Latest news with #AlexPlant
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Scottish households urged to cut water use as climate crisis limits supplies
Scottish households are being urged to cut back heavily on their water use and instead treat it as a precious resource due to the growing threat to supplies from climate heating. Alex Plant, the chief executive of Scottish Water, said the average Scot used 40% more water than consumers in Yorkshire, partly because there was a widespread but mistaken assumption that water was abundant in Scotland. In fact, the country was on the brink of severe water shortages earlier this year after the driest spring since 1964 – an event Plant said was a taste of the extreme weather that will occur far more often in future. In mid-May, a significant majority of Scotland's rivers were rated at either 'exceptionally' or 'notably' low, while reservoirs were at 77% capacity – 13% below the normal level for spring. Scotland already has a deficit of 60m litres a day during droughts, but by 2050, that deficit could hit 240m litres a day. Scotland's water and sewage services avoided the wholesale privatisation of water utilities in England in the late 1980s, which has since led to growing controversies over some owners piling on debt and failing to upgrade infrastructure while paying out shareholder dividends. In an interview with the Guardian, Plant said that Scottish Water, which supplies nearly all Scotland's homes and businesses, faced spending up to £50bn by 2050 to adapt the country's water and sewage networks for the impacts of the climate crisis. But significant voluntary action by consumers would cut that deficit and the £50bn bill, most of which would need to come from households and industry, because Scottish Water's ability to borrow money is significantly constrained by its public ownership rules. As the UK's only state-owned water company, its customers are, in effect, its shareholders, Plant said. 'We are all owners of this company. Let's behave in ways that would help it be as successful as it can be in the long run.' Plant, formerly head of strategy with Anglian Water, is lobbying Scottish government ministers to look again at how it raises money for big capital projects, to reduce future increases in water charges. Scottish Water, the UK's fourth largest combined water and sewerage company, is already testing water consumption monitors in 2,000 homes in Dundee to see whether they could be rolled out across Scotland. The meters would not be used to charge people, unlike in England and Wales, but to help Scottish Water measure water usage and also educate households about how much they were using. Meters also provide early warnings of a leak, and nudge households into cutting water usage or installing rainwater butts. He said customers responded well to an appeal during May's drought to cut water usage voluntarily, reducing consumption by 60m litres a day. Plant wants Scottish Water to lead by example on climate. Its next annual report will confirm the company is on target to become net zero by 2040 – 10 years earlier than the target for the UK as a whole, and well ahead of other water utility companies. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Scottish Water provided 10% of its electricity needs last year from its own solar power and windfarms, and plans to rapidly expand its renewable energy plants. He said that in contrast to privatisation in England (Welsh Water is mutually owned and has no shareholders), Scotland's public ownership model meant its profits were fully invested in services and upgrades, and allowed longer term planning and closer integration with its regulators. That supported making the climate crisis a national policy priority. England's privatised system meant much more 'boom and bust' spending, shorter term thinking, adversarial disputes with regulators, and less emphasis on planning for the future impact of the climate crisis. 'The hybrid model of being publicly owned but commercially run allows us to place bets that give us a social return on investment, an environmental return on investment that you can see is in the long-term interests of Scotland and us,' he said. He said Scotland could still learn from England by setting up an integrated water resources planning and policy agency, which tied in local councils, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, farmers, housebuilders and water users, to make better informed strategic decisions. 'It is much easier to make that case when we're in a publicly owned environment, because of this point that 'you own us',' he said.
The Herald Scotland
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Water spent £1.4m on sewage blockages since 2021
Scottish Water spent £397,745 in 2021, £539,717 in 2022, £344,303 in 2023, and £136,268 in 2024; for a total of £1,418,033. The release of the data comes as Scottish Water bosses have been criticised over 'fat cat' salary bonuses in recent months. Key directors received more than £3m in extra funds between 2010 and 2021, with the increases signed off by then-finance minister John Swinney - despite his stated opposition to public sector pay bonuses for other government-run groups. £1.4m has been spent to clean up sewage spills. (Image: NQ) Criticism has also been lodged at current boss Alex Plant, who makes £483,000, or £100,000 more than his predecessor Douglas Millican, despite Scottish Government guidance stating his pay should have been 10% less than Millican's. And workers have been engaged in industrial action with Scottish Water this summer - leading to a £3m bill after ten days of strikes. A Scottish Water spokesperson explained the organisation's clean-up strategy, telling The Herald: 'Many spills can be caused by chokes or blockages on our network due to people wrongly disposing of wet wipes and sanitary products down toilets or fats, oils and grease down sinks. 'Generally, a clean-up operation involves the removal of sewage-related debris from the areas along the banks of watercourses. This often involves staff wearing PPE collecting the debris in bags and can sometimes include the use of a vactor to suck up material. 'A spill can also be the result of a licensed Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) discharge but, if the overflow is designed properly, the body of water should be sufficiently large to carry the vast majority of debris away. 'Obscene': Anger over new Scottish Water CEO's 50% pay rise 'Out of touch': Backlash over ScotGov's Scottish Water 'fat cat' bonuses defence 'Shocking' hike in 'fat cat' bonuses with £1.6m paid to Scottish Water execs The spokesperson continued: 'However, as we've seen earlier this year, when we have long periods of dry weather and watercourses are running lower than usual, we potentially have bigger clean-up operations to carry out. 'Scottish Water deals with over 36,000 blockages a year, with the majority of these due to items wrongly put into the sewer, such as wipes, sanitary products and fat, oil and grease.'
The Herald Scotland
10-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Call for watchdogs to be scrapped to curb Scottish Water execs pay
They are saying that having three bodies with regulatory oversight of the industry is wasteful and means there is a lack of responsibility and suggest there should be only one. They say restructuring will allow the same level of scrutiny with clearer lines of accountability and less expense. Andrew Thomson, GMB Scotland's representative rep at Scottish Water, has said that the current set-up has encouraged creeping privatisation at the company and led to workers being scapegoated for executive failures. The branch has been supported by the union in calls for ministers to implement strict conditions around public sector executive pay and bonuses through its Public Sector Pay Strategy – extending this to the quangos, commissions and regulatory bodies. The issue surrounds a complex web of three separate regulators operating to oversee operations at Scottish Water - the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) which examines finances, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) which oversees pollution issues and the Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland which investigates safety. WICS, which the branch says is "a disgrace" has been at the centre of a scandal over what watchdog Audit Scotland described as inappropriate public spending, including: a £77,000 Harvard Business School course for a senior executive, lavish spending on meals, with some exceeding £200 per head and £100 gift vouchers for staff, surpassing the £75 limit for gifts. SEPA was told by watchdog Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) in September, last year, to improve monitoring after finding that pollution of Scotland's rivers and beaches was far more widespread than realised because ministers have failed to take the problem seriously. The union has been concerned that ten days of strikes in a bitter pay dispute is to cost nearly £3m in bringing in extra staff as part of a contingency plan. It comes amidst a row over Mr Plant receiving a 50% rise in the existing pay package - despite public sector pay rules saying he should expect to have a 10% cut. Alex Plant (Image: Supplied) The £483,000 remuneration for Alex Plant over just ten months of 2023/24 is nearly £100,000 more than the outgoing chief executive Douglas Millican, received in his last full year before taking flexible retirement which resulted in a cut in salary and reduced pension benefits. The Scottish Government's public sector pay policy has since 2010 included an "expectation" that the remuneration of a new chief executive appointment will be at least 10% lower than that of the outgoing officer. MSPs raised their concerns in the Scottish Parliament after The Herald further revealed that executives of the nation's state-owned water supplier saw bonuses hiked by over a third in one year - taking a five-year total to nearly £1.6m despite public sector pay rules suspending the payments. Read more by Martin Williams: It has told users: "We will do all we can to ensure customers do not experience any disruption to their water supplies and that treatment of the country's waste water continues as usual, despite the planned industrial action. Union members on the picket line (Image: Andrew Milligan) While Scottish Water has remained included on the list of public sector organisations that should conform with the pay policy, the Scottish Government say that they are exempt. Mr Thomson has taken the calls for changes to GMB Scotland's Congress saying that regulation of the water industry "is required to ensure drinking water is safe and accessible, and that wastewater is dealt with responsibly to protect human life, environmental health and our waterways". He says that excessive regulatory demands from the three agencies has created a "blame culture within Scottish Water where workers – not management – are held to account for organisational failures and that "this motivates management to place excessive responsibilities and pressures on the performance of the workforce affecting health and morale". He said that an "excessive number of regulatory bodies, overbearing [Scottish Water] board governance and a lack of transparency have created a top-heavy system of patronage and a culture of elitism where undisclosed contracts and bonuses are given to executives while the pay of Scottish Water workers lags far behind the private sector leading to the increased threat of industrial action". SEPA (Image: Archive) The branch says a full review of regulatory bodies is required in relation to Scottish Water with an aim to consolidate responsibilities and reduce costs. GMB Scotland said the long-running and ongoing industrial action at Scottish Water only underlined the need for root and branch reform. Mr Thomson said: "It is time government which is ultimately the main regulator, concentrated on cutting preposterous costs at the high end; hold management to account and stop allowing the victimisation of workers for wasteful regulation failures. "Prosecute the bosses and protect the workers." A 10-day ballot of workers on a revised pay offer delivered to unions by Scottish Water will start on Wednesday but Claire Greer, GMB Scotland organiser, said disruptive and expensive strikes could have been averted months ago if executives had seriously engaged with the workforce. She said: 'There has now been a series of different disputes at this company all marked by the same failure of management to negotiate with clarity or urgency. A Scottish Water protest'That not only suggests systemic problems at an executive level but a failure to provide effective and proper oversight by the board and independent watchdogs. 'Scotland was meant to be different to the rest of UK with Scottish Water being structured to ensure the people of Scotland retained ownership and control. 'That means nothing unless there is rigorous and independent oversight of management by board members and expert and respected regulators. 'That is clearly not happening and a complicated and needlessly expensive system of oversight must be rebuilt for the benefit of all Scots. A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'We remain committed to a water industry model where Scottish Water is publicly owned, commercially run and independently regulated. "Ministers have set out their policy in relation to public sector pay. It is a matter for Scottish Water and its unions to agree a settlement within the constraints of that policy and affordability. " A Scottish Water spokesperson said: "After the latest talks with the Joint Trade Unions on Friday, we made an improved pay offer that would see average wages increase by more than 7% over two years. This included a minimum increase of £2,825 over the period. 'In addition, we also proposed a number of other enhancements including improved stand-by payments and carers' leave. 'This is a very strong and progressive offer that balances the interests of our people and customers' and we asked the Joint Trade Unions to ballot their members on the new proposal. So we are glad they are doing so and hope members vote to accept our offer. 'It is in everyone's interests that the current dispute is resolved so that our people can get the pay increases they deserve and return to delivering an essential service to the people of Scotland.' WICS declined to comment.
The Herald Scotland
06-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
£3m strikes cost to Scottish Water in 'fat cat' bonus & pay row
The three Scottish Water staff unions, which also include Unite and Unison, have already written to chief executive Alex Plant accusing the company of acting in bad faith, condemning its management culture in failing to deal with the dispute. Seven day action involving hundreds of workers which started on Monday has the potential to disrupt essential services, including water supply maintenance, waste water treatment, and emergency response to leaks or flooding. But Scottish Water has previously said that contingency plans are in place to enable it to maintain a normal service. Read more by Martin Williams: It has told users: "We will do all we can to ensure customers do not experience any disruption to their water supplies and that treatment of the country's waste water continues as usual, despite the planned industrial action. Union members on the picket line (Image: Andrew Milligan) "A reliable water source is vital for everyone. Maintaining public health and protecting the environment are our priorities, and it is the responsible course of action for us to have contingency plans ready." The estimates of the current strike action are based on revelations that it contingency plan costs of dealing with four days of strikes between November 10 and November 13 in 2023 amounted to £ included a £947,000 bill for water operations and customer service contractors It means that Scottish Water would be facing a further estimated bill of £2.8m to cover the third strike of the latest pay dispute which is to last seven days. It follows three 24-hour strikes, one in March and two in April which is estimated to have cost a further £1.2m Union sources say that Scottish Water would, however, be making an estimated saving of £125,000 a day on strike staff labour costs which would amount to £1.25m over the 10 days of strikes so far.. On Wednesday, striking Scottish Water workers staged a demonstration about over fair pay to Scottish Water's Glasgow offices in Renfrew Road. GMB Scotland says the dispute has potential to become one of the most significant in Scotland's public sector, with both sides miles from reaching an agreement. Further discussions over a new offer were being mulled over yesterday [Thursday]. It comes amidst a row over Mr Plant receiving a 50% rise in the existing pay package - despite public sector pay rules saying he should expect to have a 10% cut. The £483,000 remuneration for Alex Plant over just ten months of 2023/24 is nearly £100,000 more than the outgoing chief executive Douglas Millican, received in his last full year before taking flexible retirement which resulted in a cut in salary and reduced pension benefits. The Scottish Government's public sector pay policy has since 2010 included an "expectation" that the remuneration of a new chief executive appointment will be at least 10% lower than that of the outgoing officer. MSPs raised their concerns in the Scottish Parliament after The Herald further revealed that executives of the nation's state-owned water supplier saw bonuses hiked by over a third in one year - taking a five-year total to nearly £1.6m despite public sector pay rules suspending the payments. While Scottish Water has remained included on the list of public sector organisations that should conform with the pay policy, the Scottish Government say that they are exempt. The GMB said Mr Plant attended the talks on Tuesday for the first time after his absence had been criticised for only staying a few minutes before leaving. GMB Scotland said the Scottish Water strike costs should "shame" its negotiating team. Claire Greer, the union's organiser at the publicly-owned utility, said management have allowed the pay dispute to escalate without the apparent will or expertise to resolve it. She said: 'The cost to the public purse of this ongoing industrial action is likely to far outweigh what it would have cost Scottish Water to find a resolution to what should have been a very straightforward pay negotiation. Claire Greer (Image: GMB) 'That is beyond the pale and should dismay taxpayers and alarm ministers. It has become impossible to guess if Scottish Water are trying to play games in these negotiations or are simply incompetent. 'What is certain is that clear and transparent talks should have resolved this dispute months ago. "It is shameful that millions of pounds of public money is on the line because the management of this company is unwilling or unable to engage in pay talks in a competent manner.' Scottish Water workers downed tools on Monday after rejecting the company's latest pay offer. It initially offered workers a basic pay rise of 3.4% or £1,050 for those on the lowest grades. But after a 24-hour strikes in the spring, the offer was changed to 7% over two years. The strike comes as water bills have risen by 9.9% from April with the public utility firm saying it was necessary to cope with period of "drought and intense rainfall" brought on by climate change. Ms Greer has written to Gillian Martin, the Scottish Government minister responsible for Scottish Water, urging her to encourage executives to seriously engage with negotiations. She highlighted a number of concerns around the negotiations accusing management of trying to bypass unions and negotiate with workers directly; making a revised offer that was worse than one already rejected by workers; and quoting incorrect and misleading salary details in a formal offer. She states: 'Management have clearly demonstrated they do not intend to engage in good faith with trade unions, take the basic and necessary steps to avert strike action, or deliver a pay offer that values the workforce.' 'Industrial relations are at an all-time low because of a management culture which seems anti-union and holds the workforce in complete disregard.' Unions have warned that the pay rises and bonuses to executives have only increased the frustration of Scottish Water workers. After being challenged about the bonuses in the Scottish Parliament, climate action minister Alasdair Allan defended the pay policy saying: "The Scottish Government does seek to ensure that executive pay is kept under control". And he said it had sought that "when new chief executives come in to post that there are controls around wages and bonuses put in place". Scottish Water has defended the salary packages saying that they maintain and operate a "simple remuneration structure" with a pay policy that aims are to "attract, develop, motivate and retain highly talented people at all levels of the organisation" and to "incentivise and reward good individual and corporate performance as well as out-performance". Scottish Water operates under an annual borrowing limit set by the Scottish Government. The annual borrowing limit controls the amount by which Scottish Water can increase externally sourced finance. As at March 31, 2023, government loans totalled £4.5 billion. Net new borrowing by Scottish Water from the Scottish Government was planned to be to the tune of £196m in 2023/24 alone to carry out its activities. A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: 'We are committed to constructive talks with our trade union colleagues to find a sensible solution to this dispute. "The best way to avoid additional costs caused by the industrial action is for the strikes to stop and a resolution to be found as soon as possible.'
North Wales Chronicle
04-06-2025
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Swinney ‘must be held to account' over Scottish Water pay dispute, unions say
Members of GMB Scotland and other unions at the publicly-owned organisation began strike action on Monday and it will continue until Sunday. Staff represented by GMB, Unite and Unison previously rejected a 3.4% pay increase covering the last nine months as the company changed the date for annual rises to take effect from July to April. Speaking at a rally of striking workers at Scottish Water's Shieldhall depot in Glasgow on Wednesday, GMB general secretary Gary Smith warned the ongoing dispute could become one of the most significant in the country's public sector and he urged ministers to intervene. Unions also claim Scottish Water has failed to appropriately engage in pay negotiations, and that chief executive Alex Plant attended talks on Tuesday for the first time but only stayed briefly. Mr Smith said: 'How did we end up with workers being refused a fair pay rise while executives line their pockets with record bonuses? How did we end up with a chief executive finally turning up to pay talks after a year and only staying for 20 seconds? 'It is damning of the management of Scottish Water but damning too of the hypocrisy of a Scottish Government that advocates for fair work and the protection of public services. 'John Swinney and his ministers must be held to account for this growing scandal. From this point forward, every time they talk to us about fair work and how Scotland treats working people better, we will point to Scottish Water and its absolute failure to make good on that promise.' Tuesday's meeting escalated the dispute further, with unions now accusing the employer of weakening the pay offer. Workers carrying out emergency repairs, testing and maintenance are now striking, which they have warned will threaten the daily operations of the water supplier. Claire Greer, GMB Scotland organiser, said the unions had agreed to attend the hastily-convened meeting on Tuesday night in the hope of a better offer and a possible resolution. She said: 'Scottish Water has shown no interest in reaching a fair settlement and sat on its hands as a dispute that could have easily been resolved months ago escalated. 'The Scottish Government must now explain to its senior management team why its refusal to clearly and honestly engage with its own workforce cannot stand.' Unison regional manager Simon Macfarlane said: 'Scottish Water staff are very angry in how last night's pay talks were handled by the company. Scottish Water boss, Alex Plant, appeared at the table for less than five minutes. 'First Minister John Swinney needs to step in and help get this sorted. Scottish Water is behaving like a rogue employer, not an exemplar of fair work.' Sam Ritchie, Unite industrial officer, said: 'Unite members are angry and deeply frustrated with the management of Scottish Water. There has been disregard and arrogance shown towards the concerns of the workforce in meetings with management. This dispute is not just about wages, it's about fairness, dignity and respect. 'Alex Plant, chief executive, who received a pay package last year of nearly half a million pounds, came into the negotiating room for all of two minutes. 'If Mr Plant can collect an exorbitant salary from the taxpayer then at the very least he should listen to the staff who earn a fraction of his pay. Talks have hit a roadblock and they are not progressing. 'Unions and management are set to resume talks over the coming days but no new offer is currently on the table which would end this dispute.' Also in attendance was union body the Scottish Trade Unions Congress, and its general Secretary Roz Foyer said: 'The Scottish Government has a responsibility to step in and help find a solution. 'Workers and their unions are committed to securing a positive outcome, not only for their members but to uphold the standards within our public services. 'That cannot happen while Scottish Water continues its intransigence in this dispute.' A Scottish Water spokesperson said: 'This is a matter for Scottish Water and its trade unions, who we value our relationship with. 'Scottish Water has acted in good faith and with integrity throughout these negotiations. 'We have a long history of being a good employer – with wages rising by about 11% above inflation in the past decade – at a time when many people in other sectors saw their wages stagnate or go backwards. 'We've made another strong offer this time that is comfortably above inflation and prioritises those on the lowest wages.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Ministers have set out their policy in relation to public sector pay. 'It is a matter for Scottish Water and its unions to agree a settlement within the constraints of that policy and affordability. 'The Scottish Government urges both parties to resume negotiations to find an agreement.'
