Commenting today (Friday) on the news that energy company SSE is
to sell its retail business to Ovo Energy, UNISON
assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said:
“Staff at SSE will understandably be concerned their jobs might
go following the move. That’s why we’ll be seeking assurances
that not a single post disappears.
“The sale is yet another sign that the UK’s energy sector is in a
precarious state. The solution is to take the consumer arms of
the largest energy firms into public ownership.
“This would provide better security for jobs, help deliver the
government’s carbon neutral target, encourage us all to be more
energy efficient and deliver cheaper bills.”
Notes to editors:
– Earlier this year UNISON
published Power to the
People, which said nationalising the retail arms of the
big six energy firms – British Gas (Centrica), SSE, E.ON, EDF
Energy, Npower (Innogy) and Scottish Power – would help the UK
become carbon neutral by 2050. The report said the move would
create a new ‘green army’ of workers dedicated to helping
businesses and the public become more energy efficient, cut their
bills and save the planet.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than
1.3 million members providing public services –
in education, local government, the NHS, police service and
energy. They are employed in both the public and private
sectors.
