GMB union – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

£3.4 million for Scotland’s hydrogen future

Projects across the country to receive a share of funding

Eleven projects designed to accelerate Scotland’s hydrogen economy are set to benefit from a share of £3.4 million funding.

The Scottish Government funding will help develop green hydrogen production, improve the hydrogen supply chain, and enhance hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure.

Opening a parliamentary debate on Scotland’s hydrogen future, Acting Net Zero Cabinet Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Hydrogen stands as a critical pillar of Scotland’s route to net zero by 2045, but also, alongside the development of our offshore wind capacity, as one of Scotland’s greatest industrial opportunities since the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea.

“A just transition remains at the heart of our approach, and we are determined that no community, particularly those which have powered our economy for generations, will be left behind as we move away from burning fossil fuels towards a low carbon energy system.

“We are working to build a hydrogen economy in which the benefits of our energy transition are shared, and which harnesses the full potential of our skilled people, our worldclass industries, and our natural resources.”

In September 2024 the Scottish Government invited projects to apply for a match-funding grant award of up to 50%, to the maximum value of £2 million.

Shortlisting saw 18 projects invited to submit a full application to delivery partner Scottish Enterprise, with funding ultimately provided to 11 successful projects.

Hydrogen action plan – gov.scot

Lead Organisation	Project Title	Council Area	Grant Award
European Marine Energy Centre	Sustainable Fuels Orkney	Orkney Islands	£375,000
Green Cat Hydrogen Ltd.	Creca Hydrogen Facility	Dumfries and Galloway	£490,088
Green Cat Hydrogen Ltd.	Strathallan Hydrogen	Perth and Kinross	£320,549
Green Cat Hydrogen Ltd.	Binn Ecopark Hydrogen	Perth and Kinross	£258,478
Protium Green Solutions	Protium Lanark – Hydrogen Island	South Lanarkshire	£450,619
SSE Hydrogen Developments	Peterhead 1&2 Hydrogen	Aberdeenshire	£162,600
Statkraft Hydrogen UK Holding Ltd	Shetland Hydrogen Project 2 Pre-FEED	Shetland Islands	£270,500
Storegga Hydrogen (Cromarty)	Cromarty Hydrogen Phase 2 Longman	Highland	£238,400
Storegga Hydrogen (Cromarty)	Cromarty Hydrogen Phase 2 Muir of Ord	Highland	£290,155
Glacier Energy	Feasibility and Industrial Research	Aberdeen City	£382,000
Hydrasun	Standardised Tube Trailer Industrial Hydrogen Offtaker Panels	Multiple: Aberdeen City; Glasgow City; Highland	£147,122

UK’s first hydrogen training centre opens for next generation of green gas engineers

UK’s first hydrogen training centre for Gas Safe* registered engineers opens at Fife College.
Over 100 local engineers will be upskilled to safely install and maintain hydrogen appliances for SGN’s H100 Fife project.
The centre is a key milestone for H100 Fife which will deliver an end-to-end green hydrogen gas network, providing heating and cooking for several hundred local homes.
GMB union, SGN and Fife College leaders highlight the need to upskill gas workers for a low-carbon future.

Energy network SGN and Fife College are celebrating the opening of the UK’s first hydrogen training centre for gas engineers yesterday.

The facility, located at Fife College’s Levenmouth Campus, will train over 100 Gas Safe registered engineers this year, equipping them with the green skills needed to safely convert homes from natural gas to hydrogen.

This training is essential for the engineers who will be involved in SGN’s green hydrogen trial, H100 Fife, which will supply green hydrogen to homes in Levenmouth through a new purpose-built network.

Gary Smith, General Secretary of GMB, the UK’s largest energy union, welcomed the launch. He said: “The opening of this hydrogen training centre is a milestone for the gas industry and its workforce. As we transition to a net-zero economy, it’s vital that we not only protect jobs but also ensure that workers are upskilled for the future.

“This centre will empower today’s engineers to safely work with hydrogen while preparing them for roles that will shape the transition to green energy. It’s a testament to the resilience of the workforce and their ability to adapt to the changing energy landscape.”

The training centre offers hands-on experience with hydrogen appliances and systems, supported by leading manufacturers such as, Baxi, Worcester Bosch, Clean Burner Systems (CBS), Bosch Home Appliances and MeteRSit.

It will ensure that engineers gain the knowledge and competency to safely install, test, and maintain hydrogen appliances and heating systems in domestic settings, advancing the UK’s transition to green energy solutions. Every engineer taking part will gain an official hydrogen qualification added to their Gas Safe registration.

Simon Kilonback, CEO of SGN, commented: “The opening of the UK’s first hydrogen training centre for Gas Safe engineers is a major milestone for SGN and the energy sector as a whole.

“We’re excited to be working with the local community as we deliver our end-to-end hydrogen network in Fife. This is a key part of our wider plans to harness the potential of green gasses like hydrogen and biomethane to help decarbonise homes and businesses.”

Training will be delivered to local Gas Safe registered engineers in Fife by expert trainers with experience in delivering gas training with support from industry professionals. SGN has developed the courses in partnership with Fife College for the past two years, alongside key stakeholders such as certification body BPEC, Energy & Utility Skills and the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM).

Jim Metcalfe, Principal of Fife College, said: “Fife College is proud to be a national leader in clean energy skills as we launch this dedicated hydrogen training facility. We are honoured to work in such a deep and innovative partnership with SGN.

“Through this cutting-edge centre at our Levenmouth Campus, we are working to upskill over 100 engineers with the specialist knowledge needed to support the UK’s transition to net zero.

“This collaboration with SGN forms part of our wider commitment to sustainability, which also includes the opening of our new Dunfermline City Campus – Scotland’s first net-zero-ready vocational training campus – later this year. Together, these landmark developments place Fife College at the forefront of delivering the skills and infrastructure needed to shape a more sustainable future for us all.”

The engineers being trained from SGN, Baxi, Worcester Bosch and Warmworks will help convert natural gas homes over to hydrogen when the H100 Fife trial launches later this year. Fife Council staff will also be trained as part of SGN’s commitment to future-proof local engineers for the challenges ahead.

The opening of the training centre is a landmark event in SGN’s efforts to support the UK’s transition to net zero and underscores the vital role of skilled engineers in integrating hydrogen as a key low-carbon energy source.

Bin strikes to hit Edinburgh during Festival Fringe

ALL SET FOR AULD REEKIE – THE SEQUEL

Union tells councils to expect eight days of industrial action

GMB Scotland today confirmed bin strikes will begin within weeks. The union has formally served notice on councils across Scotland to expect eight days of industrial action by members in waste and recycling starting on August 14.

Bins will go unemptied from the smallest villages to the biggest cities, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, where the Fringe and International Festival starts this weekend.

The industrial action comes after pay talks with Cosla, representing Scotland’s councils, stalled. The Scottish Government joined negotiations yesterday [TUESDAY].

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said a rejected pay offer of 3.2% had failed to match the escalating cost of living or the rise offered to council workers in England and Wales.

He said: “We had constructive talks with the Scottish Government and Cosla yesterday but our members are less interested in constructive talks than fair pay.

“The process has gone on too long with too little progress.

“We are more than halfway through the year and there is no more time to waste discussing old offers with new wrapping. Enough is enough.

“Industrial action will start in two weeks unless ministers and local authorities identify the money needed to make an acceptable offer.

“These strikes will be disruptive to all the Scots who rely on our members’ work but would not be necessary if councils had shown a greater urgency and sense of realism.”

Unite announces strike in 18 council areas

Today we served notice to 18 councils that Unite members in Waste and Cleansing, and other services, will strike in 18 councils for 8 days from 14th August.

Strike action is set to begin at 5am on Wednesday 14 August and end at 4:59am on Thursday 22 August at the following 18 councils:

Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeenshire Council
Angus Council
City of Edinburgh Council
Dumfries & Galloway Council
Dundee City Council
East Ayrshire Council
East Renfrewshire Council
Falkirk Council
Fife Council
Glasgow City Council
Inverclyde Council
North Ayrshire Council
North Lanarkshire Council
Renfrewshire Council
South Ayrshire Council
The Highland Council
West Lothian Council.

In Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, all Unite and GMB members in Waste and Cleansing will strike. Unite members in Fleet Services will also strike. Unison’s reballot in Waste and Cleansing opened on 26 July, so results are awaited – this does not impact the timetable of the strike action.

On 24 July, Unison began balloting members across the country in schools, early years and family centres, to prepare for a second wave of strike action if needed. Their ballot closes on 29 August.

Unite local government committee will soon meet to discuss balloting these areas.

Talks with the Scottish Government

Yesterday, Unite officials, including your branch secretary Brian Robertson, and those from Unison and GMB, held ‘positive talks’ with Shona Robison MSP, cabinet secretary for finance and local government and COSLA. Unite warned, however, that a new ‘credible offer’ must be tabled ‘imminently’ and said it would not suspend its scheduled strike action until that occurs.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Thousands of Unite members will take strike action next month unless there is a new credible pay offer put on the table.

“Our membership has waited months for an offer which reflects their professionalism and the dedication which they put into delivering vital local services.”

Scottish council workers offered less

The current COSLA pay offer amounts to a 3.2% increase for a one-year period between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.

Unite has said the pay offer ‘grossly undervalues’ Scottish council workers in contrast with the offer made to UK counterparts.

An offer of £1,290 has been made to council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the National Joint Council (NJC). This equates to a rise of 67 pence per hour or 5.2% for a council worker earning around £25,000 based on a 37-hour week.

Members should note that Unite members south of the border rejected this offer.

In contrast, the COSLA offer of 3.2% equates to £800 or a 41 pence per hour increase. The pay offer difference means that a Scottish council worker would need to earn above £40,000 to match the offer being made to council workers across the UK. This means the lowest paid council workers are being disproportionately hit by COSLA’s current pay offer.

Graham McNab, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite stands ready to enter into meaningful negotiations at any time but our members need to see a significant shift in the coming days to avert strike action. Strike action is not yet inevitable but action from the politicians must be imminent.

“There is a window of opportunity to resolve this dispute but the politicians should be under no illusions that our members will take strike action if necessary to secure the pay offer which they deserve.”

The city council commented online: ‘Members of the trade unions GMB & Unite are planning strike action in Edinburgh from 14 – 22 August.

‘Bin collections & street cleaning services will be severely disrupted across the city during this time.’

The following services are not expected to run during the strike: – Waste & recycling collections, including all communal and kerbside bins & boxes – Street cleansing including litter bins – Recycling centres – Flytipping collections – Bulky uplift service – Public toilets.

‘This is a national dispute over pay, with strike action planned in other councils across the country unless agreement is reached. Discussions are ongoing between COSLA, trade unions and the Scottish Government with a view to agreeing a pay deal and resolving the dispute.

‘Please prepare for the strike action by visiting our website regularly for the latest updates and advice. Please tell neighbours, friends and family who may not have heard about the upcoming strike so they can prepare.’

Council Leader calls for urgent resolution to pay dispute

Cammy Day has called on the Scottish Government, COSLA and trade unions to find a solution to the national pay dispute and prevent significant disruption during Edinburgh’s busiest month.

Trade unions Unite the Union and GMB today announced plans for strike action across the waste and cleansing service in the Capital from 14–22 August.

Strike action is planned in other councils across Scotland unless agreement is reached to end the dispute.

Councillor Day said: “I’m disappointed that negotiations between Scottish Government, COSLA and the unions have so far failed to avert this action across Scotland.

“While acknowledging that talks are ongoing, including yesterday’s meeting with the Cabinet Secretary, urgent progress needs to be made if we are to prevent significant disruption during one of the most important and enjoyable periods in Edinburgh’s calendar.

“I firmly believe that all council colleagues deserve to be paid fairly for the work they do and have every right to take this action and have their voices heard. As the lowest funded council in Scotland, it’s time for the Scottish Government to properly fund our capital city and its services.

“I’m extremely concerned about the impact this will have on bin collections and street cleaning services, as well as the cleanliness of our city. But I want to assure residents that we’ll be doing all we can to minimise any impact on essential services.

“We’ve published advice on our website for residents and businesses on how to safely and responsibly store their waste – and will continue to post updates as the situation develops. I’d ask residents to please share this information with any friends, family or neighbours who may not be online.

“We’ll also be writing out to businesses to encourage them to remind their customers that they can return their litter back to their premises for disposal, and to use reusable packaging where possible. We’re also working with our transport and hospitality partners to ensure visitors are aware of the strike and its impact on the city.

I urge the Scottish Government and COSLA to stay round the table with the unions and find a way of averting, what will be, a hugely damaging dispute for Edinburgh – and for Scotland as a whole.”

For the latest advice, guidance and updates on the strike, please visit the dedicated pages on the council’s website.

Stonegate pubs face closure in Scotland as company issues profit warning

Dozens of much loved pubs across Scotland in serious danger of pulling their last pint, warns GMB Union

Almost 50 Stonegate pubs across Scotland could close after the company issued a profit warning.

As GMB predicted earlier this year – and despite private equity owner TDR’s assurances to a parliamentary select committee in January – Stonegate says there is no guarantee it can continue as a going concern, as it struggles to refinance a £2.2bn debt mountain.

Stonegate is one of the largest pub companies in the UK, with more than 4,500 pubs and more than 19,000 workers, including brands like Slug and Lettuce, Yates and Walkabout.

The chain has 45 pubs across Scotland

GMB has written to Lian Byrne MP, chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, asking him to recall TDR bosses in light of the profit warning.

Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said: “TDR bosses are private equity gamblers- playing fast and loose with people’s jobs and lives.

“When their risky ventures go wrong, they swan off to their next project, leaving workers and communities to pick up the pieces.

“Now, dozens of much loved pubs across Scotland are in serious danger of pulling their last pint.

“It’s a disgrace.”

Show of Defiance: British Gas strike ‘rock solid’ as members prepare to burn their contracts

British Gas workers are burning the new contracts to show graphically their defiance of the imposition of hourly pay 15% below the agreed rate, says GMB Union.

Day six of the British Gas strike was ‘rock solid’ as an estimated 7,000 workers downed tools over the company’s plan to sack them all

Meanwhile angry engineers across the country are set to burn new contracts – which they have been told they must sign, or be fired in March:

In a show of defiance, engineers across the UK will burn new contracts tomorrow (Friday 22 January) at 10am:

London: Havering Town Hall, Main Road, RM1 3BB

Edinburgh: Scottish Gas call centre, 1 Waterfront Avenue, Edinburgh EH5 1SG

Cardiff: British Gas Customer Call Office, 4 Callaghan Square, Tresillian Way, Cardiff, CF10 5BT

Windsor: Centrica HQ, Millstream, Maidenhead Road, Windsor, SL4 5GD

Leeds: British Gas Call Centre, New Bridge House, Leeds, LS11 5BD

Uddingston: Scottish Gas, Murdock House, 29 Bothwell Road, Uddingston G71 7TW

Leicester: 195 Aylestone Road, Leicester, LE2 7QJa

Stockport: British Gas Office, New Bridge Lane, Stockport, SK1 2HQ

Members across the country – picketing at their vans due to the pandemic – will also be filming and photographing their contracts being burned at the same time.

Engineers and other workers will also down tools on January 22, 25, 29, 30, 31 and February 1 in anger as profitable British Gas provokes further disruption for its customers. 

British Gas engineers and staff voted overwhelmingly by 89% to strike after boss of parent company Centrica Chris O’Shea threatened to fire them all if they didn’t “accept” cuts to pay and terms and conditions. 

The strikes provoked by the company have caused massive disruption already – with an estimated 100,000 homes waiting for service across the country. 

British Gas parent company Centrica reported an operating profit (before exceptional items and tax) of £901 million in 2019. 

The operating profitability of its UK home heating business rose by 27 per cent in the first six months of 2020.

Justin Bowden, GMB National Secretary, said:  “GMB members at British Gas are burning the new contracts to show graphically their defiance of the imposition of hourly pay 15% below the agreed rate – as well as other changes.

“This is yet another attempt get through to Mr O’Shea that staff accepting cuts of this magnitude in a profitable company is wishful thinking in the extreme.

“British Gas has provoked disruption to more than 100,000 households already in the backlog for services. That number will grow due to the seven new strike dates.

“The company needs to put customers and staff first by abandoning wishful thinking and taking ‘fire and rehire’ off the table.

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.

‘Don’t sack 12,000 Asda workers just before Christmas’

GMB, the union for Asda workers, has written to company bosses calling on them not to sack 12,000 workers just before Christmas.

In an open letter to senior vice president Hayley Tatum, GMB calls on the company to withdraw its threat to sack all workers who don’t sign the controversial Contract 6 on November 2.

Earlier this month Asda workers handed in a 23,000 strong petition opposing the contract to Asda HW during a mass protest in Leeds.

Hundreds of people from across the UK gathered in Leeds to voice their anger.

Asda workers have been told to sign the contracts – which will see them lose all their paid breaks and forced to work bank holidays – or be sacked on November 2 in the run up the Christmas.

Stand with Asda workers – sign our petition

Dr Who star Paul Mcgann, who also starred in cult hit Withnail and I and Aliens 3, and Rob Delaney, who appeared in Catastrophe and Deadpool 2, both lent their support to Asda workers.

Latest company accounts show directors trousered a whopping £12million last year – and profits rocketed more than £92 million – at the same time Asda slashed 5,000 jobs

Gary Carter, GMB National Officer, said: “If Asda is serious about not wanting to sack thousands its employees on the run up to Christmas, they need to withdraw the dismissal notices and sit down with GMB to resolve this dispute.

“Asda has served notice on up to 12,000 of its loyal employees – that can not be right.

“The onus is now on them to save people’s jobs with a better deal that their employees can sign up to.”