Viking Warrior

I hear that the rspb is thinking of suing clarkson for his comments about not liking sparrows . Well that's what a member has just tweeted

Verbal there was me thinking you were a tree surgeon only joking PS any way do you know where your bundle of his is ?

Um Pahars for your information IBM is facing legal action from 250 ex-employees who claim they were "forced" to take early retirement before changes to the pension scheme. The action is being taken by former workers across the UK, including many at the head office in Portsmouth. They used to be able to retire early, losing 3% of their annual pension for each year before 60, but the new scheme now sees 6% lost each year before 63. IBM said its changes were legal and it will contest any action. Under the old scheme if an employee with an annual pension of £40,000 retired at 55 they would sacrifice £6,000 (15%) over the five years before their 60th birthday. 'Extremely bitter' But under the new scheme the same person would sacrifice £19,200 (48%) over eight years, from their annual pension. The employees are claiming unfair dismissal and age discriminatio

Clarkson is a conceited arrogant knob but Ed Millaband Is a very funny and intelligent individual who speaks nothing but the truth and believes in total fairness.!!

Seems nobody is allowed to have a differing view anymore The Knob Joey Barton has now angered thousands. I think his comments have been taken out of context by the baying crowds Joey Barton has defended a tweet he wrote about suicide being "selfish" in the wake of Wales football manager Gary Speed's death. The QPR player was among famous footballers who took to Twitter to express shock and sympathy for the 42-year-old's family in the hours after he was found hanged. But Barton, 29, also issued a tweet which angered fellow users of the micro-blogging site and left him swamped with complaints. "Suicide is a mix of the most tragic, most selfish, most terrible (and I want to believe preventable) acts out there," he said. "Just didn't seem at all fitting with his character but again, I am in no position to speak. I feel terrible for his kids, family and friends."

Jonnysaint You must be a real saddo if you think Frankie Boyle is funny some of his stuff is funny but most of it is very offensive as Patrick Bateman said Clarkson's humour also appeals to my sense of warped humour

Um Yes (does anyone know of any Private Sector schemes where companies pulled promised defined benefits pensions from existing members???) IBM . My sister along with others have a tribunal case against them being heard next May. There has already been a number of significant legal discussions on what IBM have done.

KWsaint I dont think they could afford the electricity bill

I find Alan Carr , Jimmy Carr and Frankie Boyle offensive . I dont hear the trade unions threatening legal action seem they like to have a go at right wing white van man types

Talking of CPS how an earth did that trial collapse in Swansea. Cost upwards of 30 million

Not being inflamatory badger just posing a question re the debate re public vs Private sectors but as usual you have jumped to the wrong conclusion Im fully aware of the occupational sick pay scheme. dont forget if you fall out of OSP you still get SSP In scotland you do not get OSP until you have done 26 weeks service Service at commencement of absence from duty Full Allowance for Half Allowance for Less than 26 weeks Nil Nil 26 weeks or more but less than 1 year 5 weeks 5 weeks 1 year but less than 2 years 9 weeks 9 weeks 2 years but less than 3 years 18 weeks 18 weeks 3 years but less than 5 years 22 weeks 22 weeks 5 years and over 26 weeks 26 weeks

I see people in the media are just focussing on a specific comment not all his comments on the one show. he said he was for the strikers as there were no cars on the road. one Radio 5 show host was trying to get a lawyer to say there was a legal case for Clarkson to answer and the police should investigate. She said if you were to change the word striker for Black, Jew etc. and that by refering to strikers being shot it was no different to referring to ethnic groups, I think she has lost the plot BBC are not helping as they keeping playing the comments on radio shows and news bulletins Oh have the union heirarchy got nothing better to do than waste poor members subscriptions on legal cases. Some folk need to have a sense of Humour failing that then all comedians should be shot so that their humour can no longer offend people.

Sick pay for Public sector workers is excellent. 6 months full pay and six months half pay . do the private sector have such good rates of sick pay? Of course they do paid membership of Bupa

werte hospital patients compromised yesterday >? I do not know what the whole picture is but I know of one acute ward that was compromised . Only three staff were working and one was a student nurse

Cheers Gemmel

Is corp Ho skates equivalent to our own life long saint . Also can somebody explain to me how android is again their administrator ? Does he have any connection to charai and co ?

Um I should have clarified my earlier point re trousers question. The ht might have had an indicative indication of who was and wasn't going in. Managers can ask the employee if they are coming in . They do not have to respond as is there right but some professional people do tell their managers in advance . Also I concur that the ht would not know actual numbers until the actual day of the strike. The ballot process is secret and should remain so . Thats why we have Employment legislation such as Turer etc

UmI can see where trousers is coming from . The head teacher wouldnt know which unions members voted perhaps an FOI to the relative unions maybe more forth coming. The head teacher would know who supported the strike and who didnt. Figures will be required by the relevent organisations and governments on the effect of the strike on services. These will already have been provided for in various public sector organisations As for D then your right on this. Two people going on strike could stop the school opening ie the HT and janitor as they are the bonafide key holders of the school

Um The information should be available in the next couple of days from the school though after all teachers have to go through a form of registration i.e attendance records. The HT wouldnt know today who did or did not turn up for work

Thorpe le saint re Audit of pensions that is a question that has been asked in Scotland and the fact that Scotland may be ahead of their English counterparts in laying any regulations on pensions, it is not clear whether any valuations have been undertaken re the long term nature of pensions. Apart from the Hutton report

At Least Dune has a sense of humour!!!!

Two sisters accused of trying to claim back £161m in VAT which they had never paid say they had no intention of receiving cash from the Inland Revenue. Roberta Vaughan-Owen, 37, and her sister Andrea, 42, both of Colwyn Bay, Conwy, told investigators in prepared statements they had made a mistake. A jury heard that the sisters, who claimed to be recruitment consultants, did not understand the form. They deny nine charges. The case at Caernarfon Crown Court continues. The court was told the sisters thought it was vital to demonstrate the potential future turnover of their company. The younger sister estimated the turnover after looking at the amount Liverpool Football Club charged for advertising - £75,000 for three minutes. They are accused of frauds on working tax credit, mortgage and insurance before the bid to reclaim VAT. Richard Branson The court heard how the sisters had sought business mentoring from Richard Branson. The Virgin boss had written to Andrea Vaughan-Owen, now 42, and her sister Roberta, 37, saying: "I was impressed with your letter and as someone who also suffers from dyslexia I understand how difficult it can be sometimes." Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote It doesn't matter which barriers I face, I will try to overcome them” End Quote Andrea Vaughan-Owen In the 2003 letter, signed in his absence, he also urged them: "Don't give up. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it." Andrea Vaughan-Owen told the jury in evidence that she left school with an O-level in cookery. She was ambitious but made no money from her business ideas. "It's not in our nature to give up," she said, however. She added :"It doesn't matter which barriers I face, I will try to overcome them." She had been a post office worker until 2001 and last month married for the third time. Asked by her QC Lee Karu about contacting Richard Branson, she said :"As you can see he wanted to help us." Private education The court has previously heard how the sisters lived "beyond the dreams of honest working people". They shared a £400,000 home in Colwyn Bay, rented out a second property, paid for private education for Andrea Vaughan-Owen's children and expressed an interest in items such as a £315,000 Rolls Royce, the jury was told. It was alleged the sisters got money from anyone they could, including banks, insurance companies and the state. Both deny furnishing false information by submitting a claim for a VAT refund of £161m in 2008, registering companies for VAT purposes and attempting to obtain invoices to substantiate a claim for a VAT repayment, insurance fraud, and being involved in fraudulent activity to obtain tax credit payments.

A good post as usual Derry .Your description of the game puts it into perspective for me having listened to it of Saints Player

Wade Garrett that would be the reason the flying pickets longer produce records NickG your right about the number of Pickets. seems like the unions have forgotten about that. Also they are supposed to picket their own place of work . 17. The expression "at or near his own place of work" is not further defined in statute law. The provisions mean that, except for those covered by paragraphs 22 and 23 below, lawful picketing must be limited to attendance at, or near, an entrance to or exit from the factory, site or office at which the picket works. Picketing should be confined to a location, or locations, as near as practicable to the place of work. 18. The law does not enable a picket to attend lawfully at an entrance to, or exit from, any place of work other than his own. This applies even, for example, if those working at the other place of work are employed by the same. However some are ignoring the law and by doing so are carrying out secondary picketing

Um pahars I agree with you about the four year pay freeze (3 years in Scotland) The unions turned down a 2.5% pay freeze in 2009/10 for Local Government workers as it wasnt enough As they turned it down the Scottish governement awarded/imposed a .65% increase. Not one of the TU's finest decisions It wil be interesting to see what happens once the initial three year pay freeze is unfrozen.