LONDON, October 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the announcement today (Thursday, 16th October) from Ed Milliband that energy companies will be forced to introduce fairer pricing for customers with pre-payment meters if they would not do so voluntarily, Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said:

"Asking the greedy energy companies to play fair by the poor and vulnerable is like putting a drunk in charge of the brewery. Voluntary codes do not work on monopoly companies who have a licence to print money at the expense of the poor and vulnerable. Only direct government action to impose change will bring about fairness.

"But at long last we are seeing some sign that the government is prepared to take on the profiteering oil and energy giants.

"Now we want them to act to pull back some of the multi-billion windfall profits these companies have made to ensure that six million homes receive GBP250 each towards their fuel bills this winter."

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