For Prospect members in energy and decommissioning
8
I’M WRITING this before the election. With the crystal balls of the pundits getting cloudier by the moment, I am reminded of the story of Voltaire on his deathbed. Asked if he renounced the devil and all his works, the philosopher responded, “now is not a good time to start making enemies”. Whatever the outcome, the Prime Minister (if there is one by the time this reaches you) is likely to be the leader of the least unpopular political party in the UK – but even that may not be the case. So what does that mean for UK energy policy? The 2010 and 2015 general elections had opposition parties stating that if they entered government they would be in- heriting a “broken energy market”. The apparent consensus around the bill that became the Energy Act came under strain as parties vied to achieve political advantage. For those in the industry, it is a strange market – possibly one of the most complex and convoluted imaginable. For the ideological purists of the 80s and 90s, the market was the answer. But, if that was the case, the problem for policy makers now is that the question has got more complex, with the current market structure seeking to support a range of sometimes competing, though laudable, policy objectives. Whatever the election result, some things are certain. The sector faces a major demographic challenge in terms of workforce replenishment and skills – 50% of the workforce are due to retire by 2023. There is a pressing need to invest in, and replace, ageing assets and a need for a coherent plan for transition to low-carbon generation. There is also a need for stability, to enable long-term investment, and for the incoming government to articulate what a balanced energy policy actually means rather than simply positing statements about our low-carbon future. Most of all there is a need to articulate how we get there while keeping the lights on. Recent decisions, such the closure of Longannet and the refusal of state aid to support the UK coal industry, do not appear joined up – Longannet’s ENERGY EYE Prospect members in energy and decommissioning www.prospect.org.uk • Issue 2, May 2015 Bleak future for coal JUST one deep coal mine will be left in Britain by the end of 2016 after the government refused UK Coal’s application for £338m of state aid. Pits in Kellingley in North Yorkshire and Thoresby, Nottinghamshire face closure now as a result. The decision, announced at the end of March, means only Hatfield colliery in South Yorkshire will be left by the end of 2015. It spells the loss of 560 jobs at Kellingley, 400 at Thoresby, 40 at UK Coal’s Harworth headquarters and more than 1,000 contractor and supply chain posts. Describing the news as shocking, negotiator Michael Macdonald: “It is also short-sighted and foolish, given that the UK will continue to burn 30 to 40 million tonnes of coal per year until the end of the decade. “Rather than support the industry the government seems to be trying to avoid any debate over coal, having delayed support until the cost of state aid had increased by over £120m, and trying to bury the closure news in a written statement on the last day of parliament.” ■ ■ Graham■–■recent■ decisions,■such■as■ the■refusal■of■state■ aid■to■support■the■ UK■coal■industry,■ do■not■appear■to■ be■joined■up With the general election still to take place as Energy Eye went to press, deputy general secretary Garry Graham says the only certainty for the future is that energy policy needs a coherent strategy After the vote – what now? ■ ■ Kellingley■coal-face UK COAL ■ ■ continues■on■page■2 Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
Transcript
I’M WRITING this before the election. With the crystal balls of the pundits getting cloudier by the moment, I am reminded of the story of Voltaire on his deathbed. Asked if he renounced the devil and all his works, the philosopher responded, “now is not a good time to start making enemies”.
Whatever the outcome, the Prime Minister (if there is one by the time this reaches you) is likely to be the leader of the least unpopular political party in the UK – but even that may not be the case. So what does that mean for UK energy policy?
The 2010 and 2015 general elections had opposition parties stating that if they entered government they would be in-heriting a “broken energy market”. The apparent consensus around the bill that became the Energy Act came under strain as parties vied to
achieve political advantage. For those in the industry, it is a
strange market – possibly one of the most complex and convoluted imaginable.
For the ideological purists of the 80s and 90s, the market was the answer. But, if that was the case, the problem for policy makers now is that the question has got more complex, with the current market structure seeking to support a range of sometimes competing, though laudable, policy objectives.
Whatever the election result, some things are certain. The sector
faces a major demographic challenge in terms of workforce replenishment and skills – 50% of the workforce are due to retire by 2023.
There is a pressing need to invest in, and replace, ageing assets and a need for a coherent plan for transition to low-carbon generation.
There is also a need for stability, to enable long-term investment, and for the incoming government to articulate what a balanced energy policy actually means rather than simply positing statements about our low-carbon future. Most of all there is a need to articulate how we get there while keeping the lights on.
Recent decisions, such the closure of Longannet and the refusal of state aid to support the UK coal industry, do not appear joined up – Longannet’s
ENERGYEYEProspect members in energy and decommissioning
www.prospect.org.uk • Issue 2, May 2015
Bleak future for coalJUST one deep coal mine will be left in Britain by the end of 2016 after the government refused UK Coal’s application for £338m of state aid. Pits in Kellingley in North Yorkshire and Thoresby, Nottinghamshire face closure now as a result.
The decision, announced at the end of March, means only Hatfield colliery in South Yorkshire will be left by the end of 2015.
It spells the loss of 560 jobs at Kellingley, 400 at Thoresby, 40 at UK Coal’s Harworth headquarters and more than 1,000 contractor and supply chain posts.
Describing the news as shocking, negotiator Michael Macdonald: “It is also short-sighted and foolish, given that the UK will continue to burn 30 to 40 million tonnes of coal per year until the end of the decade.
“Rather than support the industry the government seems to be trying to avoid any debate over coal, having delayed support until the cost of state aid had increased by over £120m, and trying to bury the closure news in a written statement on the last day of parliament.”
With the general election still to take place as Energy Eye went to press, deputy general secretary Garry Graham says the only certainty for the future is that energy policy needs a coherent strategy
After the vote – what now? ■■ Kellingley■coal-face
UK CO
AL
■■ continues■on■page■2
Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
IF IT’S a really good idea, what are the chances that more than one person will have thought about it? That seems to be the case in decommissioning after Magnox rep Andy McDade (above right) got in touch after the story about Sellafi eld employing scallop-fi shing technology to lift material from its storage ponds. (See February’s Energy Eye.)
It seems the pond decommissioning team at
Magnox’s Hunterston A site, where Andy is a quantity surveyor, may have got there fi rst.
He reports: “Inspired by experiences in his university summer job as a fi sherman, project engineer Cameron McCaig (above left) suggested the technology used to dredge cockles could be modifi ed to recover radioactive sludge from the fl oor of the cartridge cooling pond.”
Several manufacturers were approached before Barrnon Ltd of Cumbria won the contract in January 2013 and successfully deployed the dredge in October 2014.
As Andy explains: “The dredge is mounted on a remotely operated mini-excavator, which allows operators to manoeuvre it around the entire pond fl oor, rather than being dragged by a fi shing boat.”
SHALE – WHAT POTENTIAL IN THE UK?PROSPECT is asking members to help shape the union’s interim policy on shale gas extraction.
By now branch and section secretaries should have received a consultation document outlining why the national executive committee is recommending conditional support for shale gas exploration, in line with the provisions of the 2015 Infrastructure Act.
The decision to seek members’ responses comes after a motion on the inspection regime for extraction was remitted at the 2014 national conference on the basis it was premature to adopt policy in isolation from wider considerations.
Deputy general secretary Sue Ferns said: “The NEC felt it was time to develop a position on the basis of holistic analysis of the evidence, and consistent with the union’s long-standing policy of backing low-carbon secure energy sources and an enhanced energy infrastructure for the UK.
“Prospect believes policy should be informed by evidence. But, as there is insuffi cient evidence from the UK to underpin long-term policy, controlled exploration is the most credible way to provide the information.”
While climate change and regulatory and health and safety concerns are key so, said Ferns, is energy security.
“If shale gas exploration and exploitation proceeds in Europe, it would be short-sighted to ignore the economic and potential employment implications.”
Prospect’s consultation paper details the conditions attached to the NEC’s recommendation – please see bit.ly/ShaleConsultation
The aim is to develop a motion for the 2016 national conference. Please respond to [email protected] by 17 June.
Call for a new fracking regulatorTHE UK fracking industry needs a new regulator to give the public more confi dence in the fl edgling sector, an industry-backed body has concluded.
Current regulation is “complex and relatively unapproachable”, says a report by the Task Force on Shale Gas. At present the Health and Safety Executive, Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the Environment Agency have responsibility for monitoring shale sites.
Lord Smith of Finsbury, chair of the task force and former head of the Environment Agency, says an independent regulator would boost public confi dence by involving the local community in the monitoring process and assessing the integrity of wells to make sure problems that could lead to leaks are discovered and remedied.
Dredging up a good idea
fate appears to have been decided without an appraisal of the energy needs of Scotland and the UK.
Similarly, not supporting state aid for the UK coal industry while backing the development of carbon capture and storage technology appears perverse.
Prospect will hold its electricity supply industry conference on 8 June. We have invited representatives from the two parties likely to have the largest numbers of seats after the election although “tradition” dictates that invitations cannot be accepted until after the vote.
If the predictions are to be believed, this is the most uncertain election in a generation, with many expecting no party to have an overall majority.
Coming at a time when energy policy needs a coherent strategy, there has never been a more important time to be a Prospect member so the voice of industry professionals is heard.
After the vote – what now?■■ continued■from■page■1■
Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
NEWS2
Published by Prospect, New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1 7NN EnergyEye editor: Katherine Beirne E: [email protected] T 020 7902 6625
Printed by College Hill Press
Grid members slate performance pilotMEMBERS in National Grid fear that a proposed new performance management system is nothing more than a box-checking exercise, a Prospect survey has revealed.
Out of nearly 400 responses, 90 people (30%) said that their objectives are neither specifi c, measurable, achievable, realistic or time-bound, while 59% said they were either imposed or they had no objectives at all.
Other fi ndings showed that: ● 56% had no regular dialogue with a line manager about
their performance ● 55% had not discussed how to achieve their objectives
with a line manager ● 75% said introducing peer-to-peer reviews would be
unhelpful ● 85% of reporting offi cers who took part in the survey
did not feel that they had had suffi cient training in the new system.
Prospect national secretary Philippa Childs said: “Concerns raised during a pilot of the system seem to have fallen on deaf ears. We remain unconvinced that the process is working, that members understand their role or that managers have been trained.
“Objectives in many cases are far from SMART and parts of the business
seem to be getting different messages from others about personal targets.
“Also, Grid said that they would introduce a normal distribution curve but, objectives or not, that automatically introduces pressure in some areas as they try to fi t people into predetermined quotas.”
After pressure from Prospect, the company has agreed to set up a two-stage appeal process, with the fi nal stage comprising an independent panel that includes union representatives.
* Meanwhile Childs warned of further recruitment and retention problems, particularly in the south-east, if management does not revise this year’s low pay settlement. Under a fi ve-year deal implemented last year, the pay pot is calculated using the retail prices index during March.
But RPI this March was 0.9% due to the extraordinary defl ationary period the UK is going through, which no one could have predicted when the deal was signed, said Childs.
Landmark holiday pay deal at Western PowerPROSPECT HAS signed a ground-breaking agreement with Western Power Distribution detailing how much overtime will be included in holiday pay.
The move comes after an employment appeal tribunal case last November (Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton and other cases). This found that regular overtime, which employees are obliged to perform if requested by the employer, should be included in holiday pay calculations.
The ruling gained wide media coverage, highlighting fears that employers would face claims going back several years – potentially even to 1998 when the Working Time Regulations were introduced.
The WPD collective agreement, signed by the four recognised unions, states:
● All overtime (not just “non-guaranteed compulsory” overtime, as specifi ed in the judgment), standby and any “temporary increase in responsibility” payments will be included in the holiday pay calculation.
● WPD will calculate the average weekly value of these payments over a year – to allow for variations in
overtime worked – beginning at the start of the employee’s holiday year.
● At the end of that year the average weekly value will be multiplied by four (weeks) and a non-pensionable payment made in the next month’s salary.
● The arrangements came into effect on 1 April, with payments backdated from 1 August 2014.
Prospect negotiator Steve Thomas said: “At a time when the law on holiday pay remains precarious, it’s gratifying that we have been able to agree a timely
solution through constructive negotiations.
“This is a sensible and straightforward approach that is easy to understand. It not only includes an element of backdating, but covers all overtime, standby and temporary increase in responsibility payments.
“The employer also benefi ts as it will not tie up huge amounts of time or incur large administration costs that a case-by-case approach would have required.”
to set up a two-stage
Respondents’■comments:MOST of the targets say things like 100% of jobs done
without errors, so are not achievable in the real world.
THE peer review with regards to establishing how
an individual has performed against National Grid values is open to abuse by the reviewing manager… In my experience my reviewing manager has used out of date information from other managers from different department to mark me down.
The whole debacle is bound on unintelligible guidance, in
language the fi eld staff don’t use with the minimum of training, which was diffi cult at best.
Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
NEWS 3
LOVE THEM or loathe them, the traditional steel “lattice” pylon design has been a feature of the countryside since the first one was built near Edinburgh in 1928, marking the birth of the UK’s electricity transmission network.
Now that could all be about to change with the successful construction of the first newly designed pylon in almost 90 years at a site in Nottinghamshire.
Why a new design?The existing steel lattice tower will continue to be used in some cases but feedback from planning authorities, public enquiries and transmission construction worldwide revealed that some people find lattice towers intrusive and would like alternatives.
The UK electricity network is also undergoing major changes. Older power stations are closing and new generation from cleaner energy sources is on the way, based in different locations to the “traditional ring” of coal-fired generation in the centre of England.
So in 2011, National Grid launched a competition with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Royal Institute of British Architects to find an alternative design for electricity pylons in the UK. Bystrup Architecture’s T-pylon design was the winner.
What are its benefits?It is very quick to build, with only eight main structural components plus bolts. So, once the foundations are in, a T-pylon’s body and arms can be erected in a day rather than a week.
It is also shorter. At 35m (120ft) it’s a third lower than the equivalent 400kv lattice, which is around 50m tall (165ft). Many people think the T-pylons look better than the lattice and may be preferable for some environments because the design allows them to follow the contours of the land.
Maintenance will also be easier because operators will not have to climb up the tower – they can work from elevated platforms or cranes positioned alongside it. Plus the smooth, impenetrable surface makes them more difficult to vandalise.
What have been the challenges?Developing a range of new and radically different pylons is not something that happens very often so planning for all the required design elements was a big challenge.
The first step was to look in detail at the design. We needed to make sure, for example, that it was mechanically sound and could withstand the stresses placed on a pylon. Would it stand up to 50-year wind events – gusts of more than
Electrifying design
National Grid’s David Clutterbuck is leading the development of the T-pylon, a new design for the 21st century. The Prospect member tells Katherine Beirne about the project
FACT MORE THAN 88,000
lattice pylons dot the UK landscape today, with 22,000 of them in National Grid’s network across England and Wales
NATIO
NAL G
RID
Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
4 TRANSMISSION
FACT “THE FLYING-angle T-pylon
has the same geometry as a suspension pylon but can accommodate a turn of 10 degrees, a first for National Grid that should further reduce the visual impact of the installation on the landscape”
■■ The■T-pylon■is■very■quick■to■build,■having■
only■eight■main■structural■components■
plus■bolts.■It■can■be■erected■■in■a■day
80mph – or the weight of ice in severe weather? Would it be just as stable in marshland as on rocky outcrops?
We also needed to consider different pylon types for different uses. For example, the “suspension” pylon supports cables in a straight line, while a “tension” pylon allows us to turn corners. Typically, the tighter the turn, the greater the pressure on the pylon and the stronger that structure needs to be.
Our engineers’ solution was to develop a family of T-pylons, with different designs for different functions, while still remaining sympathetic to the original concept.
This family includes the suspension and tension pylons and two forms of terminal structure – the double diamond and the gantry – for the point at which overhead lines end or go underground.
These new designs allow us to develop flexible, more visually appealing overhead line connections that meet the various engineering challenges we face across the UK.
For example, the flying-angle T-pylon has the same geometry as a suspension pylon but can accommodate a turn of 10 degrees, a first for National Grid that should further reduce the visual impact of the installation on the landscape.
Other challenges included: ● developing composite
insulator products with sufficient performance capability to withstand both the mechanical loading and electrical phase to phase insulation operating at 400,000 volts
● working with the supplier of new materials, particularly for the
castings, to ensure the designs can be manufactured as specified.
When will the new design be rolled out?We intend to only use them for new infrastructure if the environment is appropriate. For example, we are applying to use them to connect, when built, the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station to the network.
Has it been adopted in other countries?Other monopole structures are being used in other countries, but this design has been developed exclusively by National Grid UK. Once it proves to be a success others may well follow with similar designs or concepts. We have also been approached by other European Utilities who are considering similar projects and are keen to learn from our development experience.
March saw the construction of the first pylon, as part of a six-span test line we are developing for training purposes at our Eakring training centre in Nottinghamshire – where our engineers and apprentices learn how to maintain our transmission network.
In particular, it will be used for people to practise “stringing” the conductors (wires) on to the pylons, as a very different technique is needed.
The T-pylon story is moving at an incredible pace. In just three years our engineers and partners have turned a fantastic design into a realistic, technically advanced and elegant alternative to the lattice pylon. The world is watching – and we’re as excited as anybody to see the UK’s first T-pylon.
NATIO
NAL G
RID
Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
5TRANSMISSION
FOTO
TEKON
LINE.CO
M
PROSPECT has written to the leaders of the main political parties to urge any new government to support a fi nal investment decision on the proposed new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.
The move follows news that developer EDF Energy has called a halt to any further preparation work at the site, potentially placing up to 400 contractor jobs at risk.
The company has said it will not begin the next phase of work until it has made a fi nal investment decision on the whole £16bn project, which is now expected later this year.
It is the second time a decision has been delayed as confi rmation, originally expected at the end of 2014, was postponed until the end of March 2015.
In his letter deputy general secretary Garry Graham called on the incoming government to ensure appropriate resources are availbleto support discussions and stressed the “pressing need for early agreement to be reached after the general election”.
While EDF Energy maintains it is making positive progress in talks with its investors, Graham said: “It is easy to imagine how the momentum has slowed inside Whitehall departments asked to sign off the highly-complex legal documents prior to the election, not least of which is the infrastructure loan guarantee from the Treasury.
“But with Ofgem’s warnings over declining energy margins still fresh, procrastination is not an option.”
PROSPECT, THE UNION FOR LIFE – A MEMBER’S VIEWIF you think changing jobs means you have to leave Prospect think again.
Traditionally members in the energy sector have worked in areas where Prospect has collective recognition.
However, as the industry has evolved, an increasing number of members have chosen to retain their membership and recruit friends and colleagues, when they move to new jobs with contractors, both small and large.
Ken Epplestone, an engineer manager with Amey, is one of them. He has been in Prospect member since his days as an engineer in Northern Electric.
Union talks secure threatened rolesA BALLOT on industrial action was narrowly avoided within Electricity North West after the company was persuaded to fi nd alternative roles for almost 150 employees facing redundancy.
Shortly after Christmas, the company revealed plans to reorganise the business that would impact on 250 staff, 150 of whom faced possible redundancy. But Prospect negotiated new roles for 115 employees.
Of the remaining 35 staff affected, 27 have taken voluntary redundancy and discussions continue for the fi nal eight.
Prospect negotiator Tony Hammond said: “Consultation with the company has been laboured to say the least, but I am pleased that members stuck together to get to where we are.
“If anything this experience has reinvigorated members and persuaded new people to step forward and become more active, so the outcome has been positive in more ways than one.”
Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
NEWS6
LIKE MOST national initiatives, Powering Improvement inspired some cynicism at the beginning over the impact it would have on day-to-day operations.
Having achieved a reduction in accident rates since privatisation, unions and managers at Northern Powergrid were looking at what else would deliver further improvements.
In 2010 a member of staff had a 95% chance of working on the network for 40 years without a lost-time injury: our joint goal was to reduce the risk so there was a 99% chance.
Powering Improvement enables us to learn about measures being introduced by other employers in the sector, while sharing experiences helps us improve our performance and gives us data to assess the benefits of new safety initiatives.
But we don’t adopt every recommendation unquestioningly. Being straight-talking Northerners we decide what we will be judged on and what activities need prompt action. If we feel someone else’s idea is helpful we may implement it or we may do something different.
Powering Improvement has not led to a utopia where we reach a
MAKING SAFETY NUMBER ONEPROSPECT deputy general secretary Garry Graham highlighted the value of partnership at the electricity industry’s Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Management conference in Bristol last month.
Organised by Energy Networks Association and hosted by Western Power Distribution, this year’s theme was how to make health and safety the priority throughout every level of the business.
Employers, union representatives, the Health
and Safety Executive and other experts came together to discuss progress and importantly, how to maintain momentum in raising standards across the industry.
Introducing the themes of Powering Improvement and the importance of workforce engagement, Graham said: “This conference is an opportunity to celebrate what we do well and identify what we can do better.
“Our experience has shown that if employers, unions and the HSE work in partnership real progress can be made.
Supporting the highest standards of health and safety is not only a moral imperative, it makes good business sense as well.
“We ask our people to do extraordinary things, sometimes in the most difficult of circumstances, to bring heat and light to homes, hospitals, schools and businesses across the UK. There is no more noble an ambition than to ensure we achieve that objective and make sure that staff return from work safe and well every day.”
“It means that the robust discussion between union safety reps and management is effective and more constructive than in the past”
Powering Improvement: kick-starting action on the groundSafety director Geoff Earl and Prospect rep David Van Kesteren represent Northern Powergrid on Powering Improvement, the electricity industry’s national initiative on health and safety. So how can they make a difference at the coalface?
consensus on all safety issues. But it does mean that the robust discussion between union safety reps and management is effective and more constructive than in the past.
Powering Improvement has prompted us to think through and find practical ways of improving health and safety. The best outcome has been a burst of enthusiasm for safety initiatives, which has triggered hard work from managers and safety reps from all unions.
Some highlights have been: ● helping to design the asset man-
agement presentation and ensuring that all relevant staff attended a briefing
● developing a joint training package for safety reps and managers on how behaviour affects safety, be that in the boardroom or at the coalface
● reviewing and developing occupational health.
More importantly, 2014 saw the best safety performance ever in Northern Powergrid. The network’s owners – Mid-American Energy Holdings – are so impressed that they are using Powering Improvement as a framework for their global safety plan.
Maybe we would have done this without Powering Improvement, but the programme has allowed us to look at best practice across the country and concentrate our efforts. We look forward to taking the same approach to the focus for 2015 – contractor safety.
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■■ Geoff■Earl■speaking■at■
Prospect’s■2013■energy■sector■
conference;■inset:■■David■
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Prospect • EnergyEye – May 2015
7HEALTH AND SAFETY
Good work Anne! MENTION RETIREMENT and for many the word conjures up images of gentle exercise in the garden followed by afternoons watching daytime TV thrillers.
But not for Prospect national secretary and former STUC president, Anne Douglas, who steps down from leading the union’s Scottish offi ce at the end of June after 37 years working for Prospect and its predecessor unions.
During that time she has seen the privatisation of the electricity industry, the introduction of company bargaining and a myriad of ownership changes and restructurings.
But, never one to rest on her laurels, Anne will be co-chair a new independent group tasked with promoting fairer workplaces, after being appointed by the Scottish government.
With fellow co-chair, businesswoman Linda Urquhart, she will lead the six-member Fair Work Convention in developing a
fair employment and workplace framework for Scotland by March 2016.
The framework will inform the Scottish government about a wide range of workplace issues including: improving productivity and innovation; giving employees a greater voice; lifelong learning; gender equality; the Living Wage; and enhanced discussion between unions, employers, public bodies and government departments.
“The convention is a really exciting opportunity to make a positive and tangible difference to people’s working lives,” says Anne.
“It has the potential to produce the most important developments in industrial relations for decades.
“Since joining the Engineers’ and Managers’ Association in 1978, I have seen many governments and many changes in workplace relations, but this is the fi rst time that any government has been so positive about the importance of fairness at work and the critical role of trade unions in ensuring it.
“I will still be enjoying the garden, not so much the daytime TV, and hopefully still making a difference to people at work. It’s diffi cult to leave it behind completely!”
The aims of the convention bear strong similarities to Prospect’s own Good Work campaign which seeks to create more jobs which are secure and
Prospect Extra to offer big savingsCOMING soon – a new service that offers competitive deals on products members really want.
June sees the launch of a ground-breaking service to give members access to exclusive market-beating deals on a range of common fi nancial and household services.
Thanks to the bargaining power of the union, money-saving offers will be available through the new Prospect
Extra service accessible via a dedicated website.
It has been developed jointly by Prospect, Union Extra and consumer
and fi nance experts. It has the unique selling point of combining the advantages of comparison and cashback sites, without pushing particular products or services.
“We will be the fi rst union to use our bargaining power in this way to secure unique money-saving deals on important products and services that members use in their everyday lives,” explains Sue Ferns, deputy general secretary. “The potential savings could be worth many times the cost of monthly union membership fees.”
Information about how to access this new service will be sent to all members shortly.
Calling ex-Battersea employees? A BOOK charting the history of Battersea Power Station draws together more than 100 archive and original photographs, with the recollections of ex-employees.
But before it goes to print, authors Annie and Steve Graham are keen to get back in touch with a handful of interviewees who have since changed their contact details.
Says Annie: “We’re reaching out to ask anyone who might know any ex-employees to get in touch before we go to print – their stories are brilliant and an essential part of the book.”
In particular the pair are trying to get in touch with:
● Rita Burton – daughter of Joseph Burton, stoker, 1948 – 1962
● Morris Metcalfe – apprentice, 1956 – 1960 ● Bill Crozier – apprentice, 1960 – 1964 ● Conrad Freezer – public information manager,
