Latest news with #Greenaway
The Herald Scotland
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Union warns members are being 'blocked' from college talks
GMB's senior organiser for public services, Keir Greenaway, has recently written to Colleges Scotland about concerns over the union's treatment in the sector. In a letter to the new Colleges Scotland chief executive officer, Gavin Donoghue, Mr Greenaway said that potentially cutting access to facility time–paid time off during working hours for union representatives to carry out union duties–would damage sector relations at a crucial period. "As it currently stands, not only are trade union rights under Fair Work and the national recognition agreement under threat, but our reps' statutory rights are also being broken. "CES (College Employers Scotland) have issued guidance which colleges are using at a local level to prevent reps from exercising their trade union duties – a right our reps hold under law. "It has also been proposed that national facility time be cut by 91% which prevents trade unions from being able to meaningfully consult and engage our members." Mr Greenaway also referred to potential changes in national bargaining structure for support staff and GMB's limited role in discussions. Currently, national bargaining in the college sector occurs at the National Joint Negotiation Committee (NJNC), with two side tables in place to negotiate for support and lecturing staff. The support staff side table has five seats: Unison holds three, while Unite and GMB hold one each. In March, Unison and Unite submitted notice that they wished to leave the current side table setup and establish a new negotiation structure involving only support staff. GMB has not asked to leave the current structure, so it is not part of discussions about a new bargaining structure, Mr Greenaway said. "Reps being able to exercise their rights and duties unimpeded is vital given the discussions which are ongoing on a new national agreement. "Regretfully, GMB Scotland has been blocked from these talks, which will directly affect our members, without us first agreeing to withdraw from the existing agreement. "This is an unreasonable request which requires us to tear up the existing agreement in place of one that is yet to even be negotiated. "It is difficult for our members to see these steps by their employers as anything other than an attack on their right to work collectively. "Without progress in upholding those rights under the law and Fair Work, then it is likely to lead to a review of college funding by the Scottish Funding Council." He called on Mr Donoghue, who became Colleges Scotland's CEO at the start of June after leaving his previous position as director of CES, to reset relations and "respect" GMB's place at the table. Read more In a statement from CES and Colleges Scotland, a spokesperson said that although CES, Unite and Unison have begun discussions about a possible new setup, the three parties have agreed that GMB should not be part of these talks until the union submits a similar notice. 'Scotland's colleges are committed to embedding Fair Work principles and have taken forward a range of measures to ensure wellbeing, respect and opportunity for staff. These include a pioneering National Menopause Policy, accelerated payment of the annual Real Living Wage increase, a new national Disciplinary Policy, and moves to support the provision of flexible working hours. 'UNISON and Unite notified employers of their intention to resign from the current national collective bargaining agreement in March, requesting that talks begin on developing a new agreement to cover college support staff only. CES is working constructively with UNISON and Unite to take this request forward but, as the GMB has chosen not to resign from the current collective bargaining agreement, it is the collective position of UNISON, Unite and CES that GMB will not be part of these talks. 'Effective and constructive partnership working with trade unions is essential to progressing the Fair Work agenda at colleges. CES will continue to work closely with our trade unions partners - college staff are critical to delivering education and training to learners across Scotland.'
Daily Record
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Scots drivers face traffic chaos as one of country's busiest roads faces shut down in staff dispute
The Clyde Tunnel does not enjoy the same protections as motorways and could be shut by strikes. Scots drivers face traffic chaos as one of the country's busiest roads could be closed by strike action. Control room workers on the Clyde Tunnel have backed industrial action which could impact the 65,000 motorists who use the crossing each day. The underground link between the north and south of Glasgow is one of the busiest carriageways in Scotland not classed as an A road - meaning it does not have the same protections as motorways. GMB Scotland announced control room staff managing the Tunnel have backed industrial action after a council pay offer was overwhelmingly rejected. The union will inform Glasgow City Council of the ballot result while warning strike action risks shutting the tunnel linking the north and south of the city. Workers at Whiteinch, on the north bank of the river, monitor a battery of cameras 24 hours a day, control ventilation, and respond to breakdowns and other emergencies. Their work is vital to the safe operation of the tunnel, bored beneath the river bed before opening in 1963. Used by 65,000 cars, vans and lorries a day, it underpins the economy of Scotland's biggest city. Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said the vote in favour of strike action at the tunnel was no surprise after staff across Scotland rejected a three per cent rise. Most of the ten-strong tunnel team are GMB Scotland members and the union confirmed 100 per cent of those voting in the formal ballot backed strike action. Greenaway said the tunnel workers were the first to vote as part of a strategic campaign of industrial action to secure an improved offer for council staff and urged the Scottish Government to engage with Cosla and unions to resolve the dispute. He said: "Council workers have again been forced to fight for fair pay while watching others in the public sector, NHS Scotland, for example, being made acceptable offers. "The everyday lives of millions of Scots rest on the shoulders of local authority staff and they will not be treated as the poor relations in our public services. "The team at the Clyde Tunnel keep Scotland's biggest city moving, only one example of the essential services delivered by our members. "Without their expertise and experience, one of the country's most important roads could close with untold disruption." Greenaway urged the Scottish Government to release the resources needed for Cosla to improve the pay offer and settle the dispute. He said: 'The current offer adds pennies to the hourly rate paid to the lowest-paid staff, and it is beyond time for ministers to seriously engage with Cosla and the unions to deliver fair pay.' The union is now planning strategic action, starting with the Clyde Tunnel, in support of its pay claim for £1 an hour increase or 6.5 per cent. The Record previously reported how there is unhappiness among councillors that ratepayers in Glasgow are forced to pay for the upkeep of the tunnel - despite it being viewed as a nationally-important piece of infrastructure like the motorway network. The tunnel is not classed as an A road which means Transport Scotland has no responsibility for its management.
Daily Record
22-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Clyde Tunnel could close as control room workers balloted over strike action
EXCLUSIVE: GMB Scotland is to ballot the team controlling the tunnel in Glasgow on industrial action after a council pay offer was overwhelmingly rejected. More than 60,000 drivers a day face traffic chaos as strikes could close the Clyde Tunnel. GMB Scotland is to ballot the team controlling the tunnel in Glasgow on industrial action after a council pay offer was overwhelmingly rejected. Glasgow City Council is being given notice of the formal vote on strikes today as the union warns action could shut down the tunnel linking the north and south of Scotland's biggest city. Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said: 'The workers at the Clyde Tunnel ensure thousands of motorists travel safely and without delay every day. 'They keep the city moving and without their expertise and experience, one of Scotland's most important roads could close with untold disruption.' The vote on strike action will take place next week. The Clyde Tunnel is used by 65,000 cars, vans and lorries a day. It is a key route connecting the north and south of Glasgow. The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) - Scotland's biggest hospital - sits next to the Govan side of the tunnel. Workers in the control room on the Whiteinch side monitor a battery of cameras 24 hours a day, control ventilation, and respond to breakdowns and other emergencies. Greenaway said a three per cent offer made to council workers was clearly unacceptable and industrial action seems inevitable if it is not improved. He said: 'The offer is nowhere close to matching the commitment of council workers, adding pennies to the hourly rate paid to the lowest-paid staff. 'The frontline roles of our members on the Clyde Tunnel and their colleagues across Scotland's councils deserve to be properly recognised and fairly rewarded. 'They have been offered an annual increase below inflation as household bills continue to climb. 'No one, not least the councils, could have been surprised when it was overwhelmingly rejected and they should not be surprised when our members take whatever action is necessary to be paid fairly.' It comes after a consultative ballot of GMB Scotland members in councils revealed 96 per cent of those voting backed walkouts if local authority body Cosla did not improve the pay offer. The Clyde Tunnel is the busiest stretch of non-trunk road in Scotland. Trunk roads are national roads managed by the Scottish Government, but the tunnel is not included as Glasgow City Council has responsibility for it. Using the last available Transport Scotland figures from 2019, the Clyde Tunnel has more daily users than all non-motorway roads except the Edinburgh bypass at Dreghorn. A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: 'We will await the outcome of the ballot and officers will continue to engage with unions.'
The Guardian
05-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Farmers in England fear for nature after sustainable farming funding frozen
Farmers fear they will no longer be able to afford to restore nature in England and reduce their carbon footprint after government funding for doing this was frozen. The environment secretary, Steve Reed, recently announced that the sustainable farming incentive (SFI), which pays farmers for making space for nature on their land, would be paused and overhauled before June's spending review. The scope of the scheme – and its budget – are being reassessed. He is considering blocking farmers who make a lot of money from agriculture from applying for the scheme, which is part of a package of payments that replaced the EU's common agricultural policy and paid land managers for the amount of land in their care, with the aim of paying farmers to look after nature, soil and other public goods, rather than simply for farming and owning land. In England, 70% of land is farmed, so if nature is to recover, farmers need support to make space for it on their land. This includes planting trees and hedges, digging ponds and leaving strips of land for wildflowers. Amelia Greenaway, 24, farms native cattle and pigs on 365 hectares (900 acres) of the National Trust's Killerton Estate in Devon. She was applying for £94,000 worth of SFI payments when the application was frozen. 'We are already sustainable as we are organic. We have highland cattle and rare breed pigs which we conservation graze,' she said. But she wanted to go one step further. 'We were going to start growing our own pig feed to create a circular system in our farm, we were going to sow wildflowers in there as well, and it was going to be a good thing for pollinators. We now can't afford the seed to do that,' she said. It is hard for tenant farmers to apply for schemes as they have to work with the landlords. Greenaway had been working on her funding application for months – time that has been wasted. 'The planning we have had to do over SFI has been immense,' she said. 'This has seriously wasted our time. We had to do so many paperwork applications that delayed the process.' She said farmers were giving up on the government to provide funding and solutions for nature, and had to accept they would need to do it themselves. 'I hope this gives farmers the opportunity not to put their heads in the sand. We weren't reliant on subsidy but it was great to have that cash boost we could reinvest. Not having the reinvestment will make us become a bit stagnant if the SFI doesn't become available again.' Greenaway says she is lucky to have a good landlord in the National Trust, which supports nature-friendly farming, but not all farmers are so fortunate: 'Since the shocking news of SFI closure, it's just reminded us of our gratitude towards the National Trust. Without the support of empathetic landlords who want to allow sustainable farming to be a viable business we wouldn't be a sustainable business. I am very stagnant now, not moving forward with nature recovery. I have to count my blessings, but I have to look forward to the future and work even more closely with my landlords.' She feared other farmers may be discouraged from nature-friendly farming: 'I am really worried for the landscape actually; for those farmers who were considering going into regenerative farming, the chopping and changing has completely reduced confidence so it's caused them to want to intensify instead.' Anthony Curwen, 63, is the country estate manager of Quex Park in Kent, which grows wheat, oilseed rape, oats, beans, potatoes and maize silage across 1,012 hectares (2,500 acres) of arable land. He applied for the SFI just before the application window closed, and has now been left in limbo. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'It is just very shocking and surprising that it was withdrawn last week,' he said. 'What we are doing is helping sustainable farming, pollen and nature strips. We don't use insecticides, we plant cover crops. We have already started doing everything. We were hoping to get the money for doing it.' Curwen has loved seeing nature come back to the farm. 'I've noticed more insects, more birds. Lots of things were here 40 or 50 years ago and disappeared then came back. We've seen turtle doves come back to the farm, we've seen yellow hammers which I haven't seen for a long time. It is joyous to see it all return.' He is worried other farmers will not get this same opportunity: 'We've been on this journey for several years, but the vast bulk of farmers don't know what to do. They need persuasion, they need help. It will take a lot of rebuilding trust to hit government targets on biodiversity, carbon and soil regeneration. It is quite scary going on that route as it is very different to what they would have been doing.' Curwen does not agree with the government's plans to means test it, as it will encourage larger farms to intensify food production with more pesticides and less nature. 'Who could say that nature doesn't matter on a big farm? Nature matters on every farm. Many big farms may go in the opposite direction and intensify and that will hurt nature. It is trying to divide and rule to be honest with you.' Despite using fewer pesticides and creating more space for nature, productivity has not reduced on his farm: 'Less inputs and more circular farming actually give us more food security. This is all being put at risk because of the clumsy way this is all going on.' He did not realise this would be the case to begin with, but now is a true convert and a member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network. 'I was sceptical of regenerative farming but we have now realised it makes a huge difference to everything around you,' he said. 'I am in despair. I am just saddened as I think it is going to be harder now. I thought we were a world leader in this journey and now it's all up in the air.'
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘They want this': Boardman girls to defend state title
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) — There isn't much this group of five seniors for Boardman bowling hasn't been a part of as they head to Columbus to defend their state title in the 2025 OHSAA Bowling State Tournament this weekend. 'They want this. They want to do this again for themselves and for the community,' Boardman head coach Justine Cullen said. Throughout the last four years, Spartans girls bowling has a 51-4 record — including two undefeated seasons, four All-American Conference and Tournament titles, and plenty more. 'We're just going to get through it and hopefully we can repeat it again,' senior Kaitlyn Greenaway said. 'Just going back and maybe doing it one more time, that would be really great, best senior present ever,' senior Marissa Funk said. Come postseason time, Boardman has three section championships, a district runner-up and district title. Last season, they were able to not only bring home the team title but also the individual state champion in Greenaway. 'It's just incredible, to have the opportunity to really defend your title truly because we only lost one senior,' Cullen said. 'So to be able to defend it with essentially the exact same team that you have, that just doesn't happen in sports very often, and for it to be with this group, this incredibly special, kind, hardworking squad, I mean, it's a gift.' Along with Greenaway, who most recently claimed the district crown, fellow senior Marissa Funk has formed a dynamic one-two-punch to lead the Spartans. 'There is definitely the pressure of, oh, my gosh, we got to run it back, definitely, but we're all just here to have fun and do what we love together,' Funk said. Funk joined Greenaway on the District Championship All-Tournament Team on the way to a fourth straight trip to state and a chance to repeat. 'We're all family, so we're all friends, we do it for each other,' Greenaway said. 'So it's definitely like a fun experience, we're ready for it. We know it's our last time, so we might as well make it worth it.' Along Greenaway and Funk, the team consists of Gabby Vennetti (Senior), Lily Haase (Senior), Emily Leonard (Senior), Jasmine Kortes (Junior) and Kara McCutcheon (Freshman). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
