Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.

ScotRail fares to be cut

Peak fares on ScotRail are to be suspended for six months in a bid to make train travel more affordable.

The pilot scheme will begin at some point in 2023/24 and will be subsidised by £15million from the Scottish Government's latest Budget.

The move will see the cost of some peak hour, or anytime, ScotRail fares nearly halve.

The BBC says unions and passenger groups have welcomed the plan as a way of coaxing people back to the railways.

ScotRail and other train operators have still to see passenger numbers return to pre-Covid levels with changes in working patterns resulting in peak-time services being less busy.

Conference on independence

The SNP will hold a special conference in March to decide "the way forward to secure independence", the party has announced.

The event is billed as an opportunity to set out a "clear pathway" on Scotland's constitutional future.

The BBC says it follows a UK Supreme Court ruling that Holyrood does not have the power to stage another referendum.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the SNP will fight the next general election as a de facto referendum.

Confirming next year's conference, she tweeted: "The SNP special conference to discuss and decide the way forward to secure independence following UK Supreme Court decision will take place in Edinburgh on March 19."

Christmas cover for strikes

About 1,200 members of the military and 1,000 civil servants are to be drafted in to cover for striking ambulance and Border Force staff over Christmas.

The BBC reports that the UK Government say the personnel will plug staffing gaps and keep front-line services running.

Some 10,000 ambulance staff in England and Wales will strike on December 21 and 28 in a pay dispute.

Unions say military staff are not "sufficiently trained" to taking on ambulance roles. But Health Secretary Steve Barclay said his "number one priority" is keeping patients safe.

Meanwhile, the main union representing Border Force staff is set to walk out for eight days between December 23 and 31, with significant disruption for people travelling over Christmas expected.

Airports affected are Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester airports as, well as at the Port of Newhaven.

The government said civil servants will join military personnel helping "minimise disruption for passengers" by checking documents and passports.

Stop on Heathrow tickets

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have stopped selling new tickets for inbound flights to Heathrow on the days Border Force staff strike over Christmas, says the BBC.

Border Force has asked airports who are expecting passenger numbers on strike days to be above 70-80% of 2019 levels to "supress demand".

The move is to better manage the flow of people through border control.

A source at Heathrow told the BBC the airport had met with BA and Virgin, its two home-based airlines, to request a restriction on new ticket sales, which the airlines had agreed to.

Aberdeen nativity scene moved to shop site

A nativity scene has been moved inside an empty shop in Aberdeen to protect it from graffiti and vandalism.

The figures are put on display in St Nicholas kirkyard every year as part of the city's Christmas decorations. However, the display was vandalised last week.

Councillor Martin Greig said the damage was "offensive and unacceptable".

Aberdeen City Council has now decided to move the figures inside the property in Union Street to safeguard them.

The BBC says the nativity scene can now be found at the former Ecco building.

Amazon strike is a UK first

Amazon workers at the company's warehouse in Coventry have voted to take strike action in what is believed to be a UK first.

The GMB union said hundreds of workers voted to walk out over a 50p per hour pay offer.

The BBC says 98% of workers voted to strike on a ballot turnout of more than 63%.

Amazon has previously said it offered "competitive pay" and gave workers "comprehensive benefits".

The ballot shut on Friday, but any industrial action is likely to take place in the new year. Workers had wanted their hourly pay to rise from £10 an hour to £15.

GMB senior organiser Amanda Gearing said the workers were making history by being the first Amazon employees in the UK to take part in a formal strike.

"The fact that they are being forced to go on strike to win a decent rate of pay from one of the world's most-valuable companies should be a badge of shame for Amazon," she said.

"Amazon can afford to do better. It's not too late to avoid strike action; and get round the table with GMB to improve the pay and conditions of workers."

Twitter users to vote on Musk role

Twitter's owner Elon Musk is asking users of the social media platform to vote on his future as its chief executive officer.

In a poll to his 122million followers, he tweeted: "Should I step down as head... I will abide by the results..."

The technology tycoon, who also runs Tesla and Space X, has faced tremendous criticism since buying Twitter.

Mr Musk took control of the company in October in a £36billion deal.

The BBC
says the CEO vote comes as Twitter says it will shut down accounts solely designed to promote other social media platforms.

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