Energy giant SSE faced protests outside its AGM in Perth today from people concerned about the company’s role in driving climate breakdown and fuel poverty.
The protests were prompted by SSE’s plans to build a new gas burning power station at Peterhead, despite the existing plant at that site already being Scotland’s biggest climate polluter. Friends of the Earth Scotland highlighted the fact that, despite the company’s marketing and green image, it owns 14 fossil fuel power stations and 60% of SSE’s energy generation capacity comes from burning fossil fuels.
Protesters spoke to shareholders attending the AGM urging them to challenge the company’s plans to build new fossil fuel power stations and force prepayment meters into homes.
Fuel Poverty Action, who also organised the demonstration, focused on the energy giant’s £2.4billion in profits last year whilst a third of households were forced into fuel poverty in Scotland. SSE continues to force-fit pre-payment meters on people in energy debt which ultimately causes people who use the least amount of energy to pay the most for it.
Other activists disrupted the AGM from the inside, interrupting the Board’s address and imploring SSE to drop their plans for more gas burning developments.
Over 40 climate groups recently wrote to the Scottish Government urging them to reject SSE’s planning application to build a new gas power station at Peterhead.
Friends of the Earth Scotland Oil and Gas Activism Organiser Freya Aitchison commented: “SSE are getting rich from burning gas to make electricity, and the company is plotting even more climate damage with its plans for a new gas power station at Peterhead. We’re at their AGM to tell the company’s shareholders that there is no future in fossil fuels.
“The Peterhead proposals would guarantee demand for gas, meaning that Scottish homes will spend the next 25 years paying sky high energy bills which are set by the international price of fossil fuels. Building new gas infrastructure would be a terrible deal for the Scottish public, lock in climate pollution and undermine the transition to renewable energy.
“SSE cannot continue to try and greenwash the fact that the majority of its energy generation capacity comes from fossil fuels. The climate movement has stopped big polluters in their tracks before – from the fracking industry, to the Cambo oil field and the Hunterston power station.”
Lucia Harrington, Organising Lead at Fuel Poverty Action, said: “SSE is a company that continues to profit from people’s poverty and continues to force-fit prepayment meters onto people in energy debt.
“This behaviour is what has led to hundreds of preventable deaths in Scotland and we are here to hold them to account.”
New proposals to improve the planning and regulation of public processions and marches are to be introduced to uphold the rights of safe and peaceful assembly.
An Action Group, set up to consider how to better facilitate processions, has set out six recommendations in a newly published report, which have been accepted by the Scottish Government, the local authority group COSLA, and Police Scotland.
The recommendations include:
extending a pilot programme – following successful evaluation in April 2024 – to train stewards and marshalls to build their capacity to plan, prepare and manage processions and other forms of public gathering in a safe way
developing a minimum standard for information provided on the notification process for processions
providing consistent information on local authority websites that ensures transparency and confidentiality
statutory organisations, including local authorities, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, to work together so information they provide relating to marches is clear and easy to understand
developing or improving training packages for local authority officials and elected members to enable the sharing of good practice to facilitate peaceful public processions and on how to protect human rights
consideration of an annual review mechanism that contributes to the sharing of best practice and learning of the management of processions.
Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said: “The Scottish Government established the Action Group to ensure that processions are conducted safely and peacefully across the country.
“I am grateful to the members of the group for these carefully considered recommendations, which represent the culmination of extensive work by partners.
“The freedom of peaceful assembly is a cornerstone of a democratic society and it is vital that the right training, planning and regulations are in place so processions run smoothly, while ensuring those attending and surrounding communities are kept safe.
“In accepting the recommendations of the Action Group’s report in full, what is clear is that achieving success must be a joint endeavour. We will work with Police Scotland, COSLA and members of the Group to implement the recommendations as quickly as possible.”
A COSLA spokesperson said: “COSLA has worked collaboratively with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland through the Action Group on Processions, to work through the conclusions and recommendations of the Report for the Short Life Working Group on Facilitating Peaceful Assembles.
“In April, the COSLA Community Wellbeing Board endorsed the recommendations of the Action Group, and COSLA Officers will continue to work with partners of the group to deliver these actions.”
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: “Police Scotland is a rights based organisation.
“We welcome this report as we continue to work with our communities and partners to continually improve our practices and the awareness and visibility of the rights of those who wish to take part in processions.”
The Edinburgh International Book Festival and Baillie Gifford have ended their 20-year partnership.
The board and management of Edinburgh International Book Festival believe their ability to deliver an event this August that is safe and successful for audiences, authors and staff has been severely compromised, following the withdrawal of several authors and threats of disruption from activists.
Jenny Niven, chief executive of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “It is with great regret that our board of trustees and Baillie Gifford have collectively agreed to end our partnership.
“We are hugely grateful to the firm for its considerable support over two decades, including through some challenging times for the festival, and we are proud of what we’ve achieved together during that time.
“The pressure on our team has simply become intolerable. We have a major global festival starting in 10 weeks’ time and we need to focus all of our efforts and energy on delivering a safe and successful event for our audiences.
“Undermining the long-term future of charitable organisations such as book festivals is not the right way to bring about change.
“It diminishes the voices of those who feel strongly about these complex issues, and it will be infinitely harder to build and sustain well-funded cultural institutions in the future than it is to put them out of business today.
“We speak to all our supporters about these complex issues and continue to believe that Baillie Gifford is part of the solution in transitioning towards a more sustainable world and that the firm operates in line with our Ethical Fundraising policy.”
Allan Little, chair of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “Our team cannot be expected to deliver a safe and sustainable festival this August under the constant threat of disruption from activists. This was a pragmatic response to that reality.
“Funding for the arts is now in a perilous position and we should all be clear that without the support of our partners and donors, the future of festivals like ours – and all of the benefits these events bring to authors and readers alike – is in jeopardy.
“We are a charity that provides an important platform for authors and readers of all views and political opinions to agree, disagree, challenge, and provoke. Book festivals around the world are forums in which rigorous, intelligent debate can take place. Our festival should be a place where progressive and nuanced discussion can happen in a safe and respectful space.
“Indeed, our programme this year is designed to give a voice to those directly affected by conflict and those engaged at the most senior levels in its resolution. We will explore the real challenges involved in transition, green tech and climate finance, misinformation and the need for new economic models.
“We are determined to have those debates and to have them out in the open, but we need everyone to come to the table. We have made several invitations to Fossil Free Books, and other groups, to attend this year’s festival and regret that they have not responded to those offers.”
Nick Thomas, partner, Baillie Gifford, said: “Our collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, spanning decades, was rooted in our shared interest in making Edinburgh a thriving and culturally vibrant place to live and work.
“In recent years we have been proud to support the Schools’ and Children’s programmes, providing free books and creating opportunities for young readers to meet authors.
“The activists’ anonymous campaign of coercion and misinformation has put intolerable pressure on authors and the festival community. We step back with the hope that the festival will thrive this year and into the future. We hold the activists squarely responsible for the inhibiting effect their action will have on funding for the arts in this country.
“Baillie Gifford is a long-term investor with high ethical standards and a complete focus on doing what is right by our clients. The assertion that we have significant amounts of money in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is offensively misleading. Baillie Gifford is a large investor in several multinational technology companies, including Amazon, NVIDIA, and Meta.
“Demanding divestment from these global companies, used by millions of people around the world, is unreasonable and serves no purpose. Much as it would be unreasonable to demand authors boycott Instagram or stop selling books on Amazon.
“Nor is Baillie Gifford a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels. We invest far more in companies helping drive the transition to clean energy.
“We remain committed to contributing positively to our community through philanthropic support.”
This year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival will take place from 10 – 25 August, with the full programme due to be launched next week (Tuesday 4th June).
Baillie Gifford has supported the Edinburgh International Book Festival since 2004. The firm’s funding for this year’s book festival has already been provided and deployed.
Scotland’s largest health and social care unions protested outside the Scottish Parliament on Thursday to demand the return of the ‘missing millions’ cut from the Scottish Government’s Budget for social care workers.
Information from the Scottish Trades Union Congress’ ‘Missing Millions’ campaign has shown that £38 million of ringfenced funding for maternity, paternity and sick pay for social care workers in Scotland was secretly cut from the latest Scottish Government budget.
Workers from Scotland’s three biggest social care unions, UNISON, GMB and UNITE will protest outside the Scottish Parliament to demand the return of the cash with workers accusing the Scottish Government of “betraying” social care workers.
The ‘Missing Millions’ campaign was launched last week during STUC Congress. A Freedom of Information request has shown that the £38 million cut was pulled directly from the Scottish Government’s Fair Work in Social Care terms and conditions workstream in September 2023.
Commenting, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Cutting the budget to improve the terms, pay and conditions of Scotland’s social care workers is, quite frankly, unforgiveable.
“This was a sleekit move from the Scottish Government with no transparency, no accountability and worse, no promise of restoring the funding.
“These were the front-line workers that cared for those most in need during the pandemic. Some even paid with their lives protecting the vulnerable and our communities from the virus.
“For the Scottish Government to cut the dedicated funding that would, in part, seek to implement Fair Work within the sector, with improved sick pay and conditions, is nothing short of betraying the workforce.
“We call on all those who stand alongside our social care workers to join us outside Parliament.
“We’re sending a clear message to all politicians, especially the Scottish Government, that social care workers are demanding a return of the missing millions and a quick U-turn to this ill-judged budget cut.”
Climate campaigners took their anger at the Scottish Government decision to scrap its 2030 climate targets to a protest outside Bute House last night. The protest called on the First Minister and his Government ‘not to break their climate promise’.
Organisers say that scrapping these targets means a weakening of climate action, a reduction in scrutiny on Ministers and is a ‘betrayal’ of those impacted by climate breakdown.
Speakers at the rally highlighted the impact extreme weather is already having on Scottish food production, as well endangering lives in climate vulnerable countries.
Protestors are taking their message directly to the First Minister’s residence because he must take responsibility for the Scottish Government’s failure to deliver on their climate commitments.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Climate Campaigner Caroline Rance said: “People are rightly angry that Humza Yousaf’s Government plans to break its climate promise and slow down action in this crucial decade. Climate science is clear that we cannot allow that to happen.
“The Scottish Government’s repeated failure to act has meant not only have they missed climate targets, but they have missed tangible opportunities to improve people’s lives through providing good public transport, decent home insulation and creating good green jobs.
“The First Minister must take responsibility for this colossal climate failure because the desperately weak policy package announced last week offers no reassurance that his Ministers are serious about getting us back on track.”
Landworkers’ Alliance Scotland Policy and Campaigns Coordinator Tara Wight, who spoke at the rally, commented: “The effects of climate change are already having a devastating impact on farming in Scotland with productive fields underwater, record lamb deaths this Spring and storm Babet last year causing the most drastic loss of crop value ever recorded.
“This has a big impact on our food system, increasing the need for carbon-heavy imports and driving up the cost of food at a time when people are already struggling to make ends meet.
“Farmers and crofters urgently need support to transition their practices to improve both climate resilience and mitigation yet the Scottish Government’s policies for climate-friendly agriculture are the least ambitious in the UK, and fall far behind the EU. This lack of action on climate change and just transition is a betrayal of our farming and crofting communities.”
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) Coalition Manager Becky Kenton-Lake commented: “Scotland’s target to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030 was based on our fair contribution to retaining a liveable planet.
“As the First Minister himself has said, rich nations failing to deliver on climate commitments would represent “catastrophic negligence“, and the Scottish Government’s lack of sufficient climate action to date represents a major breach of trust with the people of Scotland and communities around the world who have done least to cause the crisis but whose lives and livelihoods are already being destroyed.
“The range of largely re-heated measures announced by the Scottish Government are wholly inadequate and fall very significantly short of the transformational acceleration in action needed.”
Liz Murray, Head of Scottish Campaigns at Global Justice Now said, ““We’re at the rally today to urge the First Minister and the Scottish government not to backtrack on its climate commitments.
“The First Minister has in the past spoken out about the catastrophic negligence of rich countries’ failure to act on climate change, so he should be totally ashamed of his own government’s failure to take the action needed to meet its own targets.
“And rather than pulling out all the stops to get things back on track to meet those targets, the Scottish Government is now just going to move the goalposts. This is shameful.
“Climate change knows no borders. People who have had little or nothing to do with causing the climate emergency, from communities in the global south to marginalised communities in Scotland, are suffering its serious effects.
“In a climate emergency, letting itself off the hook is the wrong thing for the Scottish Government to do, and any claims it had to global leadership on climate change now have no credibility.”
Got concerns about purpose-built student accommodation and luxury developments in your local community?
Join Living Rent for a public forum on the redevelopment of Dalton Scrapyard, where you can bring your questions and concerns directly to your local representatives.
Hold councillors accountable and bring local planning back to the people!
Nearly 50 organisations including the TUC, Citizens Advice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Fawcett Society, Maternity Action, Women’s Budget Group and Liberty call on government to reconsider its plans
Unions, legal networks and rights organisations have today (Monday) slammed the government’s decision to reintroduce employment tribunal fees.
In a joint statement penned by 48 organisations and campaigners including the TUC, Citizens Advice, Maternity Action, Women’s Budget Group, Liberty, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Fawcett Society, Mother Pukka, the groups call on the government to urgently reconsider its plans.
In 2017, after Unison brought a legal challenge, the Supreme Court quashed the previous tribunal fees regime because it “effectively prevents access to justice and is therefore unlawful.”
The joint statement says the decision will put yet another hurdle in front of those seeking justice, highlighting the existing barriers working people face including:
Lack of awareness of key employment rights and the process for bringing a claim.
Strict time limits on filing claims.
An under-resourced employment tribunal system leading to significant delays in cases being heard.
An under-funded labour market enforcement system that doesn’t have enough inspectors to proactively enforce employment rights.
The groups say that introducing fees will encourage exploitation of workers:
“We believe this will deter many from lodging worthy claims and gives a green light to bad employers to exploit their workers.
“Bad employers are being given the go-ahead to undercut good ones, safe in the knowledge they are less likely to face claims in the employment tribunal.
“Employment rights are only real if they are enforced. Tribunal fees risk pricing many workers out of workplace justice.”
They raise concerns about the impact on workers in the middle of a cost of living crisis:
“Workers seeking recovery of wage theft, unpaid redundancy pay and compensation for unfair dismissal are to be asked to stump up extra money at an incredibly tough moment in their lives.
“Fee exemption procedures are complex and difficult to understand for many, especially within the three months’ time limit for most claims.
“Fees are also being levied at a time when rising inflation and subdued wages are putting pressure on family budgets. Access to justice must never be contingent on your ability to pay.”
And they warn that those at the sharp end includes workers already at high risk of mistreatment
“Tribunal fees risk pricing many workers out of workplace justice, especially workers at greater risk of employment law violations such as pregnant workers, disabled workers and migrant workers.”
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “All working people should be able to enforce their rights. But introducing fees for tribunals puts yet another hurdle in the way of those seeking justice at their most vulnerable moment.
“The Conservatives have already tried this and failed. Last time they introduced tribunal fees, claims dropped by two-thirds. And the Supreme Court threw fees out – saying they interfered with access to justice.
“That should have been the nail in the coffin for these cynical plans, but ministers have decided to side with bad bosses over workers and resurrect employment tribunal fees.
“Employment tribunal fees give employers a pass to exploit workers – whether it’s discrimination, unfair sackings or withheld wages.
“Working people shouldn’t be picking up the bill for exploitative employers’ poor behaviour. It’s plain wrong. Ministers must halt their plans without delay.”
Rosalind Bragg, Director at Maternity Action Group, said: “For pregnant women and new mothers in the cost of living crisis, every penny counts. Charging fees for employment tribunal claims puts the justice system out of reach for women at a time when they are most in need of protection.
“If the Government is serious about stamping out maternity discrimination, they should be reducing barriers to justice not increasing them. Fees will reduce the deterrent effect of the employment tribunal, reassuring bad employers that they can get away with breaking the law.
“We have laws in place to secure equal treatment of pregnant women and new mothers at work but these are ineffective without the robust operation of the employment tribunal.
“Fees are a step backwards in the fight for gender equality.”
The Joint Statement reads:
As organisations that advocate for workers’ ability to enforce their rights, we strongly oppose the government’s plans to impose fees on people who file an employment tribunal claim.
Following a landmark victory by trade union UNISON, the previous employment fees regime was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court due to its restriction on access to justice and discriminatory impact.
It appears the government is intent on repeating the mistakes of the past.
We believe reintroducing tribunal fees would block many from lodging worthy claims and give a green light to bad employers to exploit their workers.
There are already considerable barriers to those seeking justice at work:
An under-resourced employment tribunal system leading to significant delays in cases being heard.
An under-funded labour market enforcement system that doesn’t have enough inspectors to proactively enforce employment rights.
Lack of awareness of key employment rights.
A complicated process for bringing a claim.
Difficulty in accessing legal support.
Strict time limits on filing claims.
Workers seeking recovery of wage theft, unpaid redundancy pay and compensation for unfair dismissal are to be asked to stump up extra money at an incredibly tough moment in their lives. Fee exemption procedures are complex and difficult to understand for many, especially within the three months’ time limit for most claims.
Fees are also being levied at a time when rising inflation and subdued wages are putting pressure on family budgets. Access to justice must never be contingent on your ability to pay.
Meanwhile bad employers are being given the go-ahead to undercut good ones, safe in the knowledge they are less likely to face claims in the employment tribunal.
Employment rights are only real if they are enforced. Tribunal fees risk pricing many workers out of workplace justice, especially workers at greater risk of employment law violations such as pregnant workers, disabled workers and migrant workers.
We urge the government to reconsider its plans.
Signatories:
Trades Union Congress
Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
Maternity Action
Pregnant Then Screwed
Young Women’s Trust (Clairee Reindorp, CEO)
Liberty
Mother Pukka, Anna Whitehouse
Inclusion London
BARAC UK
Citizens Advice
Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU)
The William Gomes Podcast
After Exploitation
Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) for Refugees
Migrant Voice
Kalayaan
Work Rights Centre
Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC)
Kanlungan Filipino Consortium
Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
Community Policy Forum
Right to Remain
Advice Services Alliance
Anti-Slavery International
Migrants’ Rights Network
Disability Rights UK
Legal Action Group
Protect
Fawcett Society
Your Employment Settlement Service
Just Fair
Labour Behind the Label
Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Highfields Centre
War on Want
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
Campaigners staged a protest outside Edinburgh City Chambers on Friday (24 November) to call on the Lothian Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels. The protest marked one year since Edinburgh City Council voted in favour of divestment, but the fund has still not enacted the request.
Lothian Pension Fund has at least £350 million invested in the fossil fuel industry, according to new analysis by Platform and Friends of the Earth Scotland. This is a significant increase from the £229 million investment it held when the research was last conducted in October 2021.
Lothian Pension Fund is the second biggest fossil fuel investor of all the council pension funds in Scotland. It invests in some of the world’s biggest climate polluters, including Exxon Mobil, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies and BP.
With virtually all oil and gas companies set to expand their operations, campaigners are calling on the Lothian Pension Fund to listen to councillors and stop funding fossil fuels.
The protest highlighted the role French oil giant TotalEnergies – that Lothian Pensions have investments worth £19 million in – is playing in worsening the climate crisis and threatening human rights.
TotalEnergies is currently developing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, stretching 1444 km across Uganda and Tanzania. Building this pipeline is displacing communities and destroying livelihoods in Africa in order to pump oil out of the continent to be consumed by people living in the global north.
John Hardy from Divest Lothian said: “It’s extremely disappointing that as the climate crisis worsens, the Lothian Pension Fund has failed to follow the democratic will of the council to divest from the fossil fuel companies that are driving climate breakdown.
“In particular, their investments in TotalEnergies and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline harms our climate and puts local communities and important ecosystems at risk.
“The Lothian Pension Fund needs to listen to the people of Edinburgh and the Lothians and divest from all fossil fuel companies immediately. Our future is at stake, and we cannot afford to wait any longer.”
Sophie Burgess from Global Justice Edinburgh Youth Collective said: “We need to Stop EACOP for my future, the future of people in Uganda and Tanzania and the future of people globally.
“We cannot allow pensions to continue to fund fossil fuel giants like TotalEnergy, who are continuing to threaten all our futures with devastating projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.”
The Lothian Pension Fund administers the pension funds of almost 90,000 members from the four councils in the Lothians and 59 other employers, including Scottish Water, Edinburgh Napier University, VisitScotland and Heriot-Watt University.
TODAY! Please note Edinburgh will meet at the earlier time of 12pm at Waverley Bridge. Please double check your nearest demonstrations time AND location.
Ceasefire now. Stop the genocide!
As with previous weeks, there haven’t been applications to march – though people may want to on the day.
Promise to continue every week ‘Until Bold Action Is Taken’
On Friday, local climate activists from Green New Deal Rising staged a ‘sit-out’ in front of Ian Murray MP’s HQ to demand bolder climate commitments from Labour ahead of the next General Election.
Beginning at 11am on Friday, young climate activists in Edinburgh gathered outside Ian Murray MP’s constituency office in Causewayside, urging him to commit to doing more in the face of the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
The group criticised the Labour Party’s failure to adequately respond to repeated calls from young people for rapid decarbonisation, a just transition to a low emissions economy and investment in green jobs.
Ian Murray is MP for Edinburgh South and the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland in Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet.
This action follows similar protests every Friday since 14th July. This week, the activists staged a “birthday party” for Keir Starmer outside the office, putting up decorations, playing party songs and sharing around cake to mark the Labour leader’s birthday this week.
They spoke to Ian Murray’s constituents and members of the public about what the Labour party could be doing to tackle the climate emergency and social and economic injustice.
The protest was part of a national campaign by Green New Deal Rising pressuring the Labour Party to ‘Be Bold’ in their manifesto pledges ahead of the next UK General Election, which must be held before December 2024.
They are demanding that the Labour Party commit to passing legislation which expands public ownership, taxes wealth, delivers a green jobs guarantee and a living income, enacts a National Nature Service and make polluters pay globally, in the first 100 days after the election.
Similar protests were also staged in cities across the UK targeting other members of the Shadow Cabinet.
Paris, 20, a member of Green New Deal Rising from Glasgow said: “We are seeing unprecedented heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods, crop failures, famines and falling living standards.
“Labour are refusing to put in place the bold and systemic solutions required to put an end to these crises, with the party having just ruled out wealth taxes and having reaffirmed their support for a set of dangerous and arbitrary fiscal rules that top economists have said are morally and fiscally irresponsible.
“So we are back outside Ian Murray’s office for the 8th week chatting with the public and throwing a birthday party for Keir Starmer celebrating what Labour could achieve if they grant our wishes of having a livable future through public ownership of essential services, a secure income for all, and a transformative Green New Deal.”
Keir Starmer announced Labour’s ‘Green Industrial Strategy’ earlier this year, but has already U-turned on a number of issues in response to fossil fuel lobbying, by refusing to block the Rosebank Oil Field if approved and delaying the timing of green investment.
Polls consistently show that the electorate are in favour of more action on environmental issues as well as public ownership.
Paris continued: “Our wishes are highly reflected in our interactions with the public who are concerned about the destruction of our planet and deteriorating living standards. Labour need to reject austerity economics and support our demands for a Green New Deal.”
The group say they will return to Ian Murray’s office again next Friday.
