Glasgow – Page 3 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Bringing nature films into the city! Glasgow hosts Wildscreen screenings

Glasgow has been selected to host Wildscreen’s two day film screening and networking event.
A brand new gathering for the city sees a clutch of screenings from Wildscreen Festival’s Official Selection 2022, including ‘Panteras, Living Among Wild Cats’ and ‘Wild Romania’.
The event is supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland and sponsored by Save our Seas Foundation.
Tickets are now on sale with both day and weekend passes available.

Returning to the city for the first time since 2016, Glasgow will host the first ever Wildscreen Roadshow event, a two day natural world storytelling film celebration. Taking place on 18th – 19th March at Tower North in the Glasgow Science Centre, the event has several film screenings, talks and Q&A sessions.

The films, from Wildscreen Festival’s Official Selection 2022, include ‘Panteras, Living Among Wild Cats’ and ‘Wild Romania’, as well as a series of three ocean films and the Young Programmers Selection. In addition, leading industry filmmakers and conservationists will be taking part in discussions and presentations, bringing global storytellers to Scotland.

Opening the event, which is supported by Screen Scotland, is the Wildscreen Festival Official Selection Programmer Prize Winner 2022 ‘Panteras, Living Among Wild Cats’, directed by Andoni Canela (Spain). It follows the renowned nature photographer and his son as they travel in search of the last wild cats on the planet. The full Saturday programme is set to be published in the coming weeks.

Sunday will begin with a series of ocean conservation films, including ‘CAUGHT’, directed by Emma Silverstone Segal (Canada) and ‘Whales in a Changing Ocean’, directed by Richard Sidey (New Zealand), followed by a Q&A with underwater filmmakers and marine conservationists.

The Young Programmers Selection will feature a carefully selected collection of short films curated by young programmers. Closing the two-day event, ‘Wild Romania’, directed by Dan Dinu and Cosmin Dumitrache and Wildscreen Festival Official Selection Audience Award Winner 2022, will follow the four seasons of the year to unveil the best kept secrets of Europe’s wilderness.

Gail Robertson, Screen Education Officer at Creative Scotland: “This event addresses a continued and vital need to provide young people with an opportunity to engage with climate change issues, natural filmmaking, and the screen industry.

“We hope it encourages their future involvement in all these arenas and tells them that their presence and voices in this area are not just welcome, but a necessity.”

Lucie Muir, CEO of Wildscreen, said: “Following our most successful festival to date alongside the launch of our Global Hubs in 2022, our Glasgow Roadshow will help us to further the crucial discussions around natural world storytelling. We must bring filmmaking into cities where people perhaps feel more of a disconnection from wildlife but still have a curiosity about nature.

“As the planet and biodiversity face increasing threats from climate change, our showcase will help to highlight some of the most underrepresented stories and voices from across the world whilst inspiring those in Glasgow and across Scotland to find their own stories closer to home. The time for action is now and we invite you to join us next month in what is our first of many Roadshows.”

Glasgow was chosen to host the showcase as it is considered the home of natural history in Scotland, with leading television and film production companies, including Maramedia and Hello Halo, also based in the city. As a previous European City of Culture, it has a long heritage and history with arts, creativity and storytelling.

Tickets are now on sale from as little as £12 with a variety of passes and concessions available to those seeking employment, in full-time education, registered disabled or over the age of 65.

The event is supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland, who is providing funding specifically to help underrepresented young people in the area, and it is sponsored by Save our Seas Foundation.

Find out more here.

Defend the Right to Strike: Day of Action across Scotland today

The STUC, along with the TUC, are coordinating a protect the right to strike day today (Wednesday 1 February).

PM Rishi Sunak is trying to force his anti-union “sack key workers bill” through parliament in a matter of weeks. It means that when workers democratically vote to strike, they could be forced to work and sacked if they don’t.

That’s wrong, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal. We need to stop this bill.

These new laws are a direct attack on working people’s fundamental right to strike to defend their pay, terms and conditions.

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh Day of Action

The Day of Action for Edinburgh will consist of three events:

Rally in the Mound at noon particularly for the PCS DWP members who will be on strike that day;
Indoor rally in the Southside Community Centre at 1.00pm/1.30pm.
Rally in the Mound at 5.00pm particularly for EIS members.

More events in Scotland:

GLASGOW

Book a ticket for our Defend the Right to Strike Rally in Glasgow.

Solidarity with worker striking on the 1st February

Join our solidarity rally. Scottish workers in the civil service, higher education, some schools, some rail operators and Co-op Funeral Care will all be taking industrial action on 1st.

Join our joint strike rally at the Donald Dewar Steps, Buchanan Street at 12 noon.

DUNDEE

Dundee Day of Action

Rally 1pm, City Square, Dundee

Further details on facebook

ABERDEEN

Aberdeen Trades Council will be hosting a rally at St Nicholas Square, Aberdeen at 5.30pm on 1st Feb to protect the right to strike.

Petition

Sign the petition and join the campaign.

Lobby your MP

Whatever party your MP is in, you have a part to play in stopping this bill in its tracks. Use forms to request a meeting here.

Be part of the social media storm

Get on social media channels and get the message out by using #RightToStrike. We need people to know that their right to strike is under attack.

Glasgow has the shortest life expectancy for people aged 40

Residents in Glasgow City have the shortest remaining life expectancy compared to any other UK area
West Dunbartonshire comes in second for females whilst Blackpool is second for males
Inverclyde is third for females, and West Dunbartonshire is third for males

New analysis has revealed that Glasgow City has the shortest life expectancy for both men and women aged 40.

The research, by care experts Guardian Carers, analysed ONS data to reveal the life expectancy from the age of 40 for each local authority in the UK.

A 40-year-old resident of Glasgow City has the lowest remaining life expectancy compared to any other UK area. For women living in this area, the average life expectancy from the age of 40 is 39.3 years more – this is nearly ten years less than their female counterparts in Kensington and Chelsea. Male residents have an average 34.8 years more from the ages of 40.

West Dunbartonshire comes in second for women who, on average have 39.8 years left to live after the age of 40, and Blackpool places second for men at 36 years.

Ranking as the areas with the third lowest life expectancy after the ages of 40 are Inverclyde, with an average of 40.1 years expected for women, and West Dunbartonshire for men, with a predicted 36.04 years. The top three areas with the lowest life expectancy for women are situated in Scotland.

Blackpool comes in fourth for women who, according to the ONS data, have on average, 40.2 years left to live after the age of 40. Dundee City has the fourth lowest life expectancy for men with 36.2 years.

Women aged 40 in North Lanarkshire have, on average, 40.4 years left to live. Inverclyde male residents have 36.5 years, making these the areas with the fifth lowest life expectancy in the UK for women and men.

Knowsley comes in sixth as women living in this area are expected to have 40.6 years left to live. Manchester provides a further 36.7 years for men.

In seventh place, Dundee City’s female residents have an average 40.7 years of life expectancy after the age of 40, while men living in North Lanarkshire have 36.8 years.

Women in Manchester are expected to live for 40.8 more years after the age of 40, and 37.01 years for men living in Kingston upon Hull, making these the areas with the eighth highest life expectancy.

In ninth place, 40-year-old women living in Liverpool are estimated to have 40.8 years to live on average, while the figure is 37.2 years for men living in this area.

Ranking as the areas with the tenth highest life expectancy after the age of 40 is East Ayrshire for women with an average of 41 years left to live, and East Ayrshire for men, who have 37.3 years.

A 40-year-old woman living in Kensington and Chelsea has the highest remaining life expectancy compared to any other UK area. For women living in this borough, the average life expectancy from the age of 40 is 48.6 years more. Male residents in Westminster have an average of 45.5 years more from the ages of 40, the highest amount for men in the UK.

A spokesperson for Guardian Carers commented on the findings: “Women living in Kensington and Chelsea have an extra expected 9.3 years left to live compared to those in Glasgow.

“The disparities seen between areas of the UK in this analysis could highlight major problems in social, economic or health-related factors. It also shines a light on the finding that women across the UK are expected to live longer than men.

“The age of 40 marks the typical midway through an average lifetime, and it is fascinating to see how many years people can expect to live further, in each location.”

The UK Areas With The Lowest Life Expectancy For Women At The Age Of 40
Local Authority	LE
Glasgow City	39.33
West Dunbartonshire	39.83
Inverclyde	40.12
Blackpool	40.2
North Lanarkshire	40.39
Knowsley	40.66
Dundee City	40.74
Manchester	40.77
Liverpool	40.8
East Ayrshire	40.97

The UK Areas With the Lowest Life Expectancy For Men At The Age Of 40
Local Authority	LE
Glasgow City	34.76
Blackpool	35.96
West Dunbartonshire	36.04
Dundee City	36.17
Inverclyde	36.47
Manchester	36.73
North Lanarkshire	36.8
Kingston upon Hull, City of	37.01
Liverpool	37.22
East Ayrshire	37.33

Source: Office of National Statistics

The study was conducted by Guardian Carers, which is an introductory service placing carers, companions and housekeepers all over the UK and beyond; who provide a wide range of premium care services on a live-in, live-out, full-time or part-time basis.

Charity acts to support homeless people as services close their doors on day of state funeral

‘shocked to the extreme to hear that Scotland’s homeless charities and other key providers are closing their doors at this time’

In response to the closure of frontline services and businesses for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II yesterday, Homeless Project Scotland opened an emergency Soup Kitchen which served warm food and other provisions from 8pm on Argyle Street under the ‘heilanman’s umbrella’.

This provision was in addition to the charity’s 24/7 free helpline for those at risk of homelessness or are homeless.

Raja Rani in Bearsden and Tantrum Donuts were among the local businesses to support the project’s initiative.

Speaking on the eve of the state funeral, a spokesperson for Homeless Project Scotland said: “We appreciate that tomorrow will be an emotional day for our country, however we also must recognise that tomorrow will bring challenges for those who are vulnerable and homeless in being able to source and access warm and nutritious food, in addition to support given tomorrow’s closures of food banks and other homeless charities closing their doors at this time.

“It is disappointing and we are shocked to the extreme to hear that throughout Scotland homeless charities and other key providers are closing their doors at this time. It must be recognised however that Homelessness does not stop tomorrow, and as such we must uphold our principles at this difficult time and ensure that nobody goes to bed with an empty stomach .

“This is particularly going to be felt in Glasgow especially given that those who are homeless and in the city’s hotels used for accommodating the homeless will only be able to provide breakfast, consisting of a cereal bar, due to the removal of evening meals from all hotel based accommodation since May this year.

“This service will not affect our normal Soup kitchen operations on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.“

Bringing the vaccine to homeless and vulnerable communities

Glasgow’s homeless and at risk communities get boosted against COVID

Some of Glasgow’s most vulnerable communities have been getting boosted at the Lodging House Mission in the city centre.

Advanced Nurse Practitioners have been providing jags from the charity’s premises in the city centre, where they provide care and support to homeless, vulnerable and socially excluded people.

Glasgow City’s Health and Social Care Partnership’s Complex Needs Service – previously known as Homeless Health Service – support around 450 people at any one time. The people they see often have addiction issues, mental health issues and often really poor physical health.

At the first clinic last week, 36 jags were administered – and the team hope more people will attend the clinic as more people hear about the weekly clinic. The team has already visited around 50 locations across the city where homeless people are located, putting more than 900 jags into arms.

Kirsty Paterson, the senior advanced nurse practitioner who co-ordinates and delivers the vaccine programme, said: “We’re very pleased to be able to do this work and to help some of Glasgow’s most vulnerable communities to get their vaccines and boosters.

“Once word spread that we were here at the Lodging House we were surprised, but really pleased to see a queue outside the door. The response has been fantastic.”

Lisa Ross, Service Manager at the service, said: “Some of the people we work with have very complex health and care needs. A severe COVID infection could be fatal.

“Throughout the pandemic, our team has been reaching out to vulnerable communities, going where they are and providing a service which helps to save lives. We’re grateful to the Lodging House Mission for their help in the vaccination efforts and we’ll continue to do everything we can in the fight against this virus.”

June Macleod, Manager at the Lodging House Mission said: “We’re delighted to have the vaccination clinic on site. A lot of our guys have underlying health issues and don’t engage and don’t often keep appointments, so bringing the vaccinations to them is a big help.

“The team have been fantastic and we’re really excited to see who might come to the next clinic, we know there’s been a real buzz as words spreads. It’s been great working alongside our colleagues from the health board in the fight against COVID helping to keep vulnerable people and our communities safe.”

The vaccination clinic will continue to operate every Tuesday at the Lodging House Mission’s premises on East Campbell Street.

For more information of the Lodging House, visit: https://www.lhm-glasgow.org.uk/

FedEx moves to lower Edinburgh and Glasgow carbon emissions with e-cargo bike fleet

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and the world’s largest express transportation company, has introduced a fleet of seven e-cargo bikes to work alongside its vehicle pick-up and delivery fleet in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

As the company sets out to reduce emissions from its road transportation operations, the introduction of cargo bikes in urban centres is one way FedEx is seeking to make an immediate impact on carbon emissions.

FedEx successfully introduced e-cargo bikes to its permanent operations in London, where they have replaced diesel vehicles for serving emissions restricted zones. Edinburgh and Glasgow – cities with a strong cycling culture – become the next UK cities to welcome this method of zero emissions delivery.

Alun Cornish, FedEx operations managing director in Europe, said: “Electric cargo bikes will fulfill a sustainable last-mile delivery solution for customers in and round Edinburgh and Glasgow City Centres.

“Earlier FedEx pilots in the cities made the case for transitioning to two wheels, proving an effective alternative to vans thanks to their ability to take shorter, faster routes. We see real potential for e-cargo bikes to complement and work alongside our motorised vehicle fleet as we strive to make zero-emissions deliveries our standard.”

FedEx aims to achieve carbon-neutral operations globally by 2040 with electrification of its pick-up and delivery vehicles being a major area of investment.

In March 2021, FedEx announced its global target for 50% of all newly procured vehicles to be electric by 2025 rising to 100% of all new purchases by 2030.

The roll out of e-cargo bikes is tipped to continue in UK cities beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow, alongside the transition to fully electric vehicles. The sustainability benefits of delivering goods by e-cargo bike include not only reduced carbon emissions but also reduced congestion and noise.

Bicycle couriers can also make use of existing road infrastructure, such as bicycle and bus lanes, and are able to find kerbside parking more easily than vans – particularly in hard to access areas.

The implementation of e-cargo bikes to operations in Edinburgh and Glasgow promotes the livability of dense urban areas as demand for deliveries continues to rise alongside the need to reduce the environmental impacts of transportation.

GMB says overwhelming support for new Glasgow strikes reflection of workers’ anger

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.”

National Mission funding for community project

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.”

GMB warns anger over low pay isn’t going away as cleansing workers demand fresh ballot

Following a workforce meeting in George Square yesterday (Monday 8 November), Glasgow City Council cleansing workers demanded a fresh strike ballot against their employer over low pay.

It means a second wave of strikes could hit cleansing services in Scotland’s biggest city in the run-up to Christmas. Eight days of strike action conclude this evening at 23.59 hours.

Calls from the workforce come after talks this weekend between GMB and Glasgow City Council Leader Susan Aitken, which secured commitments from the council to:

review the value of pay for all workers on the lowest grades (Grades 1,2 & 3 – an estimated 10,000 workers currently earning less than £20,000 a year) as part of the process to remove its discriminatory pay and grading system; and
pursue investment for cleansing infrastructure and resources to tackle the city’s waste crisis, alongside a range of new employee development and well-being measures to address management mistreatment of staff.

However, the council refused workers’ demands for a one-off “Glasgow Payment” for all workers on Grades 1, 2 and 3 as a means of addressing the cost-of-living crisis being faced now by many council workers in Scotland’s biggest city.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Keir Greenaway said: “It’s taken a strike to get Glasgow’s leadership in the room and acknowledge the council’s chronic low pay problems, the waste crisis in our communities, and the toxic management culture in the cleansing department.

“It is important to understand that strikes don’t happen by accident. They are a consequence of workers’ feeling undervalued, disrespected, and ignored for too long, and it’s clear that a few days of talks and the initial outcomes from this aren’t enough to remedy the impact of a decade of cuts.

“Our members in cleansing, like so many of their colleagues in other services like home care, school support, parks and gardens, and Glasgow Life, are the backbone of the city’s workforce but they are struggling on wages that simply do not make ends meet.

“It’s why our members have demanded a fresh ballot, which could mean a second wave of strikes in the run up to Christmas. They want more to be done to properly value key workers and to tackle the significant service and workforce challenges facing their city.

“That’s something the council, COSLA and ultimately the Scottish Government should reflect on today because it’s very clear this anger isn’t going away until these problems are confronted.”

Warnings of severe disruption as COP26 gets underway

Commuters urged to consider pressure on motorways and railways

As Scotland prepares to host the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, the demand on the transport network is expected to be unprecedented.

While many people across the country have already heeded warnings in the run up to the event, the impact on the motorway network and railways should not be underestimated.

With major road closures in place, further factors that will impact getting in and around the central belt include various protest activities – planned and unplanned – as well as non-COP26 related events such as bad weather, Halloween and major sporting fixtures.

Members of the public are therefore being urged to avoid any unnecessary travel especially during the first few days of the conference.

Nicola Blaney, head of events resilience for Transport Scotland, said: “There will be severe disruption on transport networks and we therefore urge people to consider their travel plans very carefully.

“Across the network, we know certain dates are due to be much busier than others especially November 1, 2, 5 and 6. This weekend is also likely to be very heavily congested, and we need people to help us to avoid gridlock and crucially, leave space for key workers and emergency services to make essential journeys.

“We’ve been encouraging people to work from home as a way of reducing the risk of Covid – which would also help ease pressure on the transport network during the conference’s peak.”

Road closures are already in place for public safety with Glasgow’s Clydeside Expressway now fully closed till November 14.

The M8 will be subject to lane restrictions and road closures from 8pm on October 30 until 6am on November 15. The Tradeston M8 On-slip at West Street will be closed with no access to North Street/Charing Cross.

A signed diversion route will be in place from West Street to North Street, via Kingston Street, George V Bridge and the Broomielaw. Access to Bothwell Street from the M8 Eastbound at Junction 18 will remain open.

The public is advised to visit the Get Ready Glasgow website:

www.getreadyglasgow.com

which provides all the travel details and will be regularly updated with all the latest information for commuters and businesses as well as details on alternative routes, local road closure dates and where local access will be maintained.

Further road restrictions which will come into effect next week include road closures from Monday November 1 around Argyle Street – one of the main diversion routes – because of a COP26 event. This will increase congestion and put additional strain on the road network.

Friday November 5 and Saturday November 6 are also expected to be extremely busy, due to planned climate change related marches going from Kelvingrove Park into the city centre and Glasgow Green.

Police Scotland’s assistant chief constable Bernard Higgins, said: “Our aim is to deliver a safe and secure event, whilst keeping the city, and indeed the country, operational and moving.”

An informational video is available here – https://vimeo.com/640339230