by the work already done in this area, and I want to offer my sincere gratitude to workers and employers for reacting with such agility and dynamism to the challenges thrown up by the pandemic.”

Malcolm Cannon, IoD National Director, Scotland, said: “It is absolutely critical for the recovery of the Scottish economy that the Government works closely with Business Organisations, and the IOD is happy to support this fair work initiative.”

The revised Fair Work Statement was signed by the Institute of Directors, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, COSLA, SCVO, the STUC and Scottish Government.

Last week, the Unite trade union criticised Centrica’s employment plans.

The plan by Centrica, owner of British Gas, ‘to fire and rehire’ its 20,000 employees is the latest example of organisations using the coronavirus emergency as a smokescreen to shed jobs, and erode pay and conditions of workers.

Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, said the decision of the energy giant follows on from other high profile employers, such as British Airways and the University of Sheffield, which have also adopted similar ‘deplorable’ employment practices during the pandemic.

Unite represents Centrica workers including electrical services’ engineers, as well as those employed at power stations and at Centrica Storage Ltd.

Unite regional officer Mark Pettifer said: “The notice that Centrica has given the trade unions that it is going to ‘fire and rehire’ its 20,000 staff on what, we believe, will be inferior pay and employment conditions is deplorable.

“It is part of a disturbing trend where employers are using the pandemic to shed staff and erode employment conditions.

“Centrica is adopting the same tactics as BA and is using Covid-19 as a smokescreen to cut jobs of loyal and dedicated staff who have worked through the lockdown providing energy to the nation.

“Centrica has been in consultations with the unions for the last fortnight over its future plans and now in an act of bad faith unveils its ‘fire and rehire’ plans. It smacks of blackmail – ‘If you don’t do what we want, we will issue notice of dismissals’.

“Unite urges the Centrica management to have an urgent rethink and engage constructively with the trade unions to tackle the specific issues facing Centrica and, more generally, the UK energy sector post-Covid-19.”

In June, Centrica announced that it would be axing of 5,000 jobs, primarily at management level. Before lockdown the company faced a situation of customers leaving to go to smaller suppliers, the energy price cap and falling gas prices.

More information about Fair Work can be found on the Fair Work Convention website.

“Disastrous” British Gas boss should go now, not later says trade union

British Gas owner Centrica’s chief executive Iain Conn is to step down from his post board next year. He made the announcement as the company posted a pre-tax loss of £446 million in the six months to June. The GMB trade union said Conn had ‘utterly failed’ and should go now, not later. Continue reading “Disastrous” British Gas boss should go now, not later says trade union

700 more jobs to go at Centrica

Scottish Gas owner Centrica plans to cut around 700 management and back office jobs under previously announced reductions as it faces “growing challenges,” the company announced this week.

The company said staff had been informed about the job losses, which are part of its ‘ongoing transformation’.

A Centrica spokesman said: “This difficult decision was made because we need to respond to the growing challenges we face. The energy market is going through continued rapid change, competition is fierce, our energy customers are leaving us and we’re operating under a price cap.

“Over the next 45 days, as part of a full consultation process, we will discuss the proposals and seek the views of employees and their representatives.”

Responding to the latest round of job cuts in Centrica, GMB Scotland Organiser Hazel Nolan said: “It’s the continued collapse of a once great British institution ahead of what will surely be a set of disastrous results next month.

“Iain Conn (Centrca’s CEO) is battling to save his skin on the back of a loyal workforce – thousands of livelihoods have already been lost and thousands more will pay the price for Conn’s rotten leadership.

“Let’s be clear that without intervention, sooner or later Scotland will suffer more pain; we expect a continued wave of cuts in the months to come and that’s more bad news for the fragile Scottish economy

“Iain Conn cannot keep cutting his way out of a crisis, Centrica will have to come forward with a credible recovery plan that reverses years of customer decline, defends jobs and works for the public interest.”

UNISON national energy officer Matt Lay said: “This is another terrible blow for a workforce that’s already seen hundreds of jobs go. It’s a catastrophe being repeated up and down the country as all the major energy suppliers axe staff in a desperate attempt to stay afloat.

“But it doesn’t have to be this way. If the government took the retail arms of the big six energy firms into public ownership these jobs could be saved. The staff could then help us all go green and ensure the UK meets its target to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

Earlier this week UNISON published Power to the People, a report calling on the government to nationalise the parts of the big six energy firms that sell energy to customers to help the UK hit its carbon neutral target by 2050.

The big six energy firms are British Gas (Centrica), SSE, E.ON, EDF Energy, Npower (Innogy) and Scottish Power (Iberdrola).