Latest news with #Foyer
The Herald Scotland
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scots union boss Roz Foyer in second home 'hypocrisy' row
The union boss was said to be the owner of a flat in Edinburgh, a terraced house in Glasgow, a Spanish flat which she rents out for £1,000 a week and a holiday cottage on Jura She also owns a four-bedroom family home in the leafy suburbs of north-west Glasgow, and a plot of undeveloped land. Ms Foyer, who earns up to £100,000 a year, has publicly blaming second home owners for exacerbating the housing and cost-of-living crisis. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay (Image: Jane Barlow) Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has questioned how she can continue in her role. He said: 'Scotland's leading trade unionist appears to have been more inspired by Donald Trump than Jimmy Reid. 'To secretly build a £1million property empire while railing against the supposed sin of second home ownership is hilariously hypocritical. 'Just another example of Scotland's self-righteous socialist establishment telling the rest of us how to behave – while doing the complete opposite.' He added: 'How Roz Foyer thinks she can continue in her role as self-styled workers' champion is a mystery and I expect her comrades might have something to say about it.' Mr Findlay joked on Friday that Ms Foyer shared his party's values of working hard and reaping the rewards – and invited her to defect to his party. Ms Foyer was the first woman appointed to the top trade union job in Scotland and represents 500,000 workers. READ MORE: STUC general secretary accused of 'champagne socialism' over second home Roz Foyer: It's 'Awful April' and the cost of living crisis continues She has repeatedly spoken out about the impact second homes have on communities amid Scotland's 'housing emergency'. In July 2023, she called for a 300 per cent council tax premium on second and empty homes to tackle homelessness. Months later, she said: 'Scotland is facing a simultaneous housing and cost-of-living crisis putting an unbearable strain on working people.
Spectator
02-06-2025
- Business
- Spectator
Union chief in second home hypocrisy row
Well, well, well. The general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress has found herself at the centre of a rather embarrassing scandal. It transpires that Roz Foyer – who has repeatedly blasted second home ownership – owns a total of, er, five homes, including a flat in Spain as well as a £100,000 plot of land. Talk about hypocrisy, eh? As revealed by the Mail on Sunday, Foyer – who earns up to six figures a year – lives in a £280,000 four-bedroom home in north-west Glasgow. On top of this, however, she has a £240,000 flat in Edinburgh, a £145,000 terraced house in Glasgow, a £125,000 Spanish flat that she rents out for a staggering £1,000 a week and a £150,000 holiday cottage on the Isle of Jura. More than that, just three months ago Foyer purchased a plot of unused land for £100,000. Alright for some! The revelations may be a little painful for Foyer, who has publicly slammed second home owners for worsening the housing and cost-of-living crisis.
The Herald Scotland
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
'Trade Union action on Supreme Court ruling not off the table'
Last month, the UK's highest court ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. Read more: Scot Gov minister says trans fears 'aggravated' by EHRC update Faculty of Advocates hit out at 'regrettable' Maggie Chapman decision 'Scrapping Misogyny bill over Supreme Court ruling unconvincing' Scottish Government scraps Misogyny bill over Supreme Court Judgment Ms Foyer previously said she did not think the law 'got it right' in terms of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman under the 2010 Equality Act. Asked what she meant by this, she told Unspun Live: 'I am not sure the decision that was made has got it right or thought about all of the implications on the ground and in our public institutions. 'At the end of the day, the law is the law and the machinery of the law has done its job and come to a position and it won't be the first time a trade unionist has sat down and said, well, they don't think that's the best law and maybe we need to rethink things. Ms Foyer would also not condemn the comments made by Green MSP Maggie Chapman who said during a trans rights rally there was 'bigotry, prejudice and hatred coming from the Supreme Court' following the landmark judgment. 'I don't condemn the words of Maggie Chapman but I don't necessarily think I would utter those words. That's all I would have to say on that,' the STUC general secretary remarked. Ms Foyer went on to say that trade unions campaign against laws "all the time" and she does not think it is a "big deal" to question the law or consider whether or not it should be improved. The STUC general secretary added: "On this particular issue, if you actually look at it from the point of view that trade unions are and consider the implications of the decision, we need to make sure that all people's rights are women's rights are protected, absolutely, but we also need to make sure that trans people's rights are protected. 'I would want us to be part of a society where we legitimately understand their right to exist and that means making space for them in our spaces and in our society and I am not clear on how the implications of this judgment is going to enable us to do that yet.' Asked if she foresees trade unions having to take action against the Supreme Court ruling as a result, Ms Foyer said: 'We will see what Congress says about what sort of action the STUC should or shouldn't be taking but, on the ground, our trade union affiliates will be working out the repercussions of this just now and how they can protect all their members.' Asked if she can confirm whether or not any action from the STUC around this ruling is off the table, Ms Foyer said: 'Nothing is off the table when it comes to action from the STUC on any issue.' An update on the Supreme Court ruling from the EHRC published last month said that in workplaces and services that are open to the public, 'trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women's facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men's facilities'. The EHRC said that allowing trans people to use toilet facilities for the gender they identify as would mean facilities are 'no longer single-sex facilities and must be open to all users of the opposite sex'. Ms Foyer said it was important to ensure that trans people do not feel 'other' or 'different' as a result of recent EHRC guidance. Ms Foyer said: 'We've seen some recent guidance come out from the EHRC. It's not clear to me. What are we expecting trans men and women to do? Are we expecting trans men to use women's facilities and trans men to use men's facilities? 'Or have we to build separate facilities for this group? And what does that say about inclusion of this group as a society and about not making them feel other or different? 'I think we've got a long way to go to work out the repercussions of this ruling.' Her comments on the podcast come after Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told The Herald she believes fears trans people feel around using single-sex spaces have been "aggravated" by the EHRC update. Ms Somerville said: 'I think it's unfortunate that that fear has been aggravated by what happened on Friday night with the update but that's exactly why people need that clear guidance, statutory guidance from the EHRC so we can actually work to put that Supreme Court Judgment into practice and we stand ready to do that.' The minister has said the Scottish Government has already started working towards implementing the Supreme Court ruling – saying a short-life, working group was being established to look at 'consistency across Government on this work'. You can listen to the latest episodes of Unspun Live on Spotify here or watch over on The Herald's YouTube Channel here.
Press and Journal
30-04-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Aberdeen jobs warning as anger grows at Grangemouth refinery closure
The closure of Grangemouth signals a warning for industrial jobs across the oil and gas heartlands of Aberdeen, according to worried union leaders. Roz Foyer, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, outlined concerns about the knock-impact of refinery closure and the need for an urgent industrial strategy to save jobs. 'For us, Grangemouth was the test of a 'just transition',' she told the P&J's politics podcast, The Stooshie, published on Wednesday. The long-promised 'just transition' refers to government promises to ease the move from oil and gas-reliant jobs to greener energy. Ms Foyer said politicians need to step up efforts or risk livelihoods after a 'valiant' campaign by the Unite union, which offered cheaper solutions for Scotland's last refinery. 'What we've seen is our governments' utter failure, at UK and Scottish level, to keep that site open,' she added. 'If that's their idea of a just transition, our movement has grave concerns about the whole of oil and gas, and that's an awful position to be in.' Ms Foyer found positives in the Labour government's GB Energy utility investment project, but her confidence is 'at a low ebb'. Petroineos said in September that refining activities at Grangemouth would end in 2025. In recent months, hundreds of workers have taken voluntary redundancy while a number of compulsory redundancies have been made. A significant report commissioned by the Scottish and UK governments, known as Project Willow, aimed to chart a future for the site in low-carbon energy. But the report said this would require around £3.5 billion of private investment. Petroineos has said the refinery is loss-making and has rejected claims from unions that the site could easily transition into a hub for producing sustainable aviation fuel. On Tuesday, First Minister John Swinney said the closure was a sad day for Scotland. 'The Scottish Government will work to secure a future for the Grangemouth community and agreement to the Acorn Carbon Capture project is essential,' he added. Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said Scotland is the 'victim of industrial vandalism'. Mr Leishman told the Commons: 'I don't want anyone in this chamber to dare mention a 'just transition', because we all know that the Conservatives when in power and the SNP currently in Holyrood did nothing to avert this catastrophic decision happening.' Listen to the full 20-minute interview on The Stooshie.
Daily Record
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Fed-up Scots to march on Holyrood to 'demand better' for communities across the country
Thousands of Scots fed-up with the soaring cost of living and rising poverty are set to march on Holyrood later this year. The Scotland Demands Better campaign, which brings together trade unions and anti-poverty campaigners , will demonstrate in Edinburgh on October 25 to demand greater government action on inequalities across society. The demo, announced today by STUC general secretary Roz Foyer , will seek to build a "unified movement" across Scotland with key demands on decent jobs, affordable services and minimum income guarantee. Foyer said: "The length and breadth of Scotland, working people are demanding better. They want to see their communities flourish with decent jobs, sustainable income and public services that work for them. "They've had enough of the broken promises and false dawns from institutions that promise solutions but deliver disappointment. We refuse to be silent and accept the status quo any longer. "Scotland Demands Better is about a unified movement of organisations fighting for social, economic and environmental justice. We're delighted to join with the Poverty Alliance and civic groups across Scotland to demand better for our people and our communities. "We would ask all those who agree with us to stand beside our movement on October 25 th as we take that message directly to our political leaders.' Charlotte Lawley-Powell of the Poverty Alliance said: "We're looking forward to working with the STUC and others to build towards this demonstration. "We hope to see thousands on the streets of the capital demanding that our political leaders deliver a just and compassionate Scotland beyond the injustice of poverty, with many more showing support from home and in their communities. "Despite welcome commitments from our politicians progress around social, economic and environmental justice is just too slow, and in many areas, things are actually going backwards. "Too many people don't have the stable foundation they need to build a better life for themselves and their households, and a better future for our country. "It simply doesn't have to be like this. Now is the time to tell our political leaders that Scotland Demands Better." To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here
