News digest 6 January 2011
Birmingham is back in the news as the
local council again worsens the situation in its dispute with the
city’s refuse collectors, the real result of cuts is shown at BP
while Cameron admits the truth on VAT, poor Clegg is cold
shouldered in Oldham, Cadbury is close to shutting Somerdale,
there’s some espionage over electric vehicles and Qantas will soon
be flying all its A380s again, while there’s a senior shake up at
British Airways…
What a load of rubbish – The
ongoing row about rubbish piling up in the streets continues with
the focus turning on Birmingham where a dispute over changes to
workers’ terms and conditions has escalated the disruption.
Regional secretary Gerald Coyne is quoted in a number of papers:
“Rather than attempting to resolve the dispute this
Tory-Lib Dem council seems to be doing everything it possibly can
to make things worse. The council has decided to prevent union
representatives from attending any meetings, meaning there can be
no negotiations.” Two new strike dates for next week
have been announced (Mirror
p6, Sun p4, Express p9, Telegraph p10, Morning Star p1, Unite
release).
Cost cutting calamity – And
many of the papers report on the US enquiry into the BP oil spill
disaster saying cuts were the cause, are you listening Mr Cameron?
(Sun p2, Express p17, Times p3, Guardian p25, Telegraph b1/2, FT p1)
VAT hits poor – Cameron
contradicts chancellor Osborne during factory visit where he says
the rise will take more out of poorer people’s pay packets,
assuming they still have jobs (Mirror p11).
Pay edges up – Private sector
pay rises increased by an average of 2.2 per cent in the last three
months, up from 2 per cent the previous quarter, however that is
still below the current rise in the cost of living which stands at
4.7 per cent, so everyone is getting a pay cut. There are also
fears over inflation as oil and food prices rises world-wide. On a
better note the number of firms freezing pay in the private sector
is now down to just six per cent, the lowest level since 2008, so
shame on the stingy six per cent (Mirror p57, Mail p2, Guardian p29, Telegraph b8, FT p2).
Corporate profits boost – And
interestingly corporate profits have hit an 18 month high, perhaps
a little less for the boardroom and a bit more for the workers that
generate the revenues? (Mail p75, Telegraph b2)
Spend it while you can –
Quango chief instructs staff to spend spare £1 million. Former head
of UK Trade and Investment seems to be off message in austerity
Britain, or do the Con-Dems only attack the vulnerable? (Mirror p2, Express p11, Mail p1, Times p11, Guardian p1, Telegraph p1)
Blame for cuts – In an
opinion piece in the Times (p24) Ed Miliband takes
the Tories to task over the cause of the deficit (saying it was not
Labour’s overspending) and also the Con-Dem cure (where’s the
growth strategy?).
Clegg cold shouldered –
Campaigning at the Oldham by-election saw Clegg struggle with
student protestors and a plea for votes, latest poll of polls
confirms the 11 per cent standing for the Lib-Dems and Clegg is the
most unpopular leader of the third largest party since 1989, ah
diddums (Mirror p10,
Sun p2, Indie p4, Guardian p4, Telegraph p2, FT p3).
Expenses relaxed – And
talking of MPs, the expenses row could kick off again after Cameron
backtracked on changes to allow a less demanding approach, yeah
that really works (Mirror
p12, Sun p2, Express p8, Mail p10, Indie p12, Guardian p8, Telegraph p8, FT p, Morning Star p)
Information changes – But the
government also announces that it plans to review the Freedom of
Information Act to be more open, secrecy limit is to be cut to 20
years, and more public bodies covered, expect MPs expenses to
probably still be redacted (Express p8).
No FoI on carriers – And
redacted is exactly what the MoD has done to a request for
information on the real cost of the aircraft carriers as it
publishes a 500 page report with key passages absent keeping
everyone in the dark (Times p16).
Somerdale to shut – And the
lights are about to go out at the iconic Cadbury plant as the
machines grind to a halt (Mirror p23, Mail p75).
De La Rue dips – Shares down
as company loses contacts to supply India’s central bank although
the FT (p19) says the company is
confronting the Oberthur onslaught (Mail p75).
Lloyds double take – Bank
refunds 200,000 customers after a ‘technical error’ saw customers
charged twice (Mirror p2,
Sun p50, Telegraph p2).
House on credit – And an
alarming figure of the country’s indebtedness as the Times (p41) reports that two
million people are paying their mortgages by credit card.
Pay later – And industrial
giant Invensys announces it is changing its payment deals with
suppliers, shifting them all to 60 day terms, so it will be longer
waits to get paid for its smaller supplier companies (Telegraph b1).
Electric espionage –
Industrial intrigue as Renault suspends three senior executives
after an investigation relating to the car company’s flagship
electric vehicle (Mail
p73, Times p45,
FT p17).
More marques – But US car
industry is on a high as the Guardian (p28) reports year end
sales rise for big three. GM saw a 7.5 per cent increase in sales
in December, Ford 6.8 per cent and Chrsyler jumped 16.4 per cent.
The FT (p23) also reports that
with rising petrol costs in the US manufacturers are looking to
widen their range of vehicles with more fuel efficient lines.
Qantas up in the air – And
all of the Australian airlines A380s are due to be back in the air
by mid January as Rolls-Royce gives the go ahead for flights to
resume (Telegraph
b2).
Goodbye – And finally the
FT (p2) reports that British
Airways director of people, Tony McCarthy, has quit the company. He
was the lead negotiator in the dispute which has seen the airline
nicknamed Brutish Airways over its approach to bullying and
intimidation of staff. He will be replaced by BA’s head of legal
and government affairs, Maria da Cunha. Other changes could see
acting customer director Silla Maizey shift to Gatwick, potentially
meaning the airline plans a shake up there, while chief executive
Willie Walsh and communications director Julia Simpson will move to
the new IAG group, a stone’s throw from the current BA offices at
Waterside…
Edited by Mik Sabiers
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