MEMBERS of Unite’s Edinburgh Community branch leafletted shoppers at Cameron Toll shopping centre today as part of the union’s campaign on winter fuel payments.

The campaign aims to push the Westminster government to reverse its decision to introduce means testing for the payments.

It includes the union supporting a judicial review of the decision and lobbying politicians at Westminister and and Holyrood.

The introduction of means testing will mean 10 million pensioners miss out on the payments.

Unite Edinburgh Community branch secretary Peter Olech said: “People are very angry about this issue.

“The payments act as a lifeline for many pensioners, who will now be forced into ‘heat or eat’ decisions to survive.

“We are campaigning to both protect winter fuel payments as a universal benefit and to halt any further plans to extend means testing into things such as the state pension and travel concessions.

“Universal payment of benefits is a principle worth protecting.

“If we are concerned that multimillionaires also receive it, then the answer is to tax them properly, not deny payments to the poor.”