‘Managers should take responsibility’

there is no easy way to single someone out for redundancy when everyone wants to carry on working.

At first glance, there is an odd semblance of fairness to the idea of drawing names out of a hat – or a cereal bowl as was the case for nine unfortunate agency staff who had been working on behalf of the city council.

Managers appear to have felt that picking some of the workers who had to go at random was the least cruel option.

And there is no denying that it is a transparent way of making what was clearly a difficult decision.

At the time it was suggested that all the workers were happy with that. But it is now abundantly clear that at least some of the staff involved were far from satisfied with the process.

And the idea that no-one could feel unfairly treated by such a random selection is simply wrong.

The truth is that the managers involved should have taken responsibility and chosen the best workers, not left it to chance.

That would have been the truly fair way to sort things out.

The city council has now taken action after being alerted to the problem by this newspaper and called a halt to the whole questionable process.

And that has to be welcomed because it means the bosses involved now have a second chance to get things right.

Burning question

someTIMEs the most unlikely industrial relics can find a new lease of life and transform their neighbourhood.

Millions now flock to London’s old Bankside Power Station – thanks to its rebirth as the Tate Modern.

But for every success there are at least as many buildings left to rot after winning listed-building status.

After years of wrangling, the last remaining Granton gasholder has been at least temporarily saved for the nation – but what fate awaits it?

There is clearly no appetite from developers to take on the cost of preserving this “historic treasure”.

The best prospect for the immediate future is that owners National Grid spend more money maintaining it – with the inevitable knock-on effect on our gas bills – and the worst is that it is left to rust until it falls down.

Sitting on the banks of the Forth, Granton has far more to offer than its rusting industrial legacy.

The time has surely come to leave all that behind and find a more constructive way to embrace the future.