BBC staff due to strike in July

8 July 2011 Last updated at 10:57 GMT NUJ members went on strike in November over BBC pension proposals Journalists at the BBC are to hold two 24-hour strikes on 15 and 29 July over compulsory redundancies, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has said.

Last month, its members voted to take industrial action after bosses dismissed a World Service journalist on the grounds of compulsory redundancy.

The NUJ urged the BBC to conduct the redundancy process in "a humane way".

The BBC said it was "disappointed" by the action which could affect news on radio, television and the website.

In the ballot, just under 40% of union members voted, with 72% saying they would be prepared to strike.

'Humane and fair'

A small number of people working in the World Service and BBC Monitoring were facing compulsory redundancy this summer, the NUJ said.

Union general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: "We know that there are hundreds of people who want to leave the BBC and who have been denied that chance.

"Yet at the same time people are now being targeted and forced out of the door. We merely want the BBC to manage the redundancy process in a humane and fair way."

The BBC's director of operations Lucy Adams said the number of posts had to be reduced by 387 following significant cuts to central government grants supporting the World Service and BBC Monitoring.

'Impossible to avoid'

She said: "We continue to do all we can to mitigate the number of compulsory redundancies by offering voluntary redundancy and redeploying staff elsewhere.

"However the number of posts that we are having to close means that unfortunately it is likely to be impossible for us to avoid some compulsory redundancies."

Both the BBC and the NUJ said they hoped to avert action through talks.

BBC journalists went on strike last November over planned changes to their pensions.

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Go for British staff, firms urged

1 July 2011 Last updated at 15:58 GMT Iain Duncan Smith: "We have to ensure that our immigration system works in the interests of Britain"

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has urged UK businesses to "give a chance" to unemployed young Britons, rather than relying on foreign workers.

In a speech in Spain he said a "realistic promise" of work formed part of the government's "contract" with the British people.

Business groups said firms needed the "best people" and migrants often had a better work ethic and skills.

And Labour said what was needed was "proper action" rather than talk.

Under European Union labour laws, most EU citizens can work in the UK without restriction.

The government has introduced a cap on the number of skilled workers from outside the EU, in an effort to reduce net migration from about 200,000 a year to the "tens of thousands".

In a speech to the Spanish Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies in Madrid, Mr Duncan Smith said that more than half of newly filled jobs in the last year were taken by foreign nationals.

'Vulnerable group'

He warned that there is a "serious risk" that British people will not benefit as the economy recovers if firms "look elsewhere" for workers.

"If we do not get this right then we risk leaving more British citizens out of work, and the most vulnerable group who will be the most affected are young people," he said.

Continue reading the main story Most citizens of EU countries, as well as Switzerland, face no restrictions on working in the UKBulgarian and Romanian nationals need authorisation to work, with some exceptionsBritish firms are not allowed to discriminate against non-UK nationals from the EU over terms of employment, pay and working conditionsThere is a 21,700 annual cap on the number of skilled non-EU workers allowed into UKA points-based system is used to determine which skilled non-EU workers can enter UKThe cap excludes employees transferred by companies from abroad "But government cannot do it all. As we work hard to break welfare dependency and get young people ready for the labour market, we need businesses to give them a chance, and not just fall back on labour from abroad."

He said that while immigration played a "vital role" in helping bridge skills gaps, there were many foreign nationals in low-skilled or semi-skilled jobs that could easily be done by unemployed Britons.

"We have to ensure that our immigration system works in the interests of Britain, enabling us to make a realistic promise to our young school leavers," he said.

He said the immigration system must give unemployed people "a level playing field."

In 2007, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged to create "British jobs for British workers" - but the Conservatives said that was illegal under EU law. Official figures suggested that most of the new jobs created since 1997 had gone to people who were not born in the UK.

The unemployment rate among 16 to 24-year-olds fell by 79,000 to 895,000 in the three months to this April but youth unemployment rates still stand at above 19%.

Labour say, after a year in his job, Mr Duncan Smith "should stop talking and start delivering".

'Great tragedy' Continue reading the main story

I do not think it is the role of employers to discriminate on that basis, it is the role of employers to take on the best person for the job”

End Quote Andrew Cave Federation of Small Businesses Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne told the BBC his party would increase taxes on bank bonuses to help pay for new work opportunities for 60,000 young people and reverse cuts to Border Agency staff which he said created the conditions for "illegal immigration to flourish".

"There are simply not enough jobs because the government is cutting back too far and too fast," he added.

"The great tragedy of all of this is that young people lose the habits of work and we as taxpayers have to pick up the bill."

Mr Duncan Smith was backed by Migrationwatch chairman Sir Andrew Green, who said he was "absolutely right".

"Employers have a responsibility to give young British workers a chance and the government must get a grip of immigration if they are to avoid abandoning a whole generation of young Britons on the dole."

'Glib'

But Andrew Cave, from the Federation of Small Businesses, told the BBC it was "quite a glib, throwaway political comment" from the minister.

He said for decades governments had removed links between the education system and business - and school leavers often did not have the skills or training needed.

"If you are an EU citizen you have a right to work here. If an employer discriminates against somebody on the basis of their nationality, and they are from within the EU, they could end up in legal deep water.

He added: "I do not think it is the role of employers to discriminate on that basis, it is the role of employers to take on the best person for the job."

Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, David Frost, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that employers needed the "best people".

"They expect young people to come forward to them who are able to read, write, communicate and have a strong work ethic and too often that's not the case," he said.

And Habib Rahman, of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said Mr Duncan Smith was issuing "a disingenuous and populist call for tighter immigration laws, when his perceived problem is from an area the UK government is powerless to affect - EU immigration."

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Local run museums cut paid staff

12 June 2011 Last updated at 11:48 GMT The Pumphouse Museum in Rotherhithe opened in 1991 Museums run by local councils have cut the number of paid staff by 10% or more compared with last year, according to a survey seen by the BBC.

The Museums Association report, shown to The World This Weekend on Radio Four, suggests that many are relying increasingly on volunteers.

Of 63 local authorities who responded, 40% had reduced staff by at least 10%.

Museum Association director Mark Taylor described the situation as "a bit of a tale of woe."

The survey, the final results of which will be released next month, also suggests councils are transferring control of local museums to trusts.

But that may not be a solution to the funding gap. The Pumphouse Museum in Rotherhithe, south London, is run by a trust but depends on Southwark Council for most of its money and faces closure in three months' time.

The museum, which records the history of a former area of London's Docklands, and of the biscuit maker Peek Freans - once the biggest local employer - had been expecting the council to cut its grant by 28%.

Weeks before the end of the financial year, it was told it will lose the lot.

The Pumphouse recently won a public award

Caroline Marais, the manager, told The World This Weekend: "When we got in the door, they told us it was 100%. So we were, sort of, legs cut off really. There was nothing we could do."

Arts bodies will give money to museums for exhibitions or education, but none will step in to provide core funding, to maintain the building or pay the electricity bill.

Mr Taylor said councils are facing painful choices, and it could be better to close some museums in order to preserve the best.

"I personally would prefer to see a slightly smaller number of museums kept open and active, rather than all the museums kind of set in aspic, with no budget at all to do anything."

The survey results come in the week when The Art Fund Prize for Museums and Galleries will be awarded.

The Turner-prize winning artist Jeremy Deller, one of the judges, told The World This Weekend: "Even museums that aren't necessarily great museums with great exhibits always have a charm. I think there's not such a thing as a bad museum.

"It's what you get out of it yourself. It's what you put into it as a visitor that is important."

The World This Weekend is broadcast on Sunday 12th June at 1300bst.

Front Row will have news of the winner of the Art Fund Prize on BBC Radio Four on Wednesday 15th June at 19:15bst.

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Care regulator has staff shortage

3 June 2011 Last updated at 15:11 GMT Serious concerns have been raised over the care industry England's care home regulator has a staff shortage of nearly 300, including some 133 inspectors, it has said.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has 283 unfilled posts in its workforce, including inspectors whose job it is to ensure care homes meet standards.

It blamed a recruitment freeze imposed by the Government last year - but the Department of Health said it relaxed the curb in February.

Charities have expressed concern at news of the shortfall.

Shadow health and social care minister Emily Thornberry said she wrote to Health Minister Paul Burstow on Friday to ask for an independent inquiry into whether the CQC had sufficient powers and resources.

"It's a matter of great concern that, at a time when the work of the CQC is set to increase sharply and when care services are under such stress as a result of government cutbacks, that it can be 133 inspectors short," she added.

News of the shortfall, initially reported by the Financial Times, comes after serious questions were raised over the care industry, as abuse at the Winterbourne View home for learning disabilities sufferers and financial problems at Southern Cross care homes came to light.

Southern Cross, Britain's largest care home provider, has delayed rent payments to its landlords in an effort to fend off bankruptcy.

Secret filming by BBC Panorama, broadcast on Tuesday, found a pattern of serious abuse at Winterbourne View.

'Unreserved apology'

The regulator said that following an internal review it recognised that "there were indications of problems at this hospital which should have led to us taking action sooner".

It offered an "unreserved apology" after admitting it failed to respond to at least two warnings from a former nurse at the centre in Bristol.

The Government has ordered a report into the abuse.

An inspector working for the CQC has told the Daily Mail the regulator was understaffed and unable to make the necessary inspections.

The inspector said checks on hospitals had been sidelined and the CQC was "completely hampered by bureaucracy and red tape".

Fully accountable

Mark Milton, chief operating officer of the National Autistic Society, said: "We are extremely concerned that there have been 70% fewer inspections of adult care services in the past year, which may be partly attributable to a lack of inspection staff.

"The horrifying abuse uncovered by Panorama shows a clear need for robust regulation, as well as high-quality commissioning and the development of a culture within organisations of zero tolerance of abuse.

"We are calling on the government to ensure that the CQC is properly resourced to provide a fully accountable regulatory system that protects the vulnerable people that we all trust in them to support."

David Congdon, head of campaigns and policy at Mencap, said: "The government must look at investing money into the sector to ensure the safety and quality of life of some of society's most vulnerable."

A spokeswoman for the Royal College of Nursing said the CQC needed to demonstrate it was a "robust regulator with real teeth".

"Clearly it has some urgent work to do to make certain that it can fulfil this important role - and this includes the proper resources to enable it to deliver," the spokeswoman added.

The CQC said its inspection rate had fallen while it assessed care providers as part of a new system - but they were now on the rise again.

It said it was "committed" to effective regulation.

A spokeswoman said: "The CQC has had a recruitment freeze imposed on it after the election which has only just been raised and we are beginning to recruit frontline staff."

A Department of Health spokesman said the recruitment freeze was relaxed in February and it approved the recruitment of 75 inspectors in October

"The hiring of inspectors and staff is the direct responsibility of the CQC," a spokesman added.

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Equality staff to set to strike

3 June 2011 Last updated at 14:19 GMT Unite fears proposed cuts are part of a move to make the EHRC a think tank Staff at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are to strike next week in protest at planned job cuts.

Trade union Unite said its members would walk out for an hour on Monday at EHRC offices in London and Birmingham, with more strikes possible on 30 June.

Richard Munn, of Unite, said the union felt the proposed cuts could move the EHRC away from helping individuals.

There was a feeling that the cuts were aimed at turning the body into a think tank, he said.

"Plans are afoot to close regional offices, and the helpline and grants function are under threat as well," he claimed.

He accused senior management of being wary of discussing plans with trade unions in a "constructive fashion", adding that the public "should be worried about the direction the EHRC is taking".

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