News | Page 52

Students all over the United Kingdom face disruption as lecturers strike over pay and changes to their pensions. Members of the University and College Union in up to 500 Further Education colleges, older universities and former polytechnic universities will take action. The union says tens of thousands of staff members are involved.

British Summer Time starts this year at 1am this Sunday, March 27. Time and Attendance UK systems and software can deal with this changeover (plus all other working time regulations).

PCS Companies House branch chairman Mike Crimmins said the union was determined to avoid compulsory redundancies following news that hundreds of jobs are going at a UK government agency. Mr Crimmins said the losses at Companies House followed other widespread public sector cutbacks in Cardiff at the Newport Passport Office and the Driving Standards Agency.

Reducing the number of councillors was suggested as a compromise in controversial new plans to increase the pay of Scottish council officials. This was the brainchild of Iain Livingston, the chairman of a body which has had to examine pay structure.

The union Unison asserts that a move by a local authority to impose cuts in pay with job losses as an alternative is unlawful.

Police bosses fear that thousands of jobs will be lost, and one in particular revealed morale was low. Paul McKeever, the chairman of the Police Federation, said police were being unfairly targeted for public sector cuts. He commented that officers felt "angry and disillusioned". They were suffering from "sagging morale" after repeated cuts.

The pay gap at a staff-shedding university has come under criticism, including noting three of its employees were paid more than the prime minister. Glasgow Caledonian Combined Union Committee looked through the university’s annual accounts and said its top earners, nine people were paid more than £100,000, and four people were paid more than the first minister.

During his first visit to Brussels as Director-General of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry), John Cridland defended the working-time opt-out.

A new study states an unprecedented 5.26 million UK people worked additional time for free last year, which was the highest number since records began in 1992. The report by the TUC said unpaid overtime was likely to increase as workers fill in the gaps created by mass redundancies.

A council has blamed the "speed and depth" of public spending cuts for shedding 1,000 jobs, its leader has said. Blackburn with Darwen Council, situated around Blackburn and Accrington, announced its workforce will be cut by about a quarter as part of a planned £25 million savings programme.

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said the cuts process at his local authority was "unpalatable". The council also confirmed that 2,000 jobs will go, or 17 per cent of its workforce. It said 41% of job losses would be among managers. All public toilets will shut, except those on Mount Street, and swimming pools at Levenshulme and Miles Platting will close.

This month has been identified as the worst period of the year for staff absenteeism due to seasonal and economic factors.