Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
The Scottish Government said it had “no choice” but to follow suit as treasury funding for the Scottish benefit had been cut by between £140m and £160m.
Unite will try to force a vote on reversing the cuts at the Labor conference in Liverpool, as it urges the government against a “return to failed austerity”.
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On Friday a group from the trade union took part in a protest against the cuts on Irvine beach in North Ayrshire.
Artists Veronika Liebscher and Richard Leat created a piece of art on the sand with the words “winter fuel allowance £200”.
As crowds gathered and delegates made speeches, the words were slowly washed away by the incoming tide.
Alongside Unite were members of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), the group seeking compensation for millions of women who lost opportunities to make informed decisions about their money when the women’s pension age rose from 60 to 65.
The group say their members have already been negatively affected by that change, and now face losing their winter fuel allowance at the end as they urge Mr Starmer to pay compensation and not take it from’ the winter fuel budget.
Explaining the artwork, Ms Liebscher said: “We’ve got this great beach, so why not use it?
“The tide is a great analogy for something that rushes in against us and is hard to stop.
“The winter fuel allowance is important to give people the extra they need, taking it away in the way they mean there will be a lot of people who are on the edge and still to be needed.
“Reinstating the allowance for everyone is not necessarily the right thing to do but something has to be done when so many people are unable to pay for their fuel.
“Whether that is done at one end, giving people money to pay for their fuel, or at the other end with restrictive prices – something needs to be done.”
Mr Leat said: “You have to think about the number of people who don’t take benefits they’re entitled to, and if they then start taking those up then any savings are going to be drastically reduced – probably nothing.”
Arthur West, Unite community member and secretary of the Irvine and North Ayrshire Council of Trade Unions, said: “This is going to create real problems in many pensioner households.
“It goes without saying that in Scotland, unfortunately, we’re getting colder weather, it gets a bit nice at times so it will have a real impact.
“A lot of people will struggle to pay their energy bills and that will be a concern and a pressure, and the cost of living pressures across the board – there is real concern about what this winter will bring .”
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24599723.winter-fuel-payment-protest-campaigners-warn-impact/?ref=rss
